PHOTOS: Greatest Hungarian king’s earthly remains to be uncovered due to outstanding discovery!

King Matthias (1458-1490) is unquestionably one of the greatest Hungarian monarchs. A member of the Hunyadi family, Matthias was almost elected Holy Roman emperor. During his reign, Hungary was one of Europe’s “superpowers” and a hub of the Renaissance. Matthias died more than half a millennia ago, and we might be able to find his bones now.

According to Blikk, we know exactly where the great Hungarian king was buried in 1490 when he died in probably a stroke. His body was laid to rest in the Saint Stephen basilica in Székesfehérvár, which served as the coronation city of the Hungarian Kingdom in the Middle Ages.

However, even though we know where his bones are, we have not identified any of his them yet. That is why a recent announcement from the Institute of Hungarian Research (Magyarságkutató Intézet) is important. According to their relevant Facebook post, they identified the entire DNA sequence of the Hunyadi family. Thanks to a new generation sequencing, they defined that János Corvin’s (Matthias’s son) and Kristóf Corvin’s (Matthias’s grandson) haplogroup was E1b1b1a1b1a6a1c. That refers to Eurasian ancestors. The haplogroup was found before in human remains in Sardinia and Kazakhstan.

Photo: FB/Magyarságkutató

Photo: FB/Magyarságkutató

János Corvin died in 1504, while his son followed him only one year later, in 1505. They were buried in Croatia, in Lepoglava, in the church of the Virgin Mary’s immaculate conception. Researchers removed the marble cover and took out the bones and skulls of the father and son. The project lasted for years, but ended successfully. The first samples were taken in 2021.

Because of the identification of their DNA, researchers can define the earthly remains of their ancestors, especially Matthias I. Here are some photos:

Interested in Hungarian history? HERE is an article about some incredible details concerning King Matthias’s death that emerged from an Italian archives. In THIS article, you may read about a Canadian family who found a 1,100-year-old Hungarian ancestor thanks to genetic research. Finally, HERE is an interactive map of Budapest’s oldest sites.