Double Cathedrals and Church Families in Medieval East Central Europe

Double cathedrals were Early Christian building complexes known from the Mediterraneum, especially from Italy, France, and Dalmatia. A comparable architectural structure, excavated in the early 20th century in óbuda in Hungary (Roman Aquincum in Pannonia), is also interpreted traditionally as a twin cathedral. However, it seems that the idea of the double cathedral did not survive after the state foundation of the East Central European kingdoms of Poland, Bohemia, and Hungary. Nevertheless, a new theory supposes a double cathedral in Cracow and serves with further arguments for other Polish dioceses. As a comparison, the present paper discusses the sacred topography of some early Hungarian episcopal centres. All these problems should be discussed within the framework of the church families, popular at least from the Moravian period in the region.