The plans of Johann Grenner for the Greek Catholic episcopal centre in Ungvár (Uzhhorod)

Abstract

Maria Theresa founded the separate Greek Catholic Diocese of Munkács (in English: Mukacheve) in 1771. The episcopal centre was intended to be moved to Ungvár (in English: Uzhhorod) from Munkács, to the abandoned castle that would have hosted the necessary institutions, the cathedral, the Bishop’s Palace and the seminary. For the commission of the Chamber, the conversion plans were prepared by master builder Joseph Simmet. For the Court Chamber initiative in Vienna, a reviser Johann Grenner and an architect Lorenz Lander were sent to the site. Grenner presented the new plans in 1774. He would have converted the inner castle into the apartments of the bishop and the prebendaries, while the cathedral and the seminary would have been placed in the outer castle. It was a daring solution to compose the new cathedral – with its Greek cross layout and oval central dome – on top of an Old Italian system bastion. The plans of Grenner were much more expensive than that of Simmet, so for the proposal of Court Chief Architect Franz Anton Hillebrandt the decision was made to convert the Jesuit monastery, also standing abandoned near the castle, into the Bishop’s Palace, the church into the cathedral, and place only the seminary in the castle. This proposal was accepted, thus Grenner’s design was not realized.