The cross on top of Hungary’s largest church, the magnificent Esztergom Cathedral, has hidden a 176-year-old time capsule that was only repaired during renovation work this year.
The sealed copper box was inside the cross on the 100-meter dome, the highest in Hungary, which survived during World War II.
The container was also badly damaged by shrapnel, but when they opened it, historians discovered documents in an almost perfect condition related to the construction of the cathedral.
Csaba Torok, director of the cathedral’s treasury, said the newspapers gave a rare glimpse into the time when the church was built from 1822 onwards.
The cylindrical capsule was placed in the cross in 1845 by Archbishop Jozsef Kopacsy and chief architect Jozsef Hild, who took over after his predecessor was assassinated.
“Archbishop Kopacsy knew he would not be able to complete the construction in his lifetime. When the cross was finished, he wanted to leave an imprint of the memory of the builders and of that era,” Torok said.
The best moment was when they found the documents: one depicting milestones in construction and a book with names of clergy and congregations.
“It was last touched by human hands when it was placed there 176 years ago, so we somehow felt a sudden connection over time,” he said.
“Unfortunately we did not find any coins from the period in the capsule, so there was nothing to help pay for the refurbishment,” he added, smiling.
The Catholic Cathedral was built on Castle Hill, where a church was founded more than a thousand years ago. Its iron dome was built in Vienna and brought to ake in sections along the Danube.
For the inauguration in 1856, the Hungarian composer and pianist Franz Liszt composed a mass. But the cathedral had not yet been completed, with the main portal and interior only later in the 19th century.
A new time capsule can be placed in the cross for future generations. But the copper cover will be sealed on June 30, so they will have to move quickly, Torok said.
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