Szent Mihály-templom

I realize that it has nothing to do with the main point of this post which is St. Michael's Church in downtown Budapest, but I really liked the manhole cover in Váci utca (where the church is located). Thus, you get to start your brief tour of this church with a totally unrelated manhole cover.



Moving on to the church....

This church in its current incarnation, was constructed in the early to mid-18th century. It was built by the Dominicans. They were run off so the Paulines took over. They were run off, so the Mary Ward Nuns took over and ran a girls school next door until 1950. Much of the altar and other furniture dates from the 18th century.

Although not the most ornate church we've seen, it is quite nice and have some very nice side altars.

This one depicting Mary has her standing in a grotto. This is a common sight in some parts of the US but there, she is more usually standing ina  front yard in an upended bath tub.

The altar and the ceiling over it are in the baroque style and most impressive.

It seems that the frescos on the ceiling are not not all in good shape.

There is a nice organ here and there are concerts weekly. We are considering a visit to hear one of the concerts. If we go, I'll report back with a review.

This altar is quite nice with angels and clouds at the top.

Underneath the organ loft above you can see that on either side of the door are grotesques appearing to hold up the loft. Below is a close-up of one set of these strong fellows.