Dominican church, Szombathely, Catholic church building in Szombathely, Hungary
The Szent Márton-templom is a Catholic parish church on the eastern side of Szombathely, set along the one-time road to Arrabona at the old eastern cemetery of Savaria. Its symmetrical facade has a central main entrance flanked by side doors, and a tower with a bulbous spire rises at the rear. The main altar painting depicts the Holy Trinity.
A chapel stood here in the Christian cemetery of Roman Savaria; by 829 it was rebuilt as a church, and a document of 860 already names the site as Martin's birthplace. Stephen I replaced it with a wooden church, Ladislaus I with a brick one, and the Győr bishop rebuilt it in Romanesque style in 1230. The Dominicans took it over in 1683; their enlarged church collapsed, and the Baroque building was completed in 1668–1672 under Carlo de Torre. In 1930 Gyula Wälder added a transept and the present west facade.
The parish church keeps the memory of Saint Martin in a chapel north of the chancel, and a two-figure sculpture in front of the church, erected in 1938 by István Rumi Rajki, shows Martin baptising his mother. The main altarpiece depicts the Holy Trinity. The parish runs a visitor centre, and since 2005 the church has been the starting point of the Via Sancti Martini route from Szombathely to Tours.
Visitors should wear appropriate clothing and be aware that photography inside may be restricted. The building is actively used as a place of worship, so it is advisable to respect the quiet and dignity of the space.
A spring once stood in front of the church; a 1260 charter records that Saint Martin baptised his mother with its water. A two-figure sculpture by István Rumi Rajki, placed on the square in 1938, shows the same scene, and the chapel north of the choir keeps the memory of his birthplace.
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