Walking Tour with the Cathedral

Stories and secrets, the St. Martin´s Cathedral hides them - the main point of our tour. The Cathedral was the coronation place of Hungarian kings therefore the top of the tower is decorated with a huge gilded copy of the Hungarian royal crown. In this cathedral 11 Hungarian kings and 8 queens were crowned.

Of all the women who were crowned in the cathedral, one was not crowned as a queen, but as a king of Hungary. It was Maria Theresa who needed an approval of the Hungarian Diet before the coronation. She used her tiny baby son who started to cry and brought the Queen to tears and also the Hungarian nobles who gave the approval for the coronation of the Queen and later helped her in the war with Prussia.

The statue of the Queen once stood on the bank of the Danube, but after World War I it was replaced with the statue of Milan Rastislav Štefanik and the statue of a lion with the Czechoslovak national emblem. When Hitler after the annexation of the Danube's Southern bank visited Petržalka and was watching with binoculars to the city side he commanded: "Stefanik may stay, but the cat has to be removed!". Today, these statues can be seen again on the waterfront in the area of the shopping centre Eurovea.

Treasure in the cathedral is the sacristy, which hides valuable ecclesiastical objects; in the catacombs are buried important dignitaries, aristocrats and artists. You will see a statue of the Pieta from the 17th century, which was created for the spirit of reconciliation and a beautiful lead statue of St. Martin, who is sharing his coat with a beggar.

After the visit of the cathedral, you will walk the same path, which once upon a time kings walked during coronations. It goes to the Main Square and it is decorated with brass crowns. Can you count them all? We will not leave out even the city Town Hall, the Primate´s palace, the Franciscan Church and other important sights, which should not escape your attention.