The V. Tourism and Hospitality Department of the Commercial Section of the Budapest Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BKIK), with the participation of the Chamber’s tour guides, has been organising the Budapest programme series for World Tourism Day since 2011.
This year’s programme series will take place from 24–27 September 2026, offering visitors a diverse selection of tourism, cultural and professional programmes.
Ferencváros and the Franciscans – a guided tour of St. Francis of Assisi Parish Church
The history of Budapest’s ninth district, Ferencváros, began more than two hundred years ago. At the end of the 18th century, the suburb of Pest was named after King Francis (Ferenc) of Hungary, and at the beginning of the 19th century it received its first priests. The Franciscans and the people of Ferencváros shared moments of sorrow during the great flood of 1838 and celebrated together fifty years later, when the bells of today’s Neo-Romanesque church, designed by Miklós Ybl, rang for the first time.
One of the leaders and chroniclers of the church’s construction was the Franciscan monk Vilmos Kurtz, who devoted half a century of his life to Ferencváros. During the guided tour, we follow this remarkable 19th-century story and discover the traces left by Kurtz and his fellow Franciscans in the church. After visiting the nave, we enter the sacristy and the balconies beside the murals depicting Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of the church, and Saint John of Capistrano, the famous Franciscan who died in Hungary. These areas are otherwise closed to visitors. The tour concludes with organ music evoking the figure of Saint Francis.
Venue: St. Francis of Assisi Parish Church, H-1092 Budapest, Bakáts Square
Meeting point: Main gate
Duration: 90 minutes
Participation: Free of charge
Donations are welcome for the restoration of the organ house (brick ticket: HUF 2,000).
The number of participants is limited to 25 people, therefore registration is required at: kultura@szentferencplebania.hu