It was built in the late 1930s behind the excavated ruins of the Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary where Stephen had been originally buried, and contains the 11th-century sarcophagus of the deceased king.
[1] The interior walls are decorated with frescoes by Vilmos Aba-Novák representing themes related to St. Stephen, interpreted in the Hungarian political context of 1938.
Smaller scenes depict St. Gellért baptizing the Hungarians and the foundation of the church on the western (entrance) wall, and the legend of the dream of Sylvester II and St. Stephen's coronation on the Eastern side.
[2] The large stained glass window of the eastern wall was created by Lili Árkayné Sztehló and depicted episodes of St. Stephen's life.
The same day, Miklós Horthy and accompanying dignitaries visited the mausoleum, with the frescoes still a work in progress presented to them by Aba-Novák, and went on to inaugurate the statue of St. Stephen by Ferenc Sidló [hu].