Gellért Hill Cave, Catholic cave church on Gellért Hill, Budapest, Hungary
Gellért Hill Cave Church, dedicated to Our Lady of the Hungarians, is cut into the Danube-facing side of Gellért Hill. Its arched entrance, inscribed "SZIKLATEMPLOM" and closed by a metal grille, opens onto a terrace guarded by a statue of Saint Stephen on horseback. Behind it lie the old natural cave and an artificial cavity blasted inside the hill, kept at 21 °C year-round, with a neo-Romanesque monastery added in 1934.
In 1924 a Hungarian pilgrim group to Lourdes proposed a shrine in Budapest, and the Pauline monks built the cave chapel, completed by spring 1931 to plans by Kálmán Lux, with a neo-Romanesque monastery added in 1934. On Easter Monday 1951 the State Protection Authority raided it, the entrance was later sealed with a concrete wall, and the chapel reopened on 27 August 1989.
The chapel displays a replica of the Black Madonna of Czestochowa, linking Hungarian worshippers to a deeply revered Catholic tradition. Pilgrims and visitors come to pray before this image and express their connection to the broader faith.
Visiting times are set, and modest dress is expected when entering. Women whose shoulders are not covered can borrow shawls to respect the site's dress requirements.
One room inside displays carvings made from hardwood by a single devoted member of the Pauline Order. This detailed craftsmanship has remained intact over many decades and speaks to personal dedication to the place.
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