Downtown Candlemas Church: The Mosque Church of Pécs

Architectural Fusion on Széchenyi Square

The Downtown Candlemas Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, known locally as the Dzsámi or the Mosque of Pasha Qasim (Gázi Kászim pasa dzsámija), stands at the elevated northern crest of Széchenyi Square in Pécs. Serving as the primary visual landmark of the city's historic center, it is the largest surviving Ottoman architectural monument in Hungary and ranks among the northernmost preserved Ottoman mosques in Central Europe.

The exterior presents an architectural profile defined by an Ottoman square stone base that transitions into an octagonal drum. This drum supports a green copper dome rising roughly 23 meters high. At the very peak of the dome stands an unusual hybrid finial: a Christian Latin cross rising directly out of an Islamic crescent moon, symbolizing the complex sequence of religious transformations that shaped the city.

From Medieval Church to Imperial Mosque and Back

The site was originally occupied by the 13th-century Gothic Church of Saint Bartholomew. Following the Ottoman conquest of Pécs in 1543, Christians and Muslims briefly shared the medieval church. Between 1543 and the 1560s, Pasha Gazi Qasim had the Gothic church dismantled and reused its carved stones to construct an imperial central mosque. In the 1660s, Ottoman traveler Evliya Çelebi visited Pécs and praised the mosque for its monumental scale and commanding location.

After Ottoman forces withdrew in 1686, the building passed to the Jesuit order and was reconsecrated as a Roman Catholic church in 1702. During the 18th century, lightning struck and damaged the original stone minaret, prompting the Jesuits to demolish the remaining tower around 1766. A major 1939 renovation led by architect Nándor Körmendy stripped away later Baroque modifications to expose the original Ottoman structure. Körmendy also added a semicircular modernist nave to accommodate Christian congregational services.

Interior Layers and Preserved Relics

Inside the central domed chamber, warm daylight filters through rows of Ottoman pointed ogee windows arranged in patterns of three and four. The space exhibits a blend of Islamic and Christian heritage, with Turkish-style whitewash and red-and-white stone voussoirs appearing alongside Christian altars and a 1942 pipe organ built by the Pécs manufacturer Angster.

Several historical relics remain embedded in the walls. The original Ottoman mihrab, the prayer niche oriented southeast toward Mecca, is preserved in the stone wall near the Catholic high altar. Faint Ottoman-era plaster paintings depicting floral motifs and Arabic Quranic inscriptions remain visible along the walls. Positioned near the sacristies, the church's holy water stoups are genuine stone washbasins salvaged from Pasha Qasim's nearby thermal bath complex. Twentieth-century frescoes by local painter Ernő Gebauer decorate the interior, illustrating pivotal events such as King Stephen dedicating Hungary to the Virgin Mary, the historic victory at Belgrade, and a 1945 citywide prayer procession.

Current Parish Life and Heritage Museum

The building serves as an active parish church under the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pécs, holding regular masses and religious ceremonies. Outside liturgical services, the landmark opens to visitors as a ticketed heritage site. Its undercroft and crypt house an interactive exhibition featuring digital animations that illustrate the site's architectural evolution from Roman and medieval foundations through the Ottoman era to modern times.