The church we are in was built in late Romanesque and early Gothic style in the time of Abbot Uros, at the beginning of the 13^th century. One can notice the influence of Cistercian architecture, a style characterized by puritan simplicity and the absence of exuberant decoration. Abbot Uros is buried under the present altar in the center of the church. The first church in this place was built during the reign of King Stephen I. At that time it was roughly as large as it is now. The church with two apses could have been decorated by two cylindrical towers by the western apse. Archeological excavations in 1994 revealed under the present floor the arched closing wall of the western sanctuary. That church must have been one of the largest and most beautiful churches of its time. It got damaged by a fire in the 12^th century. By 1137 Abbot David had the church renovated, beautified and enlarged. The present church is the 3^rd church in this place. It was consecrated in 1224. The Turks occupied the Pannonhalma fortress three times. All removable furnishing were destroyed, only two gravestones of two archabbots in the aisle are remnants of those days. During the 19^th century, the church interior was restored. The main nave was given its present shape at that time. Frescos on the ceiling, the canopied main altar, the pulpit and other furnishings were also made then. The church isn’t large. It has never worked as a parish church or as an episcopal cathedral. It has been a monastic church from the beginning, thus the interior design of the church reflects a specifically monastic usage. The first curiosity entering the church may be the fact that the floor of the church isn’t on one level. According to the traditional medieval division of a church, we can distinguish three parts such as the sanctuary, the lace for singing psalms and the level of benches. This construction symbolize the mindset in the Middle Ages which marked different places for the faithful, monks praying together, and the priest celebrating mass. For the monks living in the monastery the church is the place to encounter God. Day by day they come together to celebrate masses and to sing psalms. The crypt can be entered through two red-marble gates that surround the stairs leading up to the sanctuary. The Romanesque character of the gates is unusual because the Baroque architecture seldom copied other styles. There are many other remarkable works in the church, such as the characteristic decorated Gothic net vaulting with hanging keystones in the Saint Benedict Chapel; the entrance to the chapel of the Blessed Virgin,  the archway of which is remnant of the Hungarian rennaissance; and the star net vaulting in the sanctuary.

The Cloister and the Porta Speciosa

This archway, the Porta Speciosa, was one of the main entrances of the church in the Middle Ages. This archway led from the cloister to the church. It also was built in the 13^th century. The door with order of arches and jambs is decorated with columns. The columns were made of red marble, the bases of grey marble, and the capitals of white limestone. The capitals, decorated with honey-suckle, and the carved ribs, decorated with tendrils and bunches of grapes, show a relationship with the French Gothic Style. The monks entered the church through this gate after meeting in the cloister. In the Book of Revelation, the New Jerusalem is described as a city containing twelve gates symbolising the Twelve Apostles. The Porta Speciosa represents one of these gates, connecting entrance into the church with entrance into the Heavenly City. In the 15^th century there were only six or seven monks in the monastery at Pannonhalma. King Matthias himself was the feudal lord of Pannonhalma for almost 20 years, during which time he had constructions undertaken. This cloister was built during that time. The construction was finished in 1486 as is seen on the headstone. It may have been made by the master builders of the royal court at Visegrád. The small garden surrounded by the cloister was often called the Garden of Eden, symbolising Paradise. Herbs were grown here in the Middle Ages, representing the healing power of God. There are copies of two important documents in the entrance hall of the library. The Foundation charter of the Abbey in Tihany, from 1055, is the earliest written record of the Hungarian language. It was written in Latin but it also contains about 60 Hungarian words and place names. The original charter is in the archives of the monastery. The other one is the royal charter from 1002 issued by King Saint Stephen in which he approved right, benefit and lands of the new monastery at Pannonhalma. The charter tells us that the construction of the monastery was permitted by Duke Géza and that a monk called Anastasius was the first abbot here. We can read the first name of the monastery: monasterium Sancti Martini in monte sacro Pannoniae – Saint Martin Monastery on Sacred Mount of Pannonia. One of the important benefits is that the monastery got the same rights as the monastery of Monte Cassino established by Saint Benedict. It is only subordinate to the Holy See. The monks still pray for the Hungarian State according to the intention of the founder king,

The Chapel of Our Lady of Pannonhalma was built in 1714, next to the Archabbey complex, and was originally intended as a parish church for the non-Hungarian-speaking population living near the monastery. The building, originally in Baroque style, was renovated in 1865 in the Romantic style. It was then that the articulation and decoration of the walls and the doorway, which can still be seen today, were made. Inside, there is a Baroque main altar depicting the Assumption of Mary and two smaller side altars, also Baroque.