Szeged Dom Ter - National Pantheon

Szeged Dom Ter

When you visit Szeged one of the first places you visit must be Dom square where you can see the Votive Church of Our Lady. It is the fourth largest church in Hungary but the square around it is equally important. We have to mention the three people who played vital roles in creating the square and the church.

Klebelsberg Kuno cultural minister, Glattfelder Gyula bishop of Csanad and Rerrich Bela architect.  It is one of the finest architectural work from the time between the two world wars. Dom square is surrounded by buildings where you can find different institutions. In the western part you can find the Theological College, in the south-western part there is the Bishop’s Palace and int he southern and eastern part there are university halls and classrooms and reserach centres.

The buildings surrounding the square are built from clinker. What I really like in the square is the National Pantheon under  the arcades. When you go round you can see sculptures of famous Hungarian people. It was founded in 1930 and the base for the Pantheon was the legacy of Kisfaludi Strobl Zsigmond, one of the most important sculptor at the turn of the 19th century. Since then many other busts and reliefs were added to the collection and now you can see more than 120 works of art. Among the busts and reliefs you can find painters, musicians, kings, writers, poets, scientists and architects.

The majority of them are Hungarian but you can also see there Adam Clark. It is very evocative just to walk under the arcades and think of all these people who did so much to create something good and use their talent and knowledge to produce quality.  When you go around you will see that there is only one woman, Maria Theresa. I think it would be a good idea to look for famous Hungarian women and put their busts there.