Horváth M. Ferenc (szerk.): Vác The heart of the Danube Bend. A historical guide for residents and globetrotters (Vác, 2009)
Tartalom
ST MICHAEL'S CHURCH masses, since the cathedral in the castle dating back to the 11th century had been pulled down by the Muslim invaders in the 1600s. The record of the canonical visitation in 1697 mentions four altars and describes a splendid church with rich equipment. Another visitation in 1718 provides a more detailed description. It informs us that the main altar was made in honour of St Michael; to the left were the altars of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St Anthony, to the right that of St Joseph's. Next to St Joseph's a new altar was being built and it was to be dedicated to St Anne. We learn from the record written in 1729 that the main altar was in the far eastern end of the church, adhering to the outer wall of the chancel, and - according to the regulations - it was three steps high above the ground level of the chancel. The canopy of the main altar and the two windows next to it were decorated with fringed crimson curtains. The bishop's throne, embellished with a similar curtain and canopy, stood to the right of the altar at a four-step height. The walls of the chancel were adorned not only with the altar-pieces but also with other paintings depicting the lives of saints. This was the time when the altar of John of Nepomuk, a saint becoming popular in the Baroque period in Hungary, also appeared. The documents of the canonical visitation of 1736 - just like the records mentioned above - inform the reader about the furnishings as well as valuable treasures, chalices, ornate vestments, monstrances and candlesticks. The reconstruction of the old church bearing late Gothic elements was started around 1750 in Baroque style according to the plans of the architect Ignác Oracsek in Baroque style. According to the surviving documents the construction was getting along very slowly for lack of money, and in 1760 the new Bishop Károly Eszterházy ordered the work to be abandoned. Archaeological excavations in the past few years revealed that the eastern part of the old church, i.e. the chancel and the eastern part of the nave had been pulled down and the construction of a much bigger and more modern brick church with a crypt had been started. In the meantime, the bigger, western part of the nave remained under the ruined roof for a decade and the celebration of the mass as well as the administration of the sacraments were performed there. According to the examination held in 1755, during the demolition work and the building of the foundations the old walls had subsided, the cracked vaulting of the nave became even more damaged and the inside of the church got into deplorable condition. Even so, work was continued on the eastern part for years until Károly Eszterházy decided to raise a brand new, more spacious and impressive church with a more favourable location in the place of today's Konstantin Square. Then, around 1760 both the old and the new parts of St Michael's Church were pulled down, and the relatively new brick walls extracted, sometimes from a depth of several metres. The building material was probably carried to the building site of the new cathedral, which was dedicated in 1772 - in memory of the two former cathedrals - to the Virgin Mary and St Michael.
