Written in the spring of 2025, but through the eyes of a baroque noblewoman
Oh, how strange is this world, into which Providence, or perhaps a strange celestial machine, has cast my soul! I stood on the lofty hill of the city of Veszprém, where the Cathedral of St. Michael, and the palaces and garden monuments that rest beside it, would welcome me with almost breathtaking reverence.
It is a strange time, where people live at a run, running forward in their thoughts, and the wheel of time is almost not turning but running. In this world, everything that is silent, eternal and permanent has a special weight. The Várnegyed in Veszprém is also undergoing such a renewal: eighteen listed buildings are being restored to their dignity, and although Vár Street from the Piarist Gymnasium is only open to the public after 5 p.m. on weekdays and all day on weekends, the rebuilt facades greet the observer with dignity, even if in some places one's son and daughter tread on dusty pavement and gravel.
The first place my footsteps led me to was the Biró-Giczey House - a former canon's dwelling, now so magnificently turned into an exhibition space that even our glittering court balls would pale by it. Not in a corner of a room, an interactive 'playroom' opened up before me - and how strange the notion! Every button and screen spoke to me as vividly as if time itself had become a toy. I was free to choose between scenes, and when I gave the right answer, an invisible machine shone a light of praise.
Moving on, I came to the top corner of the house, where treasures dug up from the earth of long ago rested. My eyes lingered on a clay jar, wonderfully preserved, standing before me as complete as if it had been filled with water yesterday by the servants. Below it rested a stallum, which, from its ornate carvings, I must have suspected to be the work of monastic hands. From the wooden seat, it seemed as if the silence of the prayers and the soft echoes of Gregorian chants were still floating around.
But nothing captures my heart more than the little statue hiding in the "Chamber Exhibition", this "Madonna with the Baby Jesus", carved with heavenly charm. Not showy with gold and jewels, but all the more radiant in humility and delicacy. Their eyes met mine, and I felt as if I were for a moment a mother myself, who wished to protect her son from all the sorrows of the world.
And as my weary steps led me into the baroque garden, the foams of my heart were softened into a silent mirror. The mathematical order of the lawn, the heavenly trill of the birds, and the humble shadows of the pruned bushes, rocked the ship of my soul as if angelic arms were wreathed around me in this earthly Eden. Surely not by human hands, but by heavenly wisdom, this place is a resting-place for those who seek rest and peace of mind from the noise and hurry of the world.
This Veszprem... is not only a reminder of the past - it plays with me, tells me stories, asks me questions, and in my answers rewrites all that was once felt.
This world seems foreign, and yet... so familiar. Like a familiar melody, played on a new instrument, but still vibrating the same strings of my heart.
Opening hours
Monday: closed
Tuesday - Friday: 17:00–19:00
Saturday-Sunday: 10am-6pm
Guided walks: Saturday 24 May at 4pm; Sunday 25 May at 2pm and 4pm
(Castle Street is open from Piarist High School after 5pm on weekdays and all day on weekends.)
turizmus@veszpremiersekseg.hu| 
+36 20/560 20 10
