Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government has supported the renovation of the Polish church in Budapest, located in the Kőbánya district. Together with the adjacent Polish House, it serves as the main center for promoting Polish culture and tradition in the Hungarian capital.
The essential works on renovating the church’s interior will begin on October 1. According to the Polish parish, this has been made possible thanks to the support of the Office of the Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, as well as the Department for Churches and Nationalities in Hungary. The beneficiary of the grant is the Association of Polish Catholics in Hungary, dedicated to St. Adalbert, which is the formal owner of the Polish church.
The history of the Polish church in Budapest dates back to the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The dynamic growth and expansion of today’s Hungarian capital attracted a large influx of Poles, who found employment on construction sites, in building-material factories, quarries, and brickworks. At first, they gathered for prayer at a small shrine known as the Calvary Chapel, but soon began the construction of a church. It was finally consecrated in 1930 by the Primate of Poland, Cardinal August Hlond.
The church played a significant role, among other things, in assisting thousands of Polish refugees who were received in Hungary after the outbreak of World War II.