Saint Anne Church, Catholic parish church in Esztergom, Hungary
Saint Anne Church, known locally as the round church (kerektemplom), is a neoclassical Roman Catholic church in southern Esztergom. Its floor plan is a complete circle, with a tall central dome over the nave and two independent towers flanking it. A wide columned portico with a marble staircase leads to the main entrance, and two 2.5-metre stone angels stand in front. The high altar painting is by János Mihály Hesz.
Prince-Primate Sándor Rudnay laid the foundation stone on 12 May 1828, after returning the archbishopric to Esztergom in 1820. János Packh led the construction; Rudnay blessed the dome cross on 7 September 1831, a week before his death. Work finished in 1837, and the parish was only established in 1937.
Locals call it the kerektemplom, the round church, because its floor plan is a full circle. A Hungarian and Slovak memorial plaque on the wall recalls that Esztergom's residents greeted Rudnay here on his return. A legend credits the servant Radovics Judit, who lost her arm shielding the young Rudnay, with prompting the foundation.
The round church stands in Esztergom's southern district, where the Buda and Komárom roads met; a marble stairway leads up to the columned portico. Two 2.5-metre stone angels flank the entrance, and an 1820 statue of Saint Wendelin stands on the west side. The parish also serves the Orbán and Rozália chapels.
Packh modelled the round church on the Pantheon so he could rehearse dome building before work began on the basilica's larger cupola. A silver model of the church, given by canon Mihály Obisits in 1913, is kept inside. On the west side stands an 1820 statue of Saint Wendelin, once part of the Trinity column on Széchenyi Square, demolished in 1900.
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