Budapest, Margitsziget, ruins of a Franciscan Friary
The friary was founded by Béla IV.
on the Isle of Hares. Out of this medieval monastic complex the
façade of the Gothic church and the vestiges of one sidewall can
still be seen today.
The stones of the friary that had
been destructed during the years of the Turkish occupation were
utilized for the construction of the palatine’s villa
being built round the year 1796. Later this house became an
important literary life centre of the nineteenth-century
Budapest.
The convent was founded by Béla IV. presumably after the Tartar
invasion ended. The king made important donations to the order in other
cities as well, (Esztergom) but his death put an end to the
prosperity and development of the Franciscan house on the Isle of
Hares, mainly because of the expansion of the Dominican
nunnery.
The parts of the medieval building that can be
seen still today are the vestiges of the Gothic facade and of a
side wall of the church. The conservation of these parts were
favoured by the fact that the remaining part of the convent,
destroyed during the years of the Turkish occupation, were built in
the villa of the Palatine being under construction in 1796. Later
this building started to function as a hotel and became an
important literary life centre of the nineteenth-century Budapest.
The ruins of the building were pulled down after 1945 and smaller
archaeological excavations were initiated. It was in this period
that further fragments of the original complex were found: the
graveyard of the monastery and the churchyard chapel.
You can find further photos here: http://www.civertan.hu/legifoto/legifoto.php?page_level=1025&pageNum_images=0
Resource: http://www.kolostorut.hu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=63&Itemid=100&lang=iso-8859-1
