The Christian Museum is the largest ecclesiastical collection in Hungary, conserving European and Hungarian works of art of several centuries. On account of its Hungarian, Italian, Netherlandish, German and Austrian paintings, it is the third most significant picture gallery in Hungary, closely following the Museum of Fine Arts and the Hungarian National Gallery in Budapest. The Christian Museum is known also for the versatility of its collections. Besides the late medieval works of art – including the Calvary Altarpiece by Thomas of Coloswar, the Lord’s Coffin from Garamszentbenedek, and the Passion scenes by Master MS –, also the baroque and modern collections, the exceptionally rich collection of the decorative arts, and the collection of prints and drawings, which numbers over 5 000 sheets, are significant.
The permanent exhibition of the Christian Museum is situated on the second floor of the Primate’s Palace in Esztergom.
Collections on permanent display:
Late Gothic Hungarian, German and Austrian painting and sculpture (15-16th c.)
Italian painting (13-18th c.)
Hungarian, Austrian, and German painting (17-18th c.)
Early Netherlandish painting (15-16th c.)
Tapestries (15-20th c.)
Icons and orthodox metalwork (16-20th c.)
Select works of the decorative arts – goldsmithworks, ivory carvings, clocks, caskets and snuff boxes, ceramics, glass paintings, eastern knotted carpets (12-20th c.)
In the ground floor exhibition rooms, the Christian Museum regularly organizes temporary exhibitions since the 1980s.