Szatmári Gizella: Walks in the Castle District - Our Budapest (Budapest, 2001)
muk, St. Joseph and St. Augustine. Rising above them are the Virgin Mary, St. John the Baptist and St. Francis Xavier. However, the figures that can actually be seen on the ledges around the column are no more than replicas; the fragile originals, made of coloured, soft sandstone, have been removed to the Kiscell Museum. Fluttering higher up among the clouds are angels and the column is topped with the allegory of the Holy Trinity. The reliefs beneath the ledge tell the story of what happened before and during the erection of the column. They “illustrate” the horrors of the plague, render the penitent figure of King David as he receives the merciful Lord’s angel bringing the good news of how his trials had come to an end, and finally depict the construction of the column itself. The reliefs were carved by Antal Hörger. (Adorning Mária tér in its renewed condition today, an Immaculata statue in the Víziváros area also pays tribute to Hör- ger’s art.) In 1916, a neo-Baroque balustrade designed by Móric Pogány was set up around the column on the occasion of Charles IV taking the oath as King of Hungary. The structure, which was made of impermanent materials at the time, was later carved into limestone and added to the column permanently in 1925. The Old Town Hall on the western side of Szentháromság tér was raised over Gothic foundations. Some fine, vaulted sedilia in its gateway evoke the spirit of the past. The northwestern wing was raised in 1692 by the court architect to the Emperor, Venerio Ceresola, who made use of the remnants of three smaller medieval houses. (Employed in Buda since 1686, Ceresola built several edifices in Dísz tér, and what is more, he established the Buda stonemasons’ and stone-carvers’ guild. A widely known and recognised master craftsman, Ceresola filled the post of deputy mayor in 1700.) Alternative sources date the beginning of the construction to 1702. The extension of the building between 1698 and 1707, is connected to the name of a Buda Senator, and landlord in Úri utca, Johann Hölbling, also known as János Hölbling. By 6 June 1710, the Town Hall was ready to house the first assembly meeting. On the first floor of the building in 1714 there was even a small chapel, for which the bricklayer’s job was 37
