VISUALS: 800-year-old Árpád Age church close to Budapest might be rebuilt, but it may lose its charm

There are only a few surviving ruins of the former Romanesque churches of the medieval Hungarian Kingdom. Three are always shown in the history books: the churches of Ják, Lébény and Zsámbék. The latter is the closest to Budapest, and it is worth a trip to get a glimpse of the wealth and power of the medieval Hungarian Kingdom. One should hurry to do so because the medieval ruins can be transformed into a modern memento soon. Below, you may check out some visuals to see what may happen to the 800-year-old Árpád Age church of Zsámbék and its surroundings.

800-year-old Árpád Age church will be renewed

As our partner site, Helló Magyar’s author, Jácint Mayer, wrote in a 2022 article, the church building of Zsámbék is in a dangerous condition, so it needs quick and proper intervention. Therefore, the municipal council of Zsámbék acted and called for the architecture competition for the ’Renovation of the Zsámbék medieval church ruins and their environment’ in spring 2023. After concluding the process and carefully evaluating the 22 entries, the settlement’s mayor signed the contract last November concerning the complex renovation of the Zsámbék medieval church ruins and their environment.

The tender’s winner was Közti Ltd, a Budapest-based company, which will do the planning of the new buildings for EUR 2.78 million. The deadline for the project is 17 May 2025. However, we can already get a glimpse of what they are preparing to carry out in Zsámbék. They shared some visuals on their website, which you may check out HERE.

New buildings, tens of thousands of tourists

According to their statement, the project would enable the Order of Prémontré to move back to Zsámbék (the church and the surrounding monastery belonged to them). “The design program includes the establishment of a new monastery building above the ruins of the old monastery or in close connection with it, even by reusing its original stones, on one or two floors – writes építészfórum.hu. The monastery will accommodate monk’s rooms, work rooms and guest rooms, as well. An area closed off from the outside world, a so-called clausure also has to be built”, Közti Ltd wrote.

Since the project focuses on the development of local tourism, a new visitor centre will be built housing a modern, interactive and exciting exhibition presenting the history of the church and the order. “Those stones of the present lapidarium which are not needed for the renovation will also be accommodated here, as well as a 120-180 person capacity conference hall. With all this development, 60,000 visitors per year can be expected”, they concluded.

A similar revamp in Diósgyőr brought controversial result

This is where our questions may arise. Concerning the visuals they published, the church and its surrounding may lose their Romantic charm and medieval outlook following the revamp. Something like that happened in the case of the Castle of Diósgyőr where newly-built concrete structures ruled the medieval hunting castle after the renovation.

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