The Archbishop's Chapel of the Archbishop's Palace in Veszprém hides special works of art

From 2025, on special occasions, visitors will also be able to admire the 250-year-old chapel of the Archbishop's Palace in Veszprém, where until the current restoration only a few people have gained access. The tiny chapel is home to some stunning works of art - one of Central Europe's most prominent Baroque painters, Johann Ignaz Cimbal, whose ceiling painting reveals the infant Jesus as the Father's thought in the brilliant light, according to a press release sent to the press office.

For centuries, the chapel of the building was only admired by a few, as it was the private chapel of the reigning archpastor. Ignác Koller, the bishop who built the palace, János Ranolder and József Mindszenty, who was bishop of Veszprém before his appointment as archbishop of Esztergom, also prayed here. As part of the Archdiocese of Veszprém's investment in the castle district, the palace's interiors will be restored, so that one of the masterpieces of Hungarian Baroque architecture will be renewed and opened to the public on guided tours on special occasions from the summer of 2025.  

The renovation and restoration of the more than 250-year-old Archbishop's Palace, along with several other buildings, was carried out by LATEREX Építő Zrt. and VEMÉV-SZER Kft. consortium, as reported reported on several occasions .

The ceiling of the Archbishop's Chapel has caused serious problems for experts

The Archbishop's Palace had plenty of surprises in store for the professionals. Research into the building's architectural history revealed that the remains of the previous palace, built by Bishop Ádám Acsády, can still be found in the Baroque building designed by Jakab Fellner, the Esterházy family's favourite architect. But the restoration of the archbishop's chapel has also uncovered many curiosities," the statement said.

The ceiling of the chapel was painted by Johann Ignaz Cimbal, but with a surprising technique.

"When preparing the restoration, the most important question to answer was why is it shiny? Could it be caused by some kind of preservative used in a previous restoration? Research into the history of the painter's oeuvre led the investigation in the right direction: it turned out that Cimbal had a ceiling painting in Vienna with a similar shimmering surface, which he had painted with tempera and varnished. Restoration tests confirmed that he had used the same method in Veszprém. The aim of this unusual technique may have been to create the bright, vivid colour effect typical of panel paintings rather than the dull, slightly faded appearance of the fresco."