funiQ logo

This article is not available in română. This is the engleză version of the article.

Little Saint Therese Carmelite Basilica, Keszthely

The largest Carmelite church in Hungary is the Little Saint Therese Basilica which was built in an old, unused cemetery.

Designed by the Austiran architect Bruno Buchweiser, the 53 meters long, 18 meters wide, Neo-Romanesque style church was built between 1927 and 1930.

In the 38 meters tall steeple of the basilica there are three bells casted by László Szlezák. The marble altars and statues of the building were sculpted by Lajos Krasznai.

In World War II fortunately the church was not damaged badly though the renovation still took years. In 1950, the socialist state banned  religious order - including the Carmelites - and the basilica could only operate as a parish church.

In 1989, it received the rank of Basilica Minor. After the change of regime, the order could start operating again and they could use their basilica once again. Since 2008, the seat of the Carmelite order is in Keszthely.

In front of the building there is a Baroque Saint Florian Statue sculpted in 1772, statue of Saint John of Nepomuk from the 1740's and a cross standing as a memorial for the old cemetery.