Officially
this is called The Church of Our Lady. More colloquially,
it is called the Matthias Church because its southern
tower bears the coat of arms of Matthias Corvinus.
This church was built for Budapest's German residents
and was later taken over during the many Turkish invasions
of the area. The decorations inside are clearly Byzantine,
but maintain their local signatures even though this
was the main mosque for the Turkish invaders. This
is the church where Franz Joseph was crowned Emperor
of the Austro-Hungarian empire in 1867. Karl IV also
received his coronation here in 1916, which is why
this is sometimes called the Coronation Church. It
is also the location where Sigmund of Luxembourg and
Charles Robert were also crowned in the 1300s. Toward
the front, you can look way up and to the left to
see the private box from where royalty viewed the
masses. They could enter and leave in peace through
a special portal and enjoy the sermon without being
bothered throngs of their subjects. In theory this
anonymity could also allow them to snooze through
mass, though this has never been documented. However,
it has been documented that the royalty would occasionally
slip out a little early. Unfortunately, the side chapels
and naves have been closed off by iron gates, but
you can still peek through to see the tomb of King
Béla III, who died in 1196. The sarcophagus of his
wife, Anne of Châtillon, is by his side. If you're
lucky you might catch an impromptu concert by the
men's choir. Be careful when visiting. Even the locals
guard their possessions in this dimly-lit church ideal
for pickpockets.