Cella Septichora and the Early Christian Necropolis

Under the cathedral square

Pécs’s quiet headline act is buried, literally, beneath the cathedral square. The Early Christian Necropolis — the cemetery of Roman Sopianae — is a cluster of 4th-century burial chambers preserved exactly where they were found, now roofed and protected by a modern visitor centre. You walk above and around them on glass walkways, looking down into tombs that have sat here for some 1,700 years. The largest structure, with its seven apses, is the Cella Septichora that gives the site its name.

What lifts it above a row of old graves is the wall paintings. Several chambers keep their original decoration — biblical scenes, figures, garlands — still legible on the plaster. It earned its UNESCO World Heritage listing as one of the best-preserved sets of late-Roman painted burial chambers north of the Mediterranean, which is a genuine surprise to find under a provincial Hungarian square.

Practicalities and timing

Allow 45 minutes to an hour to walk the glass routes and take in the painted tombs; longer if you join a guide, which helps make sense of the layout. Adult entry is around 2,400 Ft (roughly £5); confirm the current price and hours on the official site, and note it is usually closed on Mondays.

The one timing tip worth heeding: pre-book in July and August. The site is normally calm and atmospheric, but in high summer it fills with school and tour groups, and the glass walkways only take so many people at once — turn up at the wrong moment and you’ll be shuffling. Out of season you can comfortably walk in. It sits a couple of minutes from the cathedral and the Pasha Qasim Mosque, so string the three together for an easy, rewarding half-day that shows off just how much history Pécs packs into a small centre.