Gellért Hill Cave

The Gellért Hill Cave, also known as the Saint Ivan Cave, is part of a cave system on Gellért Hill in Budapest. It is named after a hermit who lived here and used the natural thermal springs to heal the sick, which probably also fed the old mud baths. In the 19th century, the cave served as a farm until Pauline monks converted it into a rock church and monastery in the 1920s under the direction of architect Kálmán Lux. After a brief stint as a field hospital in World War II and a closure by the communist authorities in 1951, the complex reopened in 1989. Today the cave houses a restored church with a monastery carved into the rock, distinguished by its neo-Gothic towers. You can admire the natural rock walls, a room with hand-carved wooden ornaments, and the terrace with the statue of King Stephen and his horse, while the monks continue to hold services.