After Duke-Primate Sándor Rudnay moved the archbishop’s seat back to Esztergom in 1820, he decided to build a church in honor of St. Anna for the followers of the southern part of the city, where the Duke-Primate was received by the people of Esztergom upon his return home.
According to a legend, the Duke-Primate built the church at the request of Judit Radovics, a servant of the Rudnay family. The maid saved the young child Rudnay when one of the neighbors attacked the family with his gunmen. Judit Radovics caught the blow to little Rudnay with her arm, who was thus able to escape, while the maid lost her arm.
He entrusted János Packh, the manager of the construction of the basilica, with preparing the plan for the church. The construction progressed so quickly that on September 7, 1831, Prince-Primate Rudnay was able to bless the cross on the large dome of the nearly completed church building. This was his last function as high priest, a week later he died. After that, construction dragged on for years, until it was finally was completed in 1837.
The floor plan of the church is completely circular. A high central dome rises above the nave, with two independent towers on either side. In front of the main entrance there is a wide colonnade, to which a marble staircase leads. In front of it there are two stone statues depicting angels, each 2.5 meters high. The main altarpiece of the church is the work of Mihály János Hesz. The silver model of the church can also be viewed. This is a gift from Canon Mihály Obisits from 1913.
On the west side of the church there is a statue of St. Vendel made in 1820, which was originally part of the Trinity statue on Széchenyi Square, which was demolished in 1900. The monument statue was renovated in 1995.
In the 1980s, both the main and side chapels were covered with red copper, and the carpentry structure was also thickened. The statues in front of the church were renovated in 2005. The parish was demolished in 2008 and a new one was built. Cardinal Péter Erdő consecrated it on December 20.
In 2018, the dome of St. Anna’s church was completely renovated. During the renovation of the church, its large dome was rebuilt, more than half of its wooden frame was replaced, and the surface of almost two thousand square meters was covered with golden red copper plates. The small dome above the big dome also needed renovation, because it was hit during the Second World War, and since then it had a hole with a diameter of 15 centimeters. In addition, the base of the building was insulated, its facade was repainted, and the roof structure of the sacristy was also renovated.
Packh modeled his plan on the Roman Pantheon in order to have the opportunity to build a dome, thereby modeling the larger dome of the basilica before work began.
