Via Sancti Martin

"Martin was born in a town called Sabaria in Pannonia" The site of the church of St Martin was already a Christian place of worship in Roman times. According to legend, the north side chapel of the church was built over the house where St. Martin was born. The inscription above the entrance to the chapel reads HIC NATUS EST S. MARTINUS - here St. Martin was born. In the Middle Ages, the church of St. Martin was the parish church of the town. In 1638 the church was given to the Dominicans by Bishop György Draskovich of Győr, and remained in their possession until 1950. The church underwent a major extension between 1668 and 1674. The Dominican monastery was also built at this time, and the St. Martin Visitor Centre is located on the ground floor. The visitor centre's exhibitions are. The St. Martin's well in front of the church is mentioned in a document as early as 1360. The statue of St. Martin baptising his mother, erected in 1938, is the work of István Rumi Rajki. St. Martin's cemetery is the oldest cemetery in Hungary, used for nearly two thousand years. In Roman times it was the burial place of the city's early Christian community. It may have been the first resting place of St Quirinus, and it is also the burial place of others who were martyred for their faith in the early Christian era.