St. Matthias Church Interiors (Budapest)

The interior of Mathias Church is unique. It is very colorful; this colorful character of the church is due to the beautiful cultural interchange of East and West. The various geometric and floral ornaments are a reminder of the Mosque that existed here before. The unique interiors were created at the end of nineteenth century, by Bertalian Szekely a leading painter of his times.

Our World Tuesday

Faces of India - 48

A lady winnowing her farm produce. Shot taken in Melkote, Karnataka.

Faces of India, a series through which I intend to portray the various characters of my country. See more here.

Matthias Church, Budapest

Yet another beautiful church of Budapest, the Matthias Church! Originally built in the year 1015, the exteriors got many restorations. The present look is the result of the extensive restoration work in late 1900s. Named after King Matthias, who ruled from 1458 to 1490, the church was the scene of several coronations including that of Charles IV in 1916 (the last Habsburg king). It was also the site for King Matthias's two weddings.



Buda was captured by Turks in 1541, during the century and a half of Turkish occupation, the vast majority of its ecclesiastical treasures were shipped to Pressburg (present day Bratislava). The church became the city's main mosque. The church was also a place of the so called Mary-Wonder. The interesting story is that, in 1686 during the siege of Buda by the Holy League a wall of the church collapsed due to cannon fire. As if by miracle an old votive Madonna statue hidden behind the wall got exposed. As the sculpture of the Virgin Mary appeared before the praying Muslims, the morale of the garrison collapsed and the city fell on the same day.


Architect Frigyes Schulek is credited with largely restoring St. Matthias Church to its original splendor. He added magnificent diamond patterned roof tiles and gargoyles. Here is a view of the beautiful tile patterns.

SkyWatch Friday

Paprika, National Spice of Hungary

Did you know Paprika is the national spice of Hungary? This post is dedicated to this spicy spice. This spice is used by Hungarians in their most celebrated dish Goulash. This fiery seasoning is devoured by Hungarians on an average of half a kilogram a year.



A note on this spicy spice reads thus: Hungarian paprika is made from peppers that are harvested and then sorted, toasted, and blended to create different varieties. All Hungarian paprikas have some degree of rich, sweet red pepper flavor, but they range in pungency and heat. The eight grades of Hungarian paprika are különleges ("special quality"; mild and most vibrant red), csípősmentes csemege (delicate and mild), csemege paprika (similar to the previous but more pungent), csípős csemege (even more pungent), édesnemes ("noble sweet"; slightly pungent and bright red), félédes (semi-sweet with medium pungency), rózsa (mildly pungent and pale red), and erős (hottest and light brown to orange). In the US, what is marketed as Hungarian sweet paprika is usually the édesnemes variety.


Almost all the souvenir shop we visited in Hungary had this spice suspended in bunches.Initially I assumed these bunches are for some kind of good luck, later I was told by Antal Halmos, it is the national spice of Hungary. In India too paprikas are consumed, these are sold in shops too but never displayed in such an aesthetic manner. I simply had to photograph. Have a good look at the last shot. It stuns me even today!