Status ruined | Affiliation Catholic Church | |
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Location Székesfehérvár, Hungary Burials Stephen I of Hungary, Béla III of Hungary Similar Cathedral Basilica of St Steph, Saint Imre Church, Városház Square, Saint Sebastian Church, Kármelita templom | ||
The Basilica of Saint Stephen is a basilica in Székesfehérvár, (in Latin: Alba Regia) Hungary.
It was built in the late 1010s by Saint Stephen I, the first King of Hungary. The basilica was an impressive building, one of the greatest in Hungary. It was not episcopal until 1777, but it was used as the principal church of the rulers of Hungary.
It was the most significant place of the Kingdom of Hungary in the Middle Ages, as it contained the crown jewels, including the throne, the Holy Crown of Hungary, the treasury and the archives. 37 kings and 39 queens consort were crowned in this basilica and 15 were buried in it. In 1543, the Turks occupied Székesfehérvár. The royal graves were ransacked and the basilica was used to store gunpowder while St. Martin's Cathedral in Pozsony became the new coronation site.
In 1601, the valuable building was destroyed by fire. During this time, the Ottoman rule of the city was interrupted for about one year. Illustrations of the 17th century suggest that the fire and probable blow up was caused by Christian artillery in the course of the Christian conquest.
Its ruins were demolished and used for the construction of the new episcopal residence and for the reconstruction of another old church which in the XVIII Century became the cathedral of the Diocese of Szekesfehervar, erected in 1777.
Burials
Thirteen kings and two queens consort were buried in Székesfehérvár Basilica.
- Stephen I
- Coloman
- Béla II
- Géza II
- Bela III, whose remains were later moved to Matthias Church, Budapest
- Agnes of Antioch, whose remains were later moved to Matthias Church, Budapest
- Ladislaus III
- Béla IV
- Charles I Robert
- Maria of Bytom
- Louis I
- Elizabeth of Bosnia, whose remains were moved to Székesfehérvár Basilica from the Church of St Chrysogonus in Zadar
- Albert
- Matthias I
- Vladislaus II
- Louis II
Family members of the kings of Hungary have also been buried in the basilica, such as Catherine, the eldest daughter and heiress presumptive of King Louis I by Elizabeth of Bosnia.