The earliest features of the church date back to the
Romanesque period. In 1046,
St. Gellért (Gerard), Bishop of
Csanád, was buried there. 14th-century
King Sigismund of Hungary initiated its reconstruction in
Gothic style. During the reign of
King Matthias, two additional lateral aisles were added. Jesuits ran the church beginning in 1702. When the Jesuits were suppressed in 1773 it returned to the parish. It was used as a mosque in Turkish times and a
mihrab from this period is still visible in the south-eastern wall of the sanctuary. After a fire in 1723, the Jesuits restored it between 1725 and 1739 in
Baroque style, under the direction of the master builder
János György Pauer (1692-1752). In 1828,
István Kultsár (born in 1760), the great
Hungarian theater promoter of the
Enlightenment era, was entombed in the church's vault. The church was restored several times: by
János Hild between 1805 and 1808,
Imre Steindl in 1889, and
Lászlo Gerő after 1945. The interior
murals were restored in 1976–77. In 2010, in the parlor of the sanctuary behind the sanctuary, an
Anjou-era (14th–century) fresco of the throne of the
Virgin Mary was found, surprisingly intact. The exterior of the church was neglected until the facade was renovated in 2011 after the renovation of the park before it, executed by Hungarian architect
Mezős Tamás. During the archaeological excavations carried out between 2014 and 2016, the camp commander's room was accessed and a sub-church was built. After the renovation, on August 15, 2016, the church was handed over to the faithful and visitors by Dr. Péter Erdő. When the Elisabeth Bridge was being rebuilt after destruction during
World War II, the
Communist government of Hungary sought to demolish the church, but the
Church, through astute negotiation with the Communist authorities, managed to save this historic treasure. ==See also==