Roman Catholic Church, Fót, Romantic-style Catholic parish church in Fót, Hungary
The Roman Catholic Church in Fót is a Romantic-style monument built between 1845 and 1855 to Miklós Ybl's plans. It has four towers, a three-nave basilican layout with a semicircular apse, and two stacked churches. The facade carries a 3-metre statue of the Immaculate Virgin, and a relief of the Adoration of the Magi sits above the columned entrance.
Count István Károlyi commissioned the church in 1845 as a family burial place, asking the young Miklós Ybl to design it. Ybl first planned to rebuild the existing Baroque church, but it was demolished and a new one built. Work paused during the 1848–49 war and Károlyi's imprisonment until 1850. The church was blessed on 8 December 1855, the first anniversary of the Immaculate Conception dogma.
The church is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, and its blessing on 8 December 1855 coincided with the first anniversary of the dogma's proclamation. The parish holds two búcsú (patronal feasts) each year, on 20 August and 8 December. The pulpit was made in Rome in 1850, and the side altar painting of Saint Francisca is said to portray Count István Károlyi and his family, painted by Karl von Blaas.
The church welcomes visitors during regular opening hours and gives time to explore the architectural details and interior. It is helpful to check the opening times before visiting, as regular religious services take place throughout the week.
The organ was built by Austrian organ builder Ludwig Mooser and first sounded on 17 December 1854; its case was designed by Miklós Ybl, making it the first organ in Hungary with a cabinet drawn by an architect. Franz Liszt tried it while staying with the Károlyi family and praised it.
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