The Mosque Church of Pecs

The largest surviving Ottoman building in Hungary stands at the head of Szechenyi Square in Pecs. Pasha Gazi Kasim had it built in the sixteenth century using stone taken from a medieval church on the same site, and the reused Gothic fragments can still be picked out in the walls if you look along them at an angle. It is a square block under a broad dome, with horseshoe-arched windows and a stone doorway in the Ottoman manner. It later became a Catholic church and remains one: an apse and chancel were added on one side, and a cross now stands on the dome above a crescent. Inside, the mihrab niche and painted ornament survive among the Catholic furnishings.

What you actually see

• The dome and square plan - the Ottoman form still legible from the square outside.
• The mihrab - the prayer niche kept in the wall of a working Catholic church.
• The reused stone - Gothic fragments from the earlier church built into the walls.
• The cross and crescent - the finial on the dome that records both uses of the building.

When to go

April to October has the longest opening hours; winter hours are short and it closes early. It shuts to visitors during Mass, which is frequent, so check the board at the door. Late afternoon light on the square is the best time to photograph the exterior. Fifteen to thirty minutes is enough for the interior.

Honest expectations

It is one room and the visit is short. The interior is a compromise between two very different uses and satisfies neither completely, with modern pews and fittings sitting awkwardly under the dome. Opening hours are limited and unreliable. Szechenyi Square outside is the busiest space in Pecs, full of cafe tables and traffic noise, so there is nowhere quiet to stand back and look at the building.

Nearby

The cathedral, the Roman burial chambers and the Jakovali Hassan mosque are all within a short walk.