Horváth M. Ferenc (szerk.): Vác The heart of the Danube Bend. A historical guide for residents and globetrotters (Vác, 2009)
Tartalom
SIGHTSEEING KONSTANTIN SQUARE AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD In the 18th century the ecclesiastical centre developed in the Main Square that was completely separate from the centre of civilian life. In the Middle Ages this area had been mostly a moorland separating the Hungarian settlement below the Castle from the German Town in the place of the present Main Square. After the period of the Ottoman occupation Frigyes Althann started to develop the new episcopal palace in a place rising above the Danube. There were an increasing number of houses in the neighbourhood. Regrettably, later they fell victim to town planners once their new concept of the square was formulated. After all it was Bishop Károly Eszterházy who made the final decision about this concept by designating the place of the new cathedral. On the square we can find the cathedral with the prebendal buildings behind it, schools owned and run by the church on both sides, and the Bishop’s Palace opposite the Cathedral. The inner section of the square was landscaped several times, but because of the buildings it had to be landscaped in a simple fashion. The square was named after Bishop Konstantin Schuster. Its well-proportioned size and enclosed built-up structure look really impressive. The Monument to the Soviet Heroes ofWWIl occupied the middle of the square for decades. In the days of the Revolution of uyj6 it was knocked down, but after the defeat of the revolutionaries it was put up again. Eventually it was demolished following the change in regime in The “revolutionary" new look of the Cathedral The square is dominated by the late Baroque Cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and St Michael Bishop Károly Eszterházy commissioned the Austrian architect, Franz Anton Pilgram, to design the church; he also made the development plans for the area. Because of the subterranean water the groundwork was done by mining contractors from Selmecbánya. Soon after Bishop Eszterházy was appointed to the diocese at Eger and his successor, Kristóf Migazzi had the plans redesigned. Although he built on the original foundation, the new plans were made by Isidore Canevale. The church was consecrated in 1772 but the interior work continued for another five years. Another important figure, the foreman of the constructions, was Gáspár Oswald Piarist monk whose activity as an architect and a building contractor was of considerable significance in the whole Diocese ofVác. The architectural style of the cathedral was ahead of its age. The tendency to simpler forms emerged
