The Early Christian Necropolis of Pecs

Roman Sopianae stood where Pecs is now, and its Christian community buried its dead on the slope below the town in two-storey tombs: a painted burial chamber cut into the ground, with a small chapel above it for services. Sixteen are known and several can be entered. The best preserved are the Peter and Paul chamber, with wall paintings of the two apostles flanking a monogram of Christ, and the Jug Mausoleum, named for the painted wine vessel on its wall. The main entrance is the Cella Septichora, a seven-apsed building never finished in antiquity, now roofed in glass with steel walkways running over the excavation below.

History

In the 1st century AD western Hungary became part of the Roman province of Pannonia, and soon afterwards colonists from the west, who had intermarried with the local Illyrian-Celtic people, founded the town of Sopianae where Pécs now stands; by the 4th century it was prosperous, at the crossroads of several trade routes, and a cemetery to the north of the town was used for Christian burials until the end of the Roman Empire. The first of the burial chambers was rediscovered and excavated in 1782, after a Renaissance palace was pulled down, more tombs were uncovered in 20th-century excavations led by Otto Szőnyi and the architect István Möller, and in 2000 the necropolis was added to the World Heritage List (Wikipedia, Early Christian Necropolis of Pécs).

Highlights

• The Peter and Paul chamber - fourth-century wall painting of the two apostles.
• The Jug Mausoleum - a painted wine vessel that gave the tomb its name.
• The Cella Septichora - the unfinished seven-apsed hall under its modern glass roof.
• The walkways - steel bridges letting you look down into open graves and foundations.

When to go

Year-round, since almost all of it is underground and the temperature barely changes; the site is a cool refuge in July and a chilly one in January, so bring a layer either way. Closed on Mondays. Some chambers are reached only on a guided round at set times, so check the day's schedule at the ticket desk before buying.

Practical notes

The chambers are small, dim and damp, and the paintings have faded to the point where the interpretation panels are doing most of the work. The ticket options overlap and it is easy to pay for the wrong combination. Access to several chambers involves narrow stairs and low ceilings, and the deeper ones are not for anyone uneasy in tight spaces. It is scholarly rather than spectacular.

Nearby

Pecs cathedral is directly above, and the Mosque Church stands on the main square below.

Key facts