Church of the Visitation – Bačka Topola (Topolya)
The Church of the Visitation in Bačka Topola (Topolya) is one of the largest Catholic churches in Vojvodina: its Gothic Revival building with a 72-metre tower holds some five thousand people. Built at the beginning of the 20th century, it is among the most impressive sacred buildings of the Diocese of Subotica.
The parish of Topolya was founded in 1750. In the first, thatched house of prayer Mass was said by friars coming from the Franciscan monastery in Subotica. The first stone church was built in 1761–1762 with the support of the Royal Chamber and consecrated in 1764 in honour of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary. The patrons of the parish were the Barons Kray and later Count János Zichy. The old church, renovated in 1888, did not last long, so the town and the Church decided to build a new one; the old building was demolished in 1904.
The new church was designed by the Subotica architect Ferenc J. Raichle. Following modifications by the Budapest firm of Milics & Co., reinforced-concrete pillars were used instead of the planned brick ones – a novelty at the time. Work began in 1904, and the church was handed over to the faithful on 5 August 1906 – the same year in which a great fire ravaged the town in April – and consecrated in 1907.
A pointed portal and a rose window open in the middle of the yellow-brick façade, above which rises the slender, spired tower. The carvings of the Gothic Revival high altar were made in the Stuflesser workshop, the altarpiece was painted by Andor Dudits, and the stained-glass windows came from a Budapest workshop. The two-manual organ with 24 stops was built in 1907 by the Angster firm. A statue of the Immaculate Conception, erected in 1893, stands in the churchyard.
Visiting: the church stands in the centre of Bačka Topola, and its tower, visible from afar, is the town's main landmark. Bačka Topola lies between Subotica and Novi Sad, so a visit combines well with the churches of Subotica. Also worth seeing in the town is the Gothic Revival chapel on Calvary Hill, built to designs by the Subotica architect Lajos Fazekas.
Sources: Hungarian Catholic Lexicon · Wikipedia · Wikipedia (Serbian)
Photo: Jurisco / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Photo: Ванилица / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Town:
Bačka Topola (Topolya)
