The canopy of the Benedictine complex in Győr will be demolished in January

One of Hungary's most unified Baroque townscapes is Győr's traditional main square. One of the most important buildings on Széchenyi Square, which has been used as a market square since the 14th century, is undergoing extensive renovation. The WEST HUNGÁRIA BAU Kft. is modernising and preserving the early Baroque church, modelled on the Roman Il Gesù, and the associated building complex, as well as carrying out historical reconstruction work.

We have previously reported on the large-scale renovation of the complex, which consists of three buildings: a church, a monastery and a secondary school: In our latest article we reported on the reconstruction of the hussar tower on one of Hungary's earliest Baroque churches, and since the topping-out ceremony, the contractor has made significant progress on several fronts.

The monastery under a new roof

Norbert Geszler, WHB's regional director, informed us about the work done since then. The carpentry of the roof on the south and west wings of the monastery has been completed, the roofs are insulated, foiled and free of leaks, and the roofing is already on the south wing.

During the works on the south wing, it turned out that the roof structure of the Makovecz Chapel also needed renovation, and the investor accepted this and ordered the contractor to replace the entire roofing, which has been completed by the WHB staff.

The mechanical room of the south wing of the monastery and the electrical base of the building have been completed, with the equipment in place and the piping network currently being installed.

The exhibition space is being built, and the chimes will soon be set up

Despite the fact that the contractor will have to manage the continuous supply of materials without a depot, the construction is on schedule. Deliveries are organised from WHB's logistics centre in Győr, so that only as much material as can be installed at short notice is delivered to the site.

"In the church, we have completed the special building services engineering for the treasury room, which will operate as an independent special system, completely separated from the rest of the building"

- the regional director told our newspaper, adding that an exhibition and community space will be created in the roof of the church, which will serve the community in addition to presenting the historical collections (zoological and botanical, mineral and archival). The construction of this space, with the exception of the false floor, has already been completed and the contractor will start installing it in January.

A preliminary, but welcome development is that the 25 bells needed for the chimes have been lifted into place, so that the setting up of the automatic system that will operate them can begin in January.

The construction of the smoke stack will be a major challenge

The external façade windows of the Czuczor Gergely Benedictine High School have also been replaced, so the contractor has completed all the works. In addition to the exhibition area, the two wings of the convent building are currently being prepared for completion, for which the contractor has already drawn up plans.

"In January, according to a special order," Norbert Geszler pointed out, "we will start replacing the bell towers of the two church towers, which will be a spectacular and laborious process."

Similarly, the canopies will be removed early next year, as all the wings are now watertight, and the construction of the misting shaft, which will protect the exhibition spaces, will begin, with a lower level of around -4.5 metres - a major challenge to install in the historic, inner city and priority archaeological environment.

Only a few months to go

The renovation, which began about a year ago, is expected to be completed in spring 2025, by which time the two wings of the monastery will be ready for their owners.

"It is gratifying that," added Norbert Geszler, "since the Hussar Tower was added in July, the small bells there have been working flawlessly. We are confident that the completion of the other details will be equally successful."