Sights of Esztergom, Esztergom, Hungary

Look at the map of Hungary about 50 kilometers north of Budapest, and you will notice how the Danube twists and turns in its flow, before changing direction completely from roughly eastward to roughly southward. The banks of the river on that stretch are colloquially known as the Danube Bend and are home to several lovely towns that frequently feature on lists of top Budapest day-trip destinations. My plans included visiting three of them, starting with Esztergom. Those plans unfortunately only partially came to fruition.

The capital of Hungary between the 10th and 13th centuries, Esztergom is one of the oldest towns in the country. It is also the seat of the Primate, making the towering 19th-century basilica the most important Catholic place of worship in Hungary.

Walking up to the basilica, I noticed that it was cordoned off as if for construction work. Surely enough, a bored lady at the visitor center booth informed me that the place was closed for renovations, with only the crypt accessible to visitors. I habitually exclude the churches from my pre-trip research into accessibility; grandest cathedrals of the world aside, my attitude towards missing out on seeing a church’s interior is usually pretty relaxed, notwithstanding my well-established affinity for exploring ecclesiastical architecture. But had I known about the closure beforehand – the information online is not too hard to find – I might have changed my plans completely away from Esztergom, given that the basilica was one of the three sights that I specifically targeted in town. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).