Special ceiling paintings hidden in the canonical buildings of the Veszprém castle quarter

Experts are restoring the painted surfaces of a historicising, neo-Renaissance style salon suite consisting of four rooms in the Kanonoki House in the castle district of Veszprém, while in the neighbouring Kiss Seminary, they have discovered the building's former chapel, which will be restored to its former glory by 2025. Another building in the canon row in Veszprém, the Simon House, played an important role in 20th-century history: in 1945, József Mindszenty, Bishop of Veszprém and later Archbishop of Esztergom, spent several months here after being released from captivity by the Arrow Cross Party. The construction of the listed buildings is being carried out by Fejér-B.Á.L. Zrt. in consortium with B&G General Kft..

The Simon House is one of the canonical buildings in the Veszprém Castle district - it was the home of the higher-ranking Catholic priests, the canons, who belonged to the bishop's advisory body, the chancellory. As part of the renewal of the Veszprém Castle district, which will last until 2025, this building will also be renovated, and the excavations of the monument have revealed that the house once had richly painted rooms, and that some of the painted surfaces can be restored.

But it is not only Simon House that is being renovated, but also several buildings in the canonical row. Ceiling paintings have been found in several rooms on the first floor of the adjacent Canon's House. "During the restoration investigations, it became clear that a richly painted salon with four rooms - in a historicist, partly neo-renaissance style - was built here in the late 1800s," says Aaron Vavra, the head of the monument project.

A special chapel was discovered in the Minor Seminary

Also on the canonical row is the late Baroque style Minor Seminary, built in 1770, which also had some surprises for experts. Designed by one of the most distinguished masters of the time, Jakab Fellner, one of the rooms of the building contained a walled niche - on the back wall there is an inscription from 1797, signed by the master of the time.

The excavated paintings have made it clear to experts that the room was used as a chapel in the building in the late 1700s and early 1800s, but no written sources have been found. The recently found wall panel may have been part of an earlier altar that was later walled in. "It was only during the 2022-2023 excavations that it was confirmed that this was a particularly richly painted chapel, which will be restored to its original splendour by 2025," explains Áron Vavra.

The Minor Seminary originally housed students from the poorer classes, but in the 19th century it was already on the maps as the "Hospital for Priests".It was taken out of the ownership of the Church in 1956 and until 2007 various educational institutions operated in the U-shaped building, which was dedicated to the Apostle Paul at its consecration.

More buildings to be handed over this year

As reported by our newspaper in February, the second phase of the reconstruction of the Veszprém castle district has entered its second phase. In 2023, work on the facades and roofs of the 18 buildings concerned was completed. In the second half of the year, restoration work and work on the interiors took place in 13 buildings. The experts made significant progress in the Piarist Monastery (the implementation of which is carried out by B&G General Kft.) and the Franciscan Monastery, which is carried out by SWIETELSKY Hungary Kft. in a joint consortium with Fejér-B.Á.L. Zrt.

Restoration research was carried out in St. Stephen's Church (Franciscan church) and the Minor Seminary, while in St. Michael's Cathedral, it was carried out in the crypt. St. Michael's Cathedral, which was handed over in 2023, was built under the general construction of LATEREX Építő Zrt. general construction and the project engineering activities of Vemév-szer Kft..

Following the renovation of the Biró-Giczey House in the consortium of Fejér-B.Á.L. Zrt. and SWIETELSKY Magyarország, two other buildings, St Joseph's House (formerly the Employees' House) and the Great Prefecture House, are expected to be completed this year. The reconstruction of the latter two will be carried out jointly by LATEREX Építő Zrt. and VEMÉV-SZER Kft..  

At the same time, the Work in Progress series of programmes launched by the Archdiocese of Veszprém will continue this year, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the renovation work in the castle quarter with guided tours and exhibitions.