St. Stephen's Basilica (Hungarian: Szent István-bazilika) is an ecclesiastic basilica in Budapest, Hungary. It is named in honour of Stephen, the first King of Hungary (c 975–1038), whose mummified fist is housed in the reliquary.
The church is named for Saint Stephen I of Hungary, the first King of Hungary (c. 975–1038), whose incorruptible right hand is housed in the reliquary.
Equal with the Hungarian Parliament Building, it is the one of the two tallest buildings in Budapest at 96 metres (315 ft). It has a width of 55 metres (180 ft), and length of 87.4 metres (287 ft). It was completed in 1905 after 54 years of construction. Much of this delay can be attributed to the collapse of the dome in 1868 which required complete demolition of the completed works and rebuilding from the ground up.
The architectural style is neoclassical; it has a Greek cross
groundplan. The façade is anchored by two large bell towers. In the
southern tower is Hungary's biggest bell, weighing over
9 tonnes (8.9 LT; 9.9 ST) . Its predecessor had a
weight of almost 8 tonnes (7.9 LT; 8.8 ST), but it
was used for military purposes during World War II. Visitors may
access the dome by elevators or by climbing 364 stairs for a 360°
view overlooking Budapest.
