Temporarily out of order since 2002

Unlucky church of St Stephen
Originally uploaded by ribizlifozelek

The St Stephen's Basilica was made accessible during the reconstruction of 1983-2003. The elevator was opened in April, 2002. The Hungarian Government funded the construction of the elevator to provide access to the main gate. The total cost of the elevator was 7.6 million Hungarian Forint (30400 EUR or 47500 USD). The sponsors' names were recorded on a commemorative bronze plaque on the upper end of the elevator.

The elevator had an "ignition key" to turn it on. The church guards had the key. They were upstairs. No bell was installed. There was no indication on how to use it.

Since October, 2002 the elevator has been out of order. (An expensive part broke, the church representative said in April, 2004.) An "out of order" sign was placed on the elevator in 2008, it was put on the upper end of the elevator.

The plaque with the sponsors' name disappeared.

(I'm always surprised why the elevator was installed to give access to the main gate, because this is the largest staircase of the building. Using one of the side entrances, builders could have made the building accessible by short ramps instead.)