176-year-old time capsule found at cathedral

THE cross on top of Hungary’s largest church, the magnificent Esztergom Cathedral, has been hiding a 176-yearold time capsule that was only recovered during renovation work this year.

The sealed copper canister was inside the cross on the 100m dome, the highest in Hungary, which survived being bombed during World War 11. The container was badly damaged by shrapnel but when they opened it, historians discovered documents in near-perfect condition relating to the cathedral’s construction.

Csaba Torok, director of the Cathedral's treasury, said the papers gave a rare glimpse of the time when the church was built from 1822 onwards. The main portico and interior were completed later in the 19th century.

The cylindrical capsule was placed in the cross in 1845 by Archbishop Jozsef Kopacsy and chief architect Jozsef Hild. “Kopacsy knew he would not be able to complete the construction in his lifetime, so when the cross was finished he wanted to leave inside 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 the construction and a book containing names of clergymen and parishes. “These were last touched by human hands when they were placed there 176 years ago, so somehow we felt a sudden connection in time,” he said. A new time capsule might be placed in the cross for future generations.