Plaque Dedicated at Nossa Senhora do Monte
On Sunday, November 18, 2018, the parish community of Tarján, Hungary, gifted and dedicated a plaque to the Church of Nossa Senhora do Monte, Madeira, in recognition of the welcome Emperor Karl and the Royal Family received from the parish during their arrival into exile on the Island of Madeira on November 19, 1921. The Hungarian delegation was represented by the Association President, Jósef Ágost Embléktársaság, and Mr. and Mrs. Gábor Szantner, honorary members of the Tarjan parish community.
The Church of Our Lady of Monte (Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Monte) is the main church on the island of of Monte (Funchal), Madeira. The Church has humble beginnings and dates to 1470 when a chapel was built on the site by Adão Gonçalves Ferreira, the first man born in Madeira.
On June 10, 1741, the first stone of the current Church dedicated to Our Lady of Monte was laid. A few months after the church was completed, the Church was seriously affected by an earthquake on March 31, 1748. It was rebuilt and on December 20, 1818, and the Church was finally consecrated by the Archbishop of Meliapor and administrator of the Diocese D. Frei Joaquim de Meneses and Ataíde.
Lively processions honoring Our Lady of Monte, the patroness of Funchal, are held every year on August 15th. The church contains elegant chandeliers, a statue of Our Lady of Monte revered since the days when the island was first settled, and beautiful works executed in gold and silver from the 17th and 18th centuries.
The church contains the tomb of Karl I of Austria, the last Emperor and King of Austria-Hungary. A statue honoring the emperor stands in the piazza outside the church.