St. Matthias Church

There are some buildings which seem inexplicably tied to the fortunes of a place and the Matthias Church is one such construction. It’s not only seen coronations and royal weddings, it’s also been occupied by Islam and turned into a mosque, its religious treasures shipped out and frescos painted over. One of the most interesting stories from the occupation is that as the tides of war were turning and the Holy League were heading back into the city a wall collapsed under cannon fire revealing a statue of Mary that gave the praying Muslims a bit of a nasty turn – and the city supposedly fell the same day.

According to the church’s own tradition the first church on this spot was here from early on in the 11th Century, but the current Gothic masterpiece dates from the second half of the 14th Century. After the Islamic siege the church was repaired but it wasn’t fully spruced, with its diamond patterned roof tiles and gargoyles clinging to the fine spires, until the 19th Century.

The church has its own Ecclesiastical Art Museum inside.