One of the most iconic buildings of Hungarian medieval church architecture, located in a very nice environment, is the ruined Zsámbék old church and Premontre monastery, built about 1220. This irreplaceable monument is in grave danger of collapse, owing to neglect in the past 300 years and the overall ineffective interventions of the past decades. The open architecture competition, called for stopping the decline and renew the ruins, was won by KÖZTI. Kelemen Bálint project architect, monument protection specialist described the winning design and explained its historic background in an interview at Szent István Rádió.
The three-nave basilica was seriously damaged by an earthquake in 1763. Möller István, one of the prominent figures in Hungarian monument protection, started the restoration of the ruined building in 1889. Although he did considerable work, his plan for a complete restoration was not realized. The Zsámbék Municipality, with the support of the Ministry of Construction and Transport, announced an open design competition, for which 16 valid entries were submitted. The winning design by KÖZTI reconstructed the church with additions made of brick, an elegant way of indicating where new parts had been added, in accordance with the modern principles of monument conservation. Specific solution was given for the roofing of the towers, developing the cooperation between architect and restorer
It is planned that one of our most beautiful medieval churches will be reborn, so those interested can get an idea of medieval Hungarian architecture. The sacred character of the ruin would also be restored, as the monks of the Order of Prémontré would return to the monastery after the reconstruction.
The old church of Zsámbék is unique because it is one of the most beautiful, at least partly preserved, monument of the Romanesque style mixed with Gothic elements in Hungary.
The interview with Kelemen Bálint can be found at the following link, from 13:50 to 29:50 and 34:38 to 49:25, with the detailed presentation of the competition design:
https://szentistvanradio.hu/player/336914/2024-02-23%2009:05:00