Places to visit

My first day in Budapest


Description:

This track is a walking the route with an audio guide to Budapest. A full-day trip is a great way to get to know the city and its history. The excursion begins at the Opera building, then through the park goes to the Parliament building. From the parliament building, which is highly recommended to visit, the embankment route passes to the memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. Then we cross the Danube along one of the most recognizable bridges in Europe and the most famous bridge in Budapest - the Széchenyi Bridge. In the part of the city that used to be called Buda, we will climb the hill of the royal castle and find ourselves in the most beautiful places. There are the Fisherman's Bastion, the ancient streets, and towers and at the end of the exploration of this part of the city, we will descend into an underground labyrinth with rock paintings. At the end of the beautiful day, we will visit the museum of the Jewish mystic illusionist Houdini, the most famous funicular in Europe and the zero kilometer of the Hungarian Republic.

Languages: EN
Author & Co-authors
Emily Praisman (author)
Hi!
Distance
13.92 km
Duration
3h 26 m
Likes
--
Places with media
25

This is a new boutique Hotel in the city center - in the Palace District- the perfect Budapest location just 500 meters away from Kalvin square and the Metro station. The National Museum, Váci street, Market Hall and Gellért bath are steps away from the Beletage! We will visit all of these places easy and enjoyably.

Uploaded by Emily Praisman

The Hungarian State Opera House (Hungarian: Magyar Állami Operaház) is a neo-Renaissance opera house located in central Budapest, on Andrássy út. Originally known as the Hungarian Royal Opera House, it was designed by Miklós Ybl, a major figure of 19th-century Hungarian architecture. Construction began in 1875, funded by the city of Budapest and by Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria-Hungary, and the new house opened to the public on the 27 September 1884. Before the closure of the "Népszínház" in Budapest, it was the third largest opera building in the city; today it is the second largest opera house in Budapest and in Hungary.

Touring groups had performed operas in the city from the early 19th century, but as Legány notes, "a new epoch began after 1835 when part of the Kasa National Opera and Theatrical Troupe arrived in Buda". [2] They took over the Castle Theatre and, in 1835, were joined by another part of the troupe, after which performances of operas were given under conductor Ferenc Erkel. By 1837 they had established themselves at the Magyar Színház (Hungarian Theatre) and by 1840, it had become the "Nemzeti Színház" (National Theatre).[2] Upon its completion, the opera section moved into the Hungarian Royal Opera House, with performances quickly gaining a reputation for excellence in a repertory of about 45 to 50 operas and about 130 annual performances. [2]

Today, the opera house is home to the Budapest Opera Ball, a society event dating back to 1886.

Photo: By Varius - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28723346

Uploaded by Emily Praisman

St. Stephen's Basilica (Hungarian: Szent István-bazilika, Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈsɛnt ˈiʃtvaːn ˈbɒzilikɒ]) is a Roman Catholic basilica in Budapest, Hungary. It is named in honour of Stephen, the first King of Hungary (c 975–1038), whose supposed right hand is housed in the reliquary. It was the sixth largest church building in Hungary before 1920. Since the renaming of the primatial see, it's the co-cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Esztergom-Budapest. Today, it is the third largest church building in present-day Hungary.

Photo: By Use or reproduction of this image outside of Wikipedia must give the original photographer (Andrew Shiva) credit. Although not required, it would be appreciated if a message was left here indicating where this image was being used., Attribution, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42629187

Uploaded by Emily Praisman

Liberty Square (Hungarian: Szabadság tér) is a public square located in the Lipótváros neighborhood of Budapest, Hungary. The square is a mix of business and residential. The United States Embassy in Hungary and the historicist style headquarters of the Hungarian National Bank abut the west side of the square.[1][2] Some buildings on the square are designed in the Art Nouveau style.[1] Ignác Alpár designed two of the buildings.[2] The square houses monuments to Ronald Reagan and Harry Hill Bandholtz and a monument to the Soviet liberation of Hungary in World War II from Nazi German occupation.[1][3] It was designed by Károly Antal.[2] A barrack-prison ("Újépület") that previously occupied the space, was the site where Prime Minister Lajos Batthyány was executed in 1849, following the Hungarian Revolution.[2] The building was destroyed in 1897 and the square constructed on the site.

Photo: By Norbert Aepli, Switzerland, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=810806

Uploaded by Emily Praisman

Budapest was united from three cities in 1873, namely Buda, Óbuda, and Pest.[4] Seven years later the Diet resolved to establish a new, representative parliament building, expressing the sovereignty of the nation. The building was planned to face the river. An international competition was held, and Imre Steindl emerged as the victor; the plans of two other competitors were later also realized in the form of the Ethnographic Museum and the Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture, both facing the Parliament Building. Construction from the winning plan was started in 1885, and the building was inaugurated on the 1000th anniversary of the country in 1896. It was completed in 1904. (The architect of the building went blind before its completion.)

About 100 000 people were involved in construction, during which 40 million bricks, half a million precious stones and 40 kilograms (88 lb) of gold were used. Since World War II the legislature became unicameral, and today the government uses only a small portion of the building. During the People's Republic of Hungary a red star perched on the top of the dome, but it was removed in 1990. Mátyás Szűrös declared the Hungarian Republic from the balcony facing Kossuth Lajos Square on 23 October 1989.

Photo By Alex Proimos from Sydney, Australia - Hungarian Chamber, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25649983

Uploaded by Emily Praisman

The monument is located on the Pest side of the Danube Promenade in line with where Zoltan Street would meet the Danube if it continued that far, about 300 metres (980 ft) south of the Hungarian Parliament and near the Hungarian Academy of Sciences; between Roosevelt Square and Kossuth square. "The composition titled 'Shoes on the Danube Bank' gives remembrance to the 3,500 people, 800 of them Jews, who were shot into the Danube during the time of the Arrow Cross terror. The sculptor created sixty pairs of period-appropriate shoes out of iron. The shoes are attached to the stone embankment, and behind them lies a 40 meter long, 70 cm high stone bench. At three points are cast iron signs, with the following text in Hungarian, English, and Hebrew: "To the memory of the victims shot into the Danube by Arrow Cross militiamen in 1944–45. Erected 16 April 2005." Murder of the Jews Most of the murders along the edge of the River Danube took place around December 1944 and January 1945, when the members of the Arrow Cross Party police ("Nyilas") took as many as 20,000 Jews from the newly established Budapest ghetto and executed them along the river bank. Tommy Dick describes one surviving person's story from these operations in his book Getting Out Alive and testimony. In February 1945, the Soviet forces liberated Budapest. During World War II, Valdemar Langlet, head of the Swedish Red Cross in Budapest, with his wife Nina, and later the diplomat Raoul Wallenberg and 250 coworkers were working around the clock to save the Jewish population from being sent to Nazi concentration camps; this figure later rose to approximately 400. Lars and Edith Ernster, Jacob Steiner, and many others were housed at the Swedish Embassy in Budapest on Üllői Street 2-4 and 32 other buildings throughout the city which Wallenberg had rented and declared as extraterritorially Swedish to try to safeguard the residents. Italian Giorgio Perlasca did the same, sheltering Jews in the Spanish Embassy. On the night of 8 January 1945, an Arrow Cross execution brigade forced all the inhabitants of the building on Vadasz Street to the banks of the Danube. At midnight, Karoly Szabo and 20 policemen with drawn bayonets broke into the Arrow Cross house and rescued everyone (see also front page of 1947 newspaper below). Among those saved were Lars Ernster, who fled to Sweden and became a member of the board of the Nobel Foundation from 1977 to 1988, and Jacob Steiner, who fled to Israel and became a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Steiner's father had been shot dead by Arrow Cross militiamen 25 December 1944, and fell into the Danube. His father had been an officer in World War I and spent four years as a prisoner of war in Russia. Dr. Erwin K. Koranyi, a psychiatrist in Ottawa, wrote about the night of 8 January 1945 in his Dreams and Tears: Chronicle of a Life (2006), "in our group, I saw Lajos Stoeckler" and "The police holding their guns at the Arrowcross cutthroats. One of the high-ranking police officers was Pal Szalai, with whom Raoul Wallenberg used to deal. Another police officer in his leather coat was Karoly Szabo." Pal Szalai was honored as Righteous among the Nations 7 April 2009 for helping save these Hungarian Jews. Karoly Szabo was honored as Righteous among the Nations 12 November 2012.

Photo By Nikodem Nijaki - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17917089

Uploaded by Emily Praisman

The bridge was designed by the English engineer William Tierney Clark in 1839, following an initiative by Count István Széchenyi, with construction supervised locally by Scottish engineer Adam Clark (no relation). It is a larger-scale version of Tierney Clark's earlier Marlow Bridge, across the River Thames in Marlow, England, and was designed in sections and shipped from the United Kingdom to Hungary for final construction. It was funded to a considerable extent by the Greek merchant Georgios Sinas who had financial and land interests in the city and whose name is inscribed on the base of the south western foundation of the bridge on the Buda side. The bridge opened in 1849, after the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, becoming the first permanent bridge in the Hungarian capital. At the time, its centre span of 202 metres (663 ft) was one of the largest in the world. The lions at each of the abutments were carved in stone by the sculptor János Marschalkó [hu] and installed in 1852. They are similar in design to the bronze lions of Trafalgar Square (commissioned 1858, installed 1867). The bridge was given its current name in 1898. The bridge's cast-iron structure was updated and strengthened in 1914. In World War II, the bridge was blown up on 18 January 1945 by the retreating Germans during the Siege of Budapest, with only the towers remaining. It was rebuilt, and reopened in 1949. The inscription on each side of the bridge is to "Clark Adam", the bridge builder's name in the local Eastern name order. A plaque on the Pest side of the river reads "To commemorate the only two surviving bridges designed by William Tierney Clark: The Széchenyi Chain Bridge over the Danube at Budapest and the suspension bridge over the Thames at Marlow, England."

Uploaded by Emily Praisman

Adam Clark (Hungarian: Clark Ádám; 14 August 1811 – 23 June 1866) was a Scottish civil engineer who is best known for his career in Hungary. His most famous work is the Széchenyi Chain Bridge over the Danube River in Budapest, which was one of the longest bridges in the world when it opened. Clark oversaw its construction from 1839 to 1849, and ensured its safety during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. He remained in Hungary after the bridge's completion, and married a Hungarian. Clark was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 14 August 1811. He served his engineering apprenticeship with Darling & Hume and G. Manwaring & Co., and then found work with Hunter & English. In 1834, Clark was sent to Budapest to supervise the construction of a new dredger, which had been ordered by Count István Széchenyi for use on the Danube. He returned to Scotland after two years. In 1839, Clark moved back to Hungary to serve as resident engineer on the Chain Bridge, which was being built to link the twin towns of Buda and Pest across the Danube. With a central span of 666 feet (203 m) and a total length of 1,262 feet (385 m), it was the one of the longest bridges in the world when it opened in 1849, just behind the 675 feet (206 m) central span of then third longest Hungerford Bridge (a footbridge opened earlier in 1849). The bridge's designer and chief engineer was an Englishman, William Tierney Clark (no relation), but he was unable or unwilling to remain in Hungary to supervise its construction. Clark spent ten years working on the bridge, with an annual salary of £400. He supervised the selection of the timber for its 5,000 piles, travelling to Slavonia and Tyrol to find appropriate wood. The Chain Bridge was finally opened in November 1849, with the final stages of its construction having taken place during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848.[4] In the early stages of the revolution, a crowd of demonstrators gathered at the bridge to demand the expulsion of foreign workers. Clark refused to meet their request, and the demonstrators were eventually dispersed by police.[5] Clark in fact supported the revolutionaries, and in late 1848 assisted Lajos Kossuth's army in retreating across his bridge – still unfinished and untested. By one estimate, 70,000 men and 300 pieces of artillery crossed over in a single day. On two other occasions, Clark saved his bridge from military destruction. In early 1849, he received information that the Austrian Imperial Army was planning to blow up the bridge, in order to prevent the rebels from crossing over from Pest to Buda. He immediately took action to minimise any damage, flooding the bridge's anchorage chambers to ensure its stability and then destroying pumps. The Austrians placed four canisters of gunpowder on the bridge, but only one detonated and the damage was insignificant. In June 1849, Clark was informed that the Hungarian revolutionaries were going to demolish the bridge to prevent the Austrians from crossing the river. He met with General Henryk Dembiński, the Hungarian commander-in-chief, and convinced him that it was not necessary to destroy the entire structure to make it impassable for troops. Instead, Clark had the bridge platform dismantled and set some of the bridge components adrift on barges, allowing construction to easily resume at a more suitable time.

Photo By VitVit - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37294319

Uploaded by Emily Praisman

Since the beginning of the 20th century several plans have been made to build a permanent Danube bridge connecting Pest and Buda . For this bridge an area that could be easily accessed, not yet built and is relatively close to the city center could be considered. There were two such places: one is the area between today's Marcius 15th square and Tabán and the other is between Széchenyi István Square and the Castle Hill. Although the distance between the two shores was smaller, the swift stream caused by the narrowing bed, as well as the bursting springs, would have made the work much more difficult. The decision fell on the castle hill, but the approach of the future bridge to the Water Town , Tabán andIt would have been quite uncomfortable for Krisztinaváros to get to the Castle first and then to the Buda side. In 1837, engineer Dániel Novák made a proposal to connect Pest and Buda with a tunnel. This tunnel would have started with a sloping slope at the Krisztinavár parish church, and would have surfaced over the Danube (today the Libra) along the Danube. Despite the fact that the London Thames Tunnel was built at this time, this plan was considered unrealistic, so a year later the author had a more modest version. Technical Poster for the Pest Flood Report to Novak at Pester Handelszeitunga tunnel plan that would have been bound only by the Water Castle and the Danube, with the same tunnel built later on. This new plan also reminded me of the Thames Tunnel: in one version, two unidirectional tunnels were suggested next to each other, joined by a common gate. In addition to its construction, Novák argued:“As for my offer, namely to build a one- or two-pillar permanent bridge between Buda and Pest somewhere between now and now. kir. around the bridge with the body of the bridge at the same time under the Castle Hill and into the Krisztinavár,… it would be more desirable, because in the case of higher water levels the bridge on the Buda side can hardly be approached from the suburbs. For example, if the water level rises 20 feet above zero water level, they can only reach the bridge through the Castle Hill. ”

Photo: By Gyurika at Hungarian Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=48447050

Uploaded by Emily Praisman

The Golden Sas Pharmacy was the first pharmacy in Buda , after the expulsion of the Turks , in 1687 the Dísz tér 1–2. was founded by Ferenc Bösinger Ignác . Between 1687 and 1696 , the pharmacy moved to Dísz tér 6. Bösinger also opened a branch pharmacy in the Water Town , which was later known as the Black Bear Pharmacy . The Golden Eagle initially named the Golden Unicorn, and was renamed in 1740 by János Hinger , the then owner . The pharmacist could wear the "urban" title, and his coat of arms had a coat of arms of Buda. He was relocated several times, and he was on several numbers in Tárnok utca : first he moved to the 16th and then between 1735 and 54 , and then moved to number 8 and later. In 1922 , it was set up today at 18, Tárnok utca. Among its owners was Bálint Werner , Ferenc Seyler , the Ungár family, and István Éllő from the 1920s . In 1966 he was attached to the Semmelweis Medical History Museum as a pharmaceutical history unit. In its restored premises , the Golden Eagle Pharmacy Museum was opened in 1974 , with a permanent exhibition entitled "Pharmacy in Renaissance and Baroque ".

Photo: By Einstein2 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30866315

Uploaded by Emily Praisman

The first royal residence on the Castle Hill was built by King Béla IV of Hungary between 1247 and 1265. The oldest part of the present-day palace was built in the 14th century by Stephen, Duke of Slavonia, who was the younger brother of King Louis I of Hungary. Only the foundations remain of the castle keep, which was known as Stephen's Tower. The Gothic palace of King Louis I was arranged around a narrow courtyard next to the keep. King Sigismund significantly enlarged the palace and strengthened its fortifications. Sigismund, as a Holy Roman Emperor, needed a magnificent royal residence to express his prominence among the rulers of Europe. He chose Buda Castle as his main residence, and during his long reign, it became probably the largest Gothic palace of the late Middle Ages. Buda was an important artistic center of the International Gothic style. Construction began in the 1410s and was mostly finished in the 1420s, although some minor works continued until the death of the king in 1437. The palace was first mentioned in 1437, under the name "fricz palotha". Inside the palace were two rooms with golden ceilings: the Bibliotheca Corviniana and a passage with the frescoes of the twelve signs of the Zodiac. The façade of the palace was decorated with statues of John Hunyadi, László Hunyadi and King Matthias. In the middle of the court there was a fountain with a statue of Pallas Athene. After the Battle of Mohács, the medieval Kingdom of Hungary collapsed. The Ottoman Turks occupied the evacuated town on 11 September 1526. Although Buda was sacked and burned, the Royal Palace was not damaged. Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent carried away all the bronze statues (the Hunyadis, Pallas Athene and Hercules) with him to Constantinople. The statues were destroyed there in a rebellion a few years later. The Sultan also took many volumes from the Corvina library. In 1529 the Ottoman army besieged and occupied Buda again, and the palace was badly damaged. On 29 August 1541 Buda was occupied again by the Ottomans, without any resistance. Buda became part of Ottoman Empire and the seat of the Eyalet of Budin. The Holy League took Buda after a long siege in 1686 In the era between 1541 and 1686, the Habsburgs tried to re-capture Buda several times. Unsuccessful sieges in 1542, 1598, 1603 and 1684 caused serious damage. The Ottoman authorities repaired only the fortifications. According to 17th-century sources, many buildings of the former Royal Palace were roofless and their vaults collapsed. Nonetheless the medieval palace mostly survived until the great siege of 1686. In 1686, two years after the unsuccessful siege of Buda, a renewed Western European Christian campaign was started to take the city. This time the Holy League's army was much larger, consisting of 65,000–100,000 men, including German, Hungarian, Croat, Dutch, English, Spanish, Czech, Italian, French, Burgundian, Danish and Swedish soldiers and other Europeans as volunteers, artillerymen and officers. The Turkish defenders consisted of 7,000 men. The royal castle built under King Charles III (1733) In 1715 a small Baroque palace was built according to the plans of Johann Hölbling. It was a simple rectangular building, with an inner court and a shorter side wing, which was later demolished. The Hölbling palace is identical with the core of the present-day palace, where the Baroque Court of the Budapest Historical Museum is now located. The royal castle during the reign of Maria Theresa (1777) In 1748 Count Antal Grassalkovich, President of the Hungarian Chamber, appealed to the public to finish the derelict palace by means of public subscription. Palatine János Pálffy called upon the counties and cities to award grants for the project. The moment was favourable because relations between the Hungarian nobility and the Habsburgs were exceptionally good.

Photo: By Civertan - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12393211

Uploaded by Emily Praisman

The first church on the site was founded by Saint Stephen, King of Hungary in 1015. This building was destroyed in 1241 by the Mongols; the current building was constructed in the latter half of the 13th century. Originally named after the Virgin Mary, taking names such as "The Church of Mary" and "The Church of Our Lady," Matthias Church was named after King Matthias in the 19th Century, who ordered the transformation of its original southern tower. The church was the scene of several coronations, including that of Charles IV in 1916 (the last Habsburg king). It was also the site for King Matthias's two weddings (the first to Catherine of Poděbrady and, after her death, to Beatrice of Naples). During the century and a half of Turkish occupation, the vast majority of its ecclesiastical treasures were shipped to Pressburg (present day Bratislava) and following the capture of Buda in 1541 the church became the city's main mosque. Ornate frescoes that previously adorned the walls of the building were whitewashed and interior furnishings stripped out. The church was also the location of the "Mary-wonder." In 1686 during the siege of Buda by the Holy League a wall of the church collapsed due to cannon fire. It turned out that an old votive Madonna statue was hidden behind the wall. As the sculpture of the Virgin Mary appeared before the praying Muslims, the morale of the garrison collapsed and the city fell on the same day. Although following Turkish expulsion in 1686 an attempt was made to restore the church in the Baroque style, historical evidence shows that the work was largely unsatisfactory. It was not until the great architectural boom towards the end of the 19th century that the building regained much of its former splendour. The architect responsible for this work undertaken in 1873-96 was Frigyes Schulek. The church was restored to its original 13th-century plan, but a number of early original Gothic elements were uncovered. By also adding new motifs of his own (such as the diamond pattern roof tiles and gargoyles laden spire) Schulek ensured that the work, when finished, would be highly controversial. The church was the venue for the coronation of the last two Hungarian Habsburg kings, Franz Joseph in 1867 and Charles IV in 1916. During World War II the church was badly damaged. Matthias Church was used as a camp by the Germans and Soviets in 1944–45 during the Soviet occupation of Hungary. The church was largely renovated between 1950 and 1970 with funding from the Hungarian government. The bell tower was restored, along with renovation of interior paints and frescos.[9] The five-manual organ, which had been destroyed during the war, was updated and sanctified in 1984. A thorough restoration programme was carried out from 2006 to 2013. Half of the HUF 9.4 billion cost was met by the government. It is home to the Ecclesiastical Art Museum, which begins in the medieval crypt and leads up to the St. Stephen Chapel. The gallery contains a number of sacred relics and medieval stone carvings, along with replicas of the Hungarian royal crown and coronation jewels.

Photo:By Stefan Schäfer, Lich - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=63062912

Uploaded by Emily Praisman

Stephen I, also known as King Saint Stephen 975 – 15 August 1038 AD, was the last Grand Prince of the Hungarians between 997 and 1000 or 1001, and the first King of Hungary from 1000 or 1001 until his death in 1038. The year of his birth is uncertain, but many details of his life suggest that he was born in or after 975 in Esztergom. At his birth, he was given the pagan name Vajk. The date of his baptism is unknown. He was the only son of Grand Prince Géza and his wife, Sarolt, who was descended from the prominent family of the gyulas. Although both of his parents were baptized, Stephen was the first member of his family to become a devout Christian. He married Gisela of Bavaria, a scion of the imperial Ottonian dynasty. After succeeding his father in 997, Stephen had to fight for the throne against his relative, Koppány, who was supported by large numbers of pagan warriors. He defeated Koppány mainly with the assistance of foreign knights, including Vecelin, Hont and Pázmány, but also with help from native lords. He was crowned on 25 December 1000 or 1 January 1001 with a crown sent by Pope Sylvester II. In a series of wars against semi-independent tribes and chieftains—including the Black Hungarians and his uncle, Gyula the Younger—he unified the Carpathian Basin. He protected the independence of his kingdom by forcing the invading troops of Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor, to withdraw from Hungary in 1030. Stephen established at least one archbishopric, six bishoprics and three Benedictine monasteries; thus the Church in Hungary developed independently of the archbishops of the Holy Roman Empire. He encouraged the spread of Christianity with severe punishments for ignoring Christian customs. His system of local administration was based on counties organized around fortresses and administered by royal officials. Hungary, which enjoyed a lasting period of peace during his reign, became a preferred route for pilgrims and merchants traveling between Western Europe and the Holy Land or Constantinople. He survived all of his children. He died on 15 August 1038 and was buried in his new basilica, built in Székesfehérvár and dedicated to the Holy Virgin. His death caused civil wars which lasted for decades. He was canonized by Pope Gregory VII, together with his son, Emeric, and Bishop Gerard of Csanád, in 1083. Stephen is a popular saint in Hungary and the neighboring territories. In Hungary, his feast day (celebrated on 20 August) is also a public holiday commemorating the foundation of the state.

Photo: By Thaler Tamas - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=58180427

Uploaded by Emily Praisman

Fisherman's Bastion is a terrace in neo-Gothic and neo-Romanesque style situated on the Buda bank of the Danube, on the Castle hill in Budapest, around Matthias Church. It was designed and built between 1895 and 1902 on the plans of Frigyes Schulek. Construction of the bastion destabilised the foundations of the neighbouring 13th century Dominican Church which had to be pulled down. Between 1947–48, the son of Frigyes Schulek, János Schulek, conducted the other restoration project after its near destruction during World War II. Its seven towers represent the seven Magyar tribes that settled in the Carpathian Basin in 895. From the towers and the terrace a panoramic view exists of Danube, Margaret Island, Pest to the east and the Gellért Hill. The Buda side castle wall was protected by the fishermen's guild and this is the reason why it was called fishermen's Bastion. Other people say, it got the name from the part of the city, which lies beneath the tower. The guild of fishermen was responsible for defending this stretch of the city walls in the Middle Ages. It is a viewing terrace, with many stairs and walking paths. A bronze statue of Stephen I of Hungary mounted on a horse, erected in 1906, can be seen between the Bastion and the Matthias Church. The pedestal was made by Alajos Stróbl, based on the plans of Frigyes Schulek, in Neo-Romanesque style, with episodes illustrating the King's life. It was featured as a Pit Stop on the sixth season of American TV show The Amazing Race.

Photo: By Ealdgyth - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2674945

Uploaded by Emily Praisman

Old József barracks, also known under the name Táncsics Prison is a building in the 1 st district of Budapest . The name "Táncsics prison" refers to the period during which Mihály Táncsics was imprisoned before his liberation by the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 1 . Formerly owned by the United States, the monument (along with two other buildings in Buda) is returned to the Hungarian state in 2014 . The latter then transfers in exchange to the US State the title deeds of two buildings adjacent to his embassy on Szabadság tér 2 .

Photo: By Varius - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28425678

Uploaded by Emily Praisman

Lutheran Church of Budavár is the oldest Lutheran church of Buda. The first church for the Lutherans of Buda was built by Maria Dorothea, third wife of Palatine Joseph, in 1846, at hu:Dísz tér. The site was taken over by the Ministry of Defence, so a new church was built near Bécsi kapu. The building was designed by Mór Kallina and it was consecrated in 1895 by Sámuel Sárkány, bishop of the Lutheran diocese of Bánya. It has eclectic neobaroque style with a neobaroque façade. Its entrance is surrounded by two Corinthian order-like columns with shoulders. It has a tall, slim square tower whose steeple is again neobaroque in style. There is a double loft over the entrance. Most of the church was destroyed by a bomb detonation during the Siege of Budapest in 1945. Only the outer walls escaped destruction. The altar, the benches and the organ were all lost. Plans for reconstruction were made by Lóránt Friedrich and Jr Gyula Bretz. The new church was sanctified by Lajos Ordas bishop on Palm Sunday, 1948. While the exterior retained its neobaroque flavour in a simplified form, the interior became much austere. There is a huge cross behind the wooden altar table and a mosaic window over it admitting some light within. There is a red marble chrzcielnica at the altar and a bronze tablet about vicar Gábor Sztehlo. This church today is the centre of liturgical life for the Lutheran Diocese of Budavár. There are several services every Sunday and on holidays. Flats and offices for the vicars, rooms for the congregation and the centre for the German speaking Lutheran Diocese of Budavár adjoin the church. Since 1952, it has also been the centre of the Northern Lutheran See. Several bishops were ordained here.

Photo: By Misibacsi at Hungarian Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11120683

Uploaded by Emily Praisman

Bécsi kapu (German: Wiener Tor) is located at the Bécsi kapu square, Buda Castle, in 1st District, Budapest, Hungary. As the name suggests, it was the port connecting the Castle with the highway to Vienna. During the Middle Ages it was called Szombat-kapu (Saturday Gate), because markets were held in front of it every Saturday. It has been called Becs kapuszu by the Ottomans. Later it became Zsidó-kapu (Jewish Gate). One of its two side-gates were removed in the early 19th century, and in 1896, the whole gate was demolished. The current gate was restored in 1936, commemorating the 250th anniversary of Recapturing of Buda. The rebuilt gate, designed by Jenő Kismarty-Lechner, has a more symbolical, rather than functional value. Inscriptions, ornaments and relifs, including a running angel was sculpted by Béla Ohmann. Two parts of Bástya sétány are connected on the top of the gate. There are automatic barriers at the gate to mitigate transport in the Castle.

Photo: By The original uploader was Gyurika at Hungarian Wikipedia. - Transferred from hu.wikipedia to Commons., CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6006082

Uploaded by Emily Praisman

This Mary Magdalene (Mária Magdolna) church has a very sad story, but tells a lot about Hungarian history. The church was built in the 13th century, around 1250. After the Turkish invasion it was the only church left for Christians, but in the end of the 16th century it was also transformed into a mosque. Later on, the church was restored and king Frantz I was crowned here. In the Second World War, the church suffered serious damage and during the communist dictatorship, it was demolished except for its gothic tower and a couple of other parts. It has still not been rebuilt. Today it stands as a memento for the unforgivable cultural destruction of the communist era.

Photo: By anna schwelung - Indafotó, CC BY 2.5 hu, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16828721

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Esztergom-Budapest (Latin: Archidioecesis Strigoniensis–Budapestinensis) is the primatial seat of the Roman Catholic Church in Hungary and the Metropolitan of one of its four Latin rite ecclesiastical provinces. The Metropolitan archbishopric retains the title of Primate, which gives this see precedence over all other Latin Hungarian dioceses, including the fellow Metropolitan Archbishops of Eger, Kalocsa–Kecskemét and Veszprém, but the incumbent may be individually (and temporarily) outranked if one of them holds a (higher) cardinalate. Its current Archbishop is Péter Erdő.

Uploaded by Emily Praisman

The statue – made by the architect Ceresola Vereio and stone carver Bernát Ferretti – was finished in 1706. In 1709 the original column was removed and the Council of Buda decided on the erection of a much bigger, more impressive and more decorative Holy Trinity Column. The sculptor Fulop Ungleich made the column, which you can see today. The carving on the top of the column represents the Holy Trinity. Below this the whole column is decorated with smaller statues depicting angels, cherub-like figures and larger statues of saints, while the central sculpture exhibits a biblical scene, showing King David praying to God to let his people avoid the outbreak of a plague.

Photo: By Globetrotter19 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=53904044

Uploaded by Emily Praisman

The labyrinth has already been in use in the Middle Ages, as a shelter, a prison and even as Turkish harem in the 16th century. The underground tunnel system also served as a hospital during the WWII. The Buda Castle Labyrinth, as a tourist attraction open its gates in 1984 with guided tours and film screenings. The new management took over in 2011, and the Labyrinth was re-opened with a slightly different concept, but still offering tours.

Photo: By Globetrotter19 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=38960783

The House of Houdini in Budapest, Hungary, is the premier meeting point for magicians and lovers of the art of magic from all over the world. The museum is located in the mysterious Castle district of Budapest in a majestic location, just a hundred meters from the Royal Palace.

Photo: By PRmachine - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=55240841

Uploaded by Emily Praisman

Connecting the banks of River Danube and the Buda Castle, the Funicular (Budavari Siklo in Hungarian) has been in service since 1870. The construction was started by the idea of Odon Szechenyi, son of the statesman Count Istvan Szechenyi. Back then, this was the second funicular railway operating in Europe. The funicular had been meticulously reconstructed and rebuilt in a vintage style after being completely destroyed in a WWII bombing raid. Currently it runs on a 95-meter route of 50 meters elevation and has two tram cars. The Buda Castle Funicular has two stations, the lower station is at the Buda end of the Chain Bridge and the upper station is on Castle Hill, between Royal Palace and Sandor Palace. The upper station of the Funicular is where the Castle Tour & Funicular package descends to the riverbank level to continue the guided tour on the river Danube (and to rest your feet).

Photo By (WT-shared) Shoestring at wts.wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22549536

Lower station

Uploaded by Emily Praisman

The Zero Kilometre Stone is a 3 m high limestone sculpture in Budapest, forming a zero sign, with an inscription on its pedestal reading "KM" for kilometres. This stone marks the reference point from which all road distances to Budapest are measured in the country. The reference point had initially been located at the threshold of Buda Royal Palace, but was moved to its present location by Széchenyi Chain Bridge when the crossing was completed in 1849. The present sculpture is the work of Miklós Borsos and was erected in 1975. The first official monument had been set up at this spot in 1932, but was destroyed in World War II. A second sculpture, depicting a worker, was in place from 1953 until its replacement by the current one.

Photo By Dennis Jarvis from Halifax, Canada - Hungary-02179 - Zero Kilometer Stone, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=66947995

Don't waste time for planning
Use detailed routes created by your friends and professionals.
Don't be afraid to get lost in new places!
Pinsteps - globe travel application. Travel pictures.
Don't waste time for planning
Open the world with experience of your friends and professionals without any fear.
This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience
OK
Share
Send
Send