The former Bishop鈥檚 Palace in the picturesque riverbank Watertown (V铆ziv谩ros) district houses the Christian Museum, home to the largest and finest collection of medieval religious art in Hungary. It contains Hungarian Gothic triptychs and altarpieces as well as later works by German, Dutch and Italian masters. The most prized piece is the sublime Holy Sepulchre of Garamszentbenedek (1480), a wheeled cart in the shape of a cathedral, with richly carved figures of the 12 Apostles and Roman soldiers guarding Christ鈥檚 tomb.
Be sure to see Tam谩s Kolozsv谩ri鈥檚 Calvary altar triptych (1427), which was influenced by Italian art; the four-panelled late-Gothic Christ鈥檚 Passion (1506) by 鈥楳aster MS鈥; the gruesome Martyrdom of the Three Apostles (1490) by an Austrian painter; and the Temptation of St Anthony (1530) by Jan Wellens de Cock, with its drug-like visions of devils and temptresses. Some of the works have QR barcodes, allowing smartphone users to enjoy more in-depth descriptions.
The fastest way to reach the museum from Castle Hill is to walk down steep Macska-l茅pcs艖 (Cat Steps), which can be accessed just north of the basilica.
