The construction works for the building of the cloister and the church started int he second half of the 14th century. Written records say that these medieval gothic buildings were finished in 1494. They were devastated by the Turkish forces in 1526 but the Franciscans rebuilt them in 1531. Int he 18th century the church was rebuilt in baroque style, but its one-nave gothic style was retained. The spectacular late gothic vaults of its shrine can still be seen today. A red marble commemorative tablet has been placed ont he inner southern wall for Vak Bottyán János, an insurrectionist general from the Rákóczy Insurrection. The church`s old steeple dates back to the 14th century, and its baroque façade steeple to 1746. The church was seriously damaged in the 1917 fire, and its rebuilding took place between 1920 and 1937.
The one storey tall cloister, still in good shape today, and adjoining northern wall of the church, was built in the period between 1701 and 1727. As we enter through the ornamented cloister gate by the main entrance of the church, we find ourselves in the southern section of the building which houses the Franciscan Library, an invaluable storage of 16 000 books, many of which are old originals.
A permanent exhibition introduces us to the life of the Franciscan Order in the foyer of the library.
Mass:
Monday – Saturday: 7.00 and 18.00
Sunday: 7.00, 9.00, 10.30, 18.00
Tel: +36 37/311-971, e-mail: gyongyos_pleb@ofm.hu
