Magyar News, 2001. szeptember-2002. augusztus (12. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2002-07-01 / 11-12. szám
Above: A Christogram that has been chosen by the World Heritage as the symbol of Pécs. It shows the “A,P, W" letters and the "X" holding the circle together. Left: The very old Dominican building. Right: The Gazzi Kassim mosque In the area stood a djamil, also Pasha Ferhad had one for himself. After the Turks the Dominican Order took over these buildings. In the 18th Century a church and a cloister were added, By the end of the century the ruling Joseph II, dissolved the order. Then during the French war the prisoners were held here, and the church served as a storage building. Today the theater takes the place where the cloister used to stand. Interestingly the city wasn’t chosen to the World Heritage List for the Turkish or other generally known historical monuments. We have to go back to the IV-th century. At the Szent István ter in 1782 they found a burial vault. This is a remainder of a two story building that was erected at the end of the 1300s. All the walls are fully decorated. Opposite the entrance are the images of Apostles Peter and Paul. They are pointing at the Christogram, the monograms of Christ. The wall paintings were traditional, they depicted scenes from the bible. One could see Adam and Eve, Noah, the three wisemen, Jonah, Mary with the baby Jesus. The ceiling is richly decorated with floral and animal ornaments. These surround four circles containing portraits. The restoration work started some time ago is concluding in the near future. Nearby is a smaller vault, but the walls there are not painted. The Christogram was chosen by the World Heritage to be the symbol of Pécs. The letters “X” and “P” are the first letters of Christ’s name in the Greek language. “A” for alpha and “W” for omega, meaning that “II am alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. Not far from the Peter-Paul vault one finds the “Pitcher Vault”, at first the name sounds strange. This vault was discovered in the XVIII Century but was only opened up in the XX Century. It is positioned in the North-South direction and it consists of two parts. The walls of the vault are treated in the traditional manner, they are painted. This was the burial place. Above was the building of a small chapel. Here services were celebrated, or on later date families would gather to remember their lost one. Because of the small size and the absence of the apsis for the altar, the chapel was only meant to accommodate a family at a time. The burial vault is more interesting. On one hand it had a double flooring, on the other hand the walls were covered with paintings. The ornaments were of geometrical nature and also floral, symbolizing Paradise Garden. An other interesting feature is on the northern wall. It is a niche, and in it is a pitcher with a drinking vessel. Hereford the name. It was used for holding the eucharistic or the refrigerium (refreshment). An other chapel is also on the list of the World Heritage. This building didn’t have a vault under it. The building itself served as a vault till A.D. 390 when a stone altar was built in the apsis. In front of it was a railing separated it from the church goers. From here on the burials were executed outside on graves made of stone or bricks. The excavation showed about a 100 graves, many of those in original shape. Pécs and its vicinity have many things to offer the visitor. The university with the many activities enhances the cultural life of the city. The wonderful theater and the art galleries offer a good selection of shows and exhibit. A visit to the Zsolnay Factory presents a variety of eosin glazed art pieces. The vineyards of the Mecsek, the exciting rows of cellars in Villány match the demand of wine connoisseur’s taste. Nearby Siklós is proud of the fortress fortunately keeping it in good shape. Visiting Hungary make sure that you drop by at Pécs. Joseph F. Balogh The foundation of the chapel The cathedral with four steeples The beautiful Zsolnay fountain Page 5
