Matits Ferenc: Protestant Churches - Our Budapest (Budapest, 2003)

stone was held on io September 1999 and the church was consecrated in exactly a year, on 10 September 2000, by Bishop Imre Szebik. The expenses of the construction were jointly covered by the Lutheran Church of Hungary, the District III council, the Ministry of Culture and the congregation.

The external appearance of the Békásmegyer church does not reveal its sacral function. The simple complex squats modestly under its tile-covered hipped roof amongst the concrete blocks of the housing estate surrounding it. The open-air bell, which was brought here from the garden of the former house of worship, symbolises continuity in the history of the congregation. The massive walls of the church, which is covered with rough brickwork outside and inside alike, are 60 centimetres thick. Joints between the covering bricks have been left unclipped on the inside. The rectangular church body is covered with brick barrel vaulting, which is broken through by three small windows providing natural illumination.

The glass-and-copper chandeliers and lights, the collection box and the entrance portal were made by applied artist Károly Félegyházi. The upper parts of the Lord's table and the baptismal slab are made of red marble but rest upon plinths made of Beléd brickwork. The larch-wood pews and chairs were designed by interior decorator Éva Magyari.

The two-manual, eighteen-register organ made in the Organ Factory of Óbuda, was unveiled on the occasion of the festival of the Reformation in 2002. The organ housing on the gallery above the entrance is the work of Éva Magyari.

Joining the church, which is in the centre of the complex, on one side is the congregation house, which can be opened into the church itself; on the other side is the parsonage connected to the church via an open passageway.

The Calvinist Church of Óbuda

No. 4 Calvin köz, District III

Calvinist religious activities in Óbuda can be traced back to as long ago as the mid-i6th century. The Calvinist parishes of Buda and Óbuda were already functioning under the Turkish occupation of the country. The former expired when the Turks were expelled from the country and so did the latter in another ten years. According to regulations in force at the time, Calvinists were not allowed to have either a church or a preacher in Óbuda after 1698. In spite of that, the community would occasionally gather together to attend service in the ashlar-covered house of a wealthy citizen of Óbuda.

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