The cathedral is the oldest Episcopal Church and the oldest cathedral in the country. It was erected by Gizella of Bavaria, the first Hungarian queen, in 1001.
Since she was its patroness, she helped maintain it with her donations. Afterwards the current Hungarian queen became the patroness of St. Michael's Cathedral and, owing to this, the Bishop of Veszprém received the right to crown Hungarian queens. This is why Veszprém is called the town of queens.
The church, which was originally built in Romanesque style, was destroyed by the troops of Mátél Csák and burnt down in the 14th century. In the Turkish period it shared the fate of the town and was almost completely destroyed in several sieges. It was ravaged during the Rákóczi war of independence and in 1704 General Heister's soldiers set it on fire. After the stormy life of the cathedral, Bishop Imre Esterházy had it rebuilt. The church, rebuilt in 1723 in Baroque style, was restored almost from ruins and became the first and foremost church of the diocese again. It received its current Neo-Romanesque style during the complete reconstruction of 1910.