Pécs Cathedral has been a prominent feature of this Hungarian cityscape for centuries. In 1064, after a fire destroyed a Romanesque basilica, the King of Hungary, Peter Orseolo, initiated construction of Pécs Cathedral where the old church had stood. Completed in the twelfth century, it features Romanesque stone carvings of exceptional artistic value. In the 16th century, Turkish conquerors converted it into a mosque.
The Hungarians, who regained control of the city in 1686, altered the building in the course of its return to a site of Christian worship. From 1806 to 1813, Mihaly Pollack, a master Hungarian architect, remodeled the building in the Gothic Revival style but did not address structural problems that had accrued due to the many changes to the building in the preceding centuries.
By the late 19th century, much of the building was in critical need of structural repairs. From 1882 through 1891 architect Friedrich von Schmidt oversaw a restoration project that essentially leveled the building to its foundations and rebuilt it in a neo-Romanesque style. In 1990, Pope John Paul II’s visit to the cathedral was an occasion to draw new attention to the historic importance of the structure.
References:The Walls of Constantinople are a series of defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople (today Istanbul) since its founding as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Constantine the Great. With numerous additions and modifications during their history, they were the last great fortification system of antiquity, and one of the most complex and elaborate systems ever built. They were also the largest and strongest fortification in both the ancient and medieval world.
Initially built by Constantine the Great, the walls surrounded the new city on all sides, protecting it against attack from both sea and land. As the city grew, the famous double line of the Theodosian Walls was built in the 5th century. Although the other sections of the walls were less elaborate, they were, when well-manned, almost impregnable for any medieval besieger.