Szeged - a wonderful city in Hungary (Part 4 - the Cathedral)

This is probably the most famous attraction in Szeged, both the Cathedral building and the Dome square are amazing, so I decided to make an independent post on these.

The Cathedral or Dome of Szeged, also known as the Votive Church or Cathedral of Our Lady of Hungary (Hungarian: Szegedi dóm or Fogadalmi templom) is a twin-spired church in Szeged. Construction began in 1913, but due to the outbreak of the First World War, it was not completed until 1930.

It lies on Dóm square beside the Dömötör tower, which is is the oldest building in Szeged. The foundation was most probably laid during the 11th century, while the lower part was built (in Romanesque style) from the 12th century, and the upper part (Gothic style) from the 13th century.

It is the fourth-largest building in Hungary. The dome is 54 metres (177 ft) outside (33 m above the inside floor) and the towers are both 91 m (299 ft) high. The church contains five bells, the largest of which is the Heroes Bell which weighs 8,537 kilograms (18,821 lb), is tuned to F0 and was made in 1927. It also contains the largest organ in Europe with 9740 pipes and 134 ranks. The church is located in Dóm Square Szeged, which is exactly the same size (app. 12.000 square meters) as Piazza San Marco in Venice, Italy.

The square is really nice with the arcades. Some of the famed and traditional institutes of the Szeged University are situated in its buildings and under the arcades there are statues of the university founders and some famous students.

The entrance of the Pharmacology Institute

The entrance of the Physiology Institute

The entrance of the Organic Chemistry and the Medical Chemistry Institutes

Statues of the founder of the University, István Báthory and the founder of the College, Gábor Bethlen

Statues under/on the arcades

In the middle of the square there is a clock, and if you are lucky, you can hear the music of the bells (we were there around 4 p.m. and it was playing), it is really nice!

The entrance of the Cathedral

The main gate and the two lions guarding it

The church interior is really fantastic:

I was really amazed by the decoration of the main altar:

They still had the Christmas decoration

The Dome square is the location of the famous Open Air Summer Festival, where you can see fantastic performances (opera, musical, theatre, concerts with the Cathedral as a background). It is absolutely worth visiting: http://www.szegediszabadteri.hu/en/index/index/

If you are interested in the previous parts of this series, here you can find them:
https://steemit.com/travel/@ksolymosi/szeged-a-wonderful-city-in-hungary-part-1-buildings-and-streets
https://steemit.com/travel/@ksolymosi/szeged-a-wonderful-city-in-hungary-part-2-restaurants-and-cafes-i
https://steemit.com/travel/@ksolymosi/szeged-a-wonderful-city-in-hungary-part-2-restaurants-and-cafes-ii

Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Votive_Church,_Szeged
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dömötör_Tower