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Castle Hill
It’s with good reason that many guidebooks on Budapest open with a chapter on the Castle District. The majority of Buda’s principal tourist sights – which include the Royal Palace, Fisherman’s Bastion and Matthias Church – are situated here. You can see here the Buda Royal Castle. This castle has a long history. The first castle was almost completely destroyed in 1686, in the war to recover the city of Buda from the Turks. In 1715 a modest Baroque palace was constructed to replace the Gothic one. The Castle was expanded in the following century, and in 1790 the Palace was almost completed—minor extensions were made later.
The Royal Palace has been burned, bombed, razed, rebuilt and redesigned at least half a dozen times over the past seven centuries. What you see today clinging to the southern end of Castle Hill is an 18th and early 20th century amalgam reconstructed after the last war. It houses, among other things, the impressive National Gallery (which has a huge section devoted to Hungarian art), the National Library and the Budapest History Museum. At the rear of the museum take a relaxing break in the palace gardens. Ferdinand Gate under the conical Mace Tower will bring you to a set of steps. These descend to a historic Turkish cemetery dating from the decisive Independence battle for Buda of 1686. To get to the Royal Palace, take the Sikló, a funicular built in 1870 from Clark Ádám, or for the more energetic, walk up the ‘Royal Steps’ or the wide staircase that goes to the southern end of the Royal Palace.
Built to defend against a return of the Mongol invaders, Castle Hill is now regularly overrun by hordes of foreign tourists. The Baroque residences here were built in the Middle Ages for the well-to-do; later, before WWII, this area housed government offices. The German occupiers used the hill as their last stand during the WWII siege of Budapest; for years afterward, the area was little more than rubble. But reconstruction has brought back Castle Hill`s charm. Significant sites include Matthias Church and the Royal Palace.
Almost every cobbled street leads on to a place of interest, whether it’s a landmark building, a row of baroque houses or a charming little café where locals chat, play chess, or read the early morning papers. Regarded as Budapest’s ‘trump card’ in attracting tourists, the beauty and historic importance of buildings here is reflected by the fact that the entire area has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Gellert Hill
Approached from beside the Hotel Gellert on the Buda side of Szabadság Bridge (Map Ref. B6), the Gellert hill, named after Hungary’s first Christian martyr who was rolled down it in a barrel lined with spikes, is crisscrossed by secluded paths with turret-like lookout posts which provide dramatic views of Pest. A point of interest near at the start of your walk is the Cave chapel where the anti-Communist cardinal Jozsef Mindszenty preached to thousands of followers before being arrested and imprisoned in 1948 by the authorities. In 1951 the cave chapel was bricked up and was not reopened until 1989. All paths lead to the summit from where the Statue of Liberty watches over the city. Behind the Statue of Liberty is the Citadella (see Essential Budapest for more).
The hill is named after the priest where he was martyred. The Citadel is a small rounded military castle, built by the Austrians between, 1850 and 1854, which is among the attractions on this hill. The impressive monuments, and the Gellert Baths, are worth a visit. Gellert Hill, Hungary is worth to see!
Budapest Statue Park
The Park of Statues, installed in the suburbs of Budapest, has been presenting since August 1995 a collection of monumental statues, formerly placed in the public places of Budapest according to the instructions and needs of the communist policy.
Totalitarian regimes have always attached importance to dominating and controlling the image of their territories and of the life of their subjects in a total way. For this purpose, one of the best ways is to control history and memory, that is, the past..
Too often history was manipulated, rewritten so as to legitimate existing power and to give it an image that wanted to be positive, while destroying the other history, erasing any trace of a dissenting memory parallel with the official one. In order to exert this absolute control on collective memory, it was forbidden to remember and commemorate anything other than this official memory: “the ideologists of the Communist Parties of Eastern Europe (…) tried to throw a black veil on history, so that the present time of socialism can take more glare” (Miklós Sulyok).
The statues that populate the Park today give a significant account of this control of the state party under Soviet domination. They were then “instruments intended to destroy memory” (Miklós Sulyok), evidence of the power and omnipotence of the State, which daily reminded the population which memory was to be imprinted on their spirit.
The years 1989-1990 brought about deep changes in Hungary and in the Eastern European countries in general. Once these countries were liberated from the Soviet communist yoke, political changes came in opposition to this over-controlled past. It is thus quite natural that at this time the question arose about the future of the many statues that decorated public spaces, statues glorifying a past that wanted from then on to be over. How could they acquire neutral status when their symbolism was their reason to exist some time before? Moreover, the prolonged presence of these statues in public spaces proved to be unthinkable and unbearable: “a great number of people reacted instinctively with hatred and demanded their destruction. Others wished that they be destroyed and disfigured even as they are exposed.”
Others thought that they had lost their significance with the fall of the Soviet block and that they could thus remain in their place without offending any sensitivity. Between these two extreme solutions, the first consisting in treating in a totalitarian way the totalitarianism which one fights by erasing a side of memory, the other in vulgarising totalitarian acts and risking a not less dangerous forgetfulness, a third original way was found, enabling a necessary work of memory.
The solution that was chosen consisted in using these statues as testimony and in appealing to reflection while placing them together in a common place of memory, that of the pangs of totalitarianism as regards denial, deconstruction and rebuilding of memory.
Having chosen this latter solution, the Cultural Committee of the Municipal Council of Budapest launched an invitation to architects for the realisation of a project relating to the setup of a park to accommodate the dismounted statues. It was the project of Ákos Eleőd, member of the Architecture Studio “Vadász és Társai”, which was retained. This architect created a jewellery case space appropriate for this specific subject, thanks to a generous and spirited interpretation that answered society’s expectations.
The Chain Bridge
The Chain Bridge – In 1832, count István Széchenyi, “the greatest Hungarian” began to organize the construction of the bridge. While travelling in England, Széchenyi became personally acquainted with William Thierney Clark, who was commissioned to draft the plans for the bridge, and his namesake Adam Clark was asked to direct the construction , which was finished in 1849. The retreating German troops blew up the Chain Bridge in January 1945. This vital element of Budapest’s cityscape was restored on the 100 th anniversary of its inauguration. The Chain Bridge is worth to see!
The first connection between Pest and Buda was made by the Chain Bridge or Széchenyi lánchíd, named after count Széchenyi, who took the initiative to build the bridge. In 1836 he gave the project to the builders of the Thames Bridge in London, William Clark and Adam Clark.
The 375 meters long and 16 meters wide bridge, a superb engineering feat, was opened on novem- ber 20, 1849. In 1857 Adam Clark dug a 350 meter long tunnel through the Castle Hill to connect the bridge with the Buda hinterland.
The bridge ignited the economic revival that would lead to the golden century and it was one of the factors that made the provincial towns of Pest and Buda into a fast-growing metropolitan. In 1989 people demonstrated on the chain bridge for freedom and independence. Since then, the bridge has become a symbol of Hungarian liberty.
Budapest is the capital of Hungary and with a population of 2 million citizens it is by far the largest city in the country. Budapest conjures up a string of flattering adjectives: dramatic, enchanting, glamorous, magical. It’s difficult to decide from which angle the city is most breathtaking; the monumental expanse of Pest, the hills and towers of Buda or the mighty Danube.
With its multifarious and often embittered history, incredible architecture and rich cultural heritage, Hungary’s capital deserves its reputation as the ‘Paris of Eastern Europe’. With world class hotels to accommodate you and tons to see and do, it’s well worth your discovery.
Known as the ‘Paris of the East’ or the ‘Queen of the Danube’, it’s a magnificent city that exudes a cultural sophistication that entices and enchants. Gracing both sides of the legendary river with grand historic buildings, regal bridges and graceful tree-lined boulevards, it is this and the elegant beauty and romantic atmosphere that all visitors to Budapest come to experience.
The city straddles a gentle curve in the Danube. It has broad avenues, leafy parks and elaborate bathhouses. It also has a turn-of-the-century feel to it, for it was then - during the industrial boom and the capital’s heyday - that most of the city was built.
This fascinating city will capture your heart as well as your imagination. By day winding cobblestone streets and grand tree-lined boulevards welcome you. By night the lights on the monuments and bridges gleam in the dark like jewels. Budapest may be the capital of a landlocked country, but it’s far from dry. In fact, the city’s most seductive element is water. It springs from underground wells, filling Ottoman, baroque and art-nouveau pools. It flows through the city in the broad and meandering Danube River, dividing Buda and Pest in yin-yang fashion. It even provides welcome relief after a bowl of hot-paprika-spiced goulash. Few visitors can resist Budapest’s invitation to bathe, but the city’s allure goes beyond its spa status. As a large urban center, it manages to strike a nice balance between nature and development. Hills, islands and parks coexist with theaters, cafes, monuments and other buildings in an eclectic array of architectural styles. delight your eyes and ears.
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