Culture capital

One of the main landmarks in the western Hungarian town of Pecs is the church of St. Maria, in the main square. The building alone speaks volumes about the long history of this turbulent region.

The now-church was once a Turkish mosque -- which in turn was built on the remains of a 16th century Romanesque church. Today, it features features a grand green-copper cupola, prayer niches, keel-arch windows, and the remains of an Ottoman painting that includes verses from the Koran.

From church, to mosque, and back again

Bishop Mihaly Mayer says that many catholics still call the downtown church a mosque.

“I always say: ‘You can say that but its not entirely true,’” Mayer said. “Half of it was built as a Christian church, and if you look back even earlier, it was the Holy Church of Bartholomew that was built as a mosque. I stress that because no one ever mentioned this cathedral in the Communist past.”

Bishop Mayer has been at the head of the Pecs diocese for 20 years. He remembers how the church was stifled under Hungary’s Communist rule, despite the long Christian tradition in the region.

Several decades ago, early Christian burial chambers were discovered beneath the church; they date back to the fourth century, when Pecs was a Roman city. Today, these are a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Dioscese of Pecs is also referred to as the Diocese Quinque Ecclesia, a name that refers to the fact that the city was originally built around five old Christian chapels

These five chapels no longer exist, and no one knows where they once stood. What is clear is that King Stephan founded of the Diocese, laying the ground stone for the ancient cathedral in 1009. The church was changed and destroyed many times over in the ensuing years.

The neo-Romanesque cathedral, with its green copper domed roof and four corner towers that rise above the city, was built between 1882 and 1891. In places, the cathedral shows signs of its former life as a mosque. This is especially true in the reliefs in the passageway leading to the lower church, where the heads of the statues of apostles have been broken off.

For the 1000th anniversary of the diocese, the church has been restored both inside and out. The restoration was helped along with state funding, and the state is expected to pick up the tab for the anniversary celebrations as well. Some 250,000 euros ($358,000) in Culture Capital 2010 financing are expected -- though by the end of July none of that money had made its way to the diocese, Meyer complained.

Hopes for cultural cooperation

In fact, given the number of active construction sites in the city, it appears that Pecs is having problems putting its ambitious Culture Capital plans into action. Nonetheless, the diocese is kicking off its anniversary year with a special church service. And there has been church-to-church contact between the diocese in Pecs and in the city of Essen, Germany -- along with Istanbul, another Cultural Capital for 2010.

"We had a music school from Essen here recently. And I wrote to the auxiliary bishop there that we should make a partnership between the catholic school in Pecs and the music school," Meyer said.

"It would be nice if we could finish up that agreement in 2010 and take the next step in our relationship. So we can stress the idea that our students aren't going to Europe or that European students aren't coming to us, but that we live in Europe.

Sigrid Hoff (jen)

Editor: Nick Amies