The cross at the top of Hungary’s largest church, the magnificent Esztergom Cathedral, has hidden a 176-year-old time capsule that has only been recovered during this year’s renovation work.
The sealed copper container was inside the cross of the 100-meter dome, the tallest in Hungary, which survived being bombed during World War II.
The container was also badly damaged by shrapnel, but when they opened it, historians discovered documents in an almost perfect condition related to the construction of the cathedral.
Csaba Torok, director of the Cathedral Treasury, said the newspapers gave a rare insight into the time when the church was built from 1822 onwards.
The cylindrical capsule was placed on the cross in 1845 by Archbishop Jozsef Kopacsy and Chief Architect Jozsef Hild, who took over after the assassination of his predecessor.
“Archbishop Kopacsy knew he would not be able to complete construction during his lifetime, so when the cross was finished he wanted to leave within a imprint of the memory of the builders and of that time,” Torok said.
The best time was when they found the documents: one that represented milestones in construction and a book that contained names of clergy and parishes.
“The latter were touched by human hands when they were placed there 176 years ago, so somehow we felt a sudden connection in time,” he said.
“Unfortunately, we have not found any period coin in the capsule, so there is nothing to help pay for the renewal,” he added with a smile.
The Catholic Cathedral was built on the castle hill, where a church was founded more than 1,000 years ago. Its iron dome was built in Vienna and transported in sections along the Danube by barges.
For its consecration in 1856, the Hungarian composer and pianist Franz Liszt composed a mass. But the cathedral was not yet finished, with the main portico and interior only finished later in the 19th century.
A new time capsule could be placed on the cross for future generations. But their copper roof will be sealed on June 30, so they will have to move quickly, Torok said.
Our standards: the principles of trust of Thomson Reuters.