Budapest Historical Landmarks
Introduction
Despite Hungary’s relatively young age as a nation, it has had a very turbulent past. The Magyars who were nomadic tribes settled in the Carpathian basin in the 9th century.
The Buda side of the river started as a roman settlement on the frontier of the Roman Empire, on the other side of the river the pest side was inhabited by the “barbarians” who settled in the area in order to trade with the Romans on the other side of the river. A large section of the pest side of the city was a swamp and there were no buildings erected there until the swamp was drained in the 19th century and the land could be used. After the collapse of the Roman Empire and the formation of the Kingdom of Hungary, the country faced several different invasions. In 1541 the ever expanding Ottoman Empire occupied the region and the Hungarians put up a futile resistance against the ottomans who continued their rule of Hungary until 1697 when the allied Christian forces, with blessings from the pope carried out a form of “reconquest” in which the aim was to expel the Turks from Europe and end the threat that the Ottoman Sultans posed to Christendom. After the expulsion of the Turks, the Austrians who led the alliance, occupied Hungary and it became a part of the Hapsburg Empire. The Hungarians led several different failed revolts against Austrian rule, the most famous of which was the 1848 revolution. It was only after world war one and the collapse of the monarchy that Hungary became an independent nation.
After Hungary’s defeat in world war 2, the soviets occupied country and Hungary fell under communist rule for nearly quarter a century. The Hungarian republic was declared in 1989 by Miklos Nemeth who gradually opened the borders and loosened restrictions leading to the final collapse of the iron curtain, the Soviet Union and the formation of a democratic Hungarian republic.
As a result of Hungary’s turbulent history, foreign influences can be seen in the architecture of the city. Although most of the ottoman structures have been destroyed either intentionally or by the decay of time, one structure which has survived is the tomb of Gul Baba who was an ottoman warrior-monk who died in 1541. The ottoman presence can also be seen in the many statues built to commemorate the liberation of Hungary from the ottoman empire; in front of the Buda Castle one can see an equestrian statue of Prince Eugene of Savoy with what appears to be Turkish prisoners of war with their hands tied and being dragged behind him, the turbans on the prisoner’s heads is clearly visible. There is also a statue of a monk holding a cross, breaking through Turkish lines, holding the cross up high and trampling fallen enemies under foot.
Budapest, was a part of the Austrian Empire, which later became known as the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The city of Budapest and Vienna then became known as the twin cities or the 2 capitols of the empire. A lot of the famous structures which were built at the end of the 19th century were built under the Dual Monarchy, so the similarity in design of the buildings in Budapest and Vienna can easily be seen. For example the colorful tiles which are used to decorate the roofs of many churches and structures around the city, like the great Market Hall and the Mattyas Church is also used on the Saint Stephens Cathedral in Vienna.
If you are looking for communist era structures then you don’t have to look far. One of the unique things about Hungary is the special care they give to the preservation of their history, where other countries might destroy all traces of their communist past, Hungary chose to collect all the statues built for the communist regime in one area called statue park, this is where one can walk and see the statues of Stalin, Lenin and other communist figures.
Opera House
The Budapest Opera House, as beautiful as it is, is humble in comparison to the Vienna Opera House which is similar in design but is much more impressive because of the sheer size difference. Although the Budapest opera house is not as imposing or “imperial” as the Viennese opera house, it is very elegant and inviting.
The opera house was designed by Miklos Ybl in the style of neo-renaissance while the interior is neo-classical and built in 1884. The entrance to the opera is flanked by 2 statues of great Hungarian composers, Liszt and Bartok. Within the opera house, visitors are shown the imperial booths from which emperor Franz Jozsef and his famed queen “Sissy” would sit and watch the show. We are also shown a designated smoking room with in the opera house which is reputed to be the first public building with a smoking section in Europe. There are also many romantic stories about the smoking room, it is said to have been so smoky and visibility in the room so limited that couples would sneak in to exchange love notes and secret kisses hidden away from prying eyes in the dense smoke.
The Budapest opera house is world famous for its excellent acoustics and it is decorated with 7 kg of gold leaf which is renewed and reapplied every 40 years. There is also a magnificent 2-tonne, gold platted chandelier hanging over your head. The beautiful and perfectly preserved interior of the opera house makes you feel transported back to the days of the monarchy with the music of Mozart playing in the back of your head. You can almost see it.
Szent Istvan baszillica
Standing in the middle of the Szent Istvan square, looking up at the all dominating façade of the building which is reminiscent of St.Peter’s basilica in Vatican city. Because the basilica and the parliament were built for the 1896 celebrations, both the structures have a 96-meter high dome. The gold Latin inscription which runs above a larger than life image of Jesus Christ with his arms spread ready to embrace, reads “I am the way, the truth, the light”. The neo-renaissance construction is adorned with statues of the 12 apostles and other saints.
Plans were drawn up for the basilica in 1845 but construction only began in 1851 because of delays caused by the 1848 revolution. In 1868 the dome collapsed and construction had to be started over from scratch. It is said that during the opening ceremonies, Emperor Francis Jozsef constantly looked up towards the dome fearing that it would collapse again. Other than the collapse of the dome, the basilica suffered other setbacks. During the entire duration of construction, the basilica went through 3 different architects, Jozsef Hild and Miklos Ybl, both of whom did not live long enough to see their work completed. It was Jozsef Kauser who finally finished the structure in 1906. The building is also the largest church in the country.
The inside of the basilica is as imposing as the exterior. The main altar holds a statue of king-saint Stephen, the first king of Hungary who introduced Christianity to the nomadic Magyars. A statue of the angel Gabriel holds a crown over the king’s statue. The most important item within the basilica is the mummified right hand of the king-saint which is taken on an annual procession through the church. You can also take the elevator to the dome and see the beautiful panoramic view of Budapest.
Heroes square
The elegant and spacious Andrassy blvd with the M1 metro line, which was the first underground subway line built in continental Europe, running directly beneath it is topped at the end by the heroes’ square which holds the millennium monument.
The monument was built to celebrate the 1000th anniversary of the Magyar people settling in the area. It was only finished in 1926. The monument won the first prize in the 1900 world exhibition in Paris and has become a part of the UNESCO’s world heritage sites.
The first thing to catch your eye would be the impressively tall, 36 meter column with a statue of the arch-angel Gabriel holding the crown of St. Stephen and the Hungarian double cross. The reason for the crown is that as legend has it, Gabriel came to king Stephen in a dream to offer him the crown of Hungary. The central column is surrounded by the statues of the leaders of the 7 Hungarian tribes on horseback. Behind the column is the colonnade of 2 half-semi-circles that hold statues of Hungarian kings and people who influenced Hungary’s history along with metal reliefs depicting scenes from each respective time-line. It moves in a chronological order from left to right. On the top of the colonnade you would be able to see empty pedestals which were reserved for the Austrian kings, as the structure was built during the days of the Hapsburg monarchy but the monarchy dissolved before the structure could be completed, as a result the statues were never erected but the empty pedestals have become symbolic of Hungarian independence from Hapsburg rule which lasted for centuries following the ottoman occupation of the region.
Today you can see skateboarders or groups of friends sitting in the square with an open bottle of wine, enjoying the view and the atmosphere.
Parliament
Construction of this commanding neo-gothic structure began in 1884 and was finished by architect Imre Steindl in 1902, although the plan was to have completed the building by 1896 for the country’s 1000th anniversary. The great dark-red dome rises 96-meters off the ground, indicating the year for which it was built, 1896. The design of the parliament building is strongly influenced by the English houses of parliament, especially as both are on river banks. The structure was built to compete with the English houses of parliament and as a result was built only one meter longer in width, making it larger than the English parliament. The building is the largest in Hungary and the 3rd largest parliament in the world. The structure was so expensive to build that with the costs used, an entire town of 40,000 people could have been built with full infrastructure.
The parliament building houses the royal regalia, including the crown of saint-king Istvan which was given to him as a gift by pope in appreciation of him for bringing Hungary into Christendom. The large halls stretch for 12.6 miles inside the building. When parliament is not in session, visitors can be given a tour of this great structure and symbol of Budapest.
Buda Castle
While on the river bank on the pest side, the most magnificent structure that can be seen across the river is the mighty Buda castle, on castle hill. It is built on higher ground and as a result is raised much higher than the rest of the city and can be seen from almost any area with a good line of sight.
The castle might seem like an old structure dating back to the monarchy but in fact the structure was destroyed several different times and then rebuilt. The most recent destruction of the castle was during the allied bombing raids on the city of Budapest during world war 2. The only original part of the castle which survived the ravages of time and war is surprisingly the outer wall defenses winding down the hill towards the Danube river. The building was first built in 1256 and later expanded on. In 1541 Budapest and the castle were occupied by the ottoman forces after the battle of Mohacs and the castle became the seat of ottoman power in the region. The building was destroyed in 1686 during bombardment by the allied Christian forces who were trying to expel the ottomans from the region, which they successfully did by 1697. The castle was rebuilt in 1769 and was destroyed again by Hungarian forces attempting to capture it in 1848 but it was soon rebuilt in 1856. The castle later became the last strong hold of axis forces during world war 2 in which siege it was destroyed, it was rebuilt by 1961 but the interior only completed in the 1980’s.
The building now holds the Hungarian national museum and the Budapest history museum. Visitors can also walk along the ruins and excavations that were taking place in the castle.
The (Dohany Street) Great Synagogue
The great synagogue which is the largest Jewish temple in Europe and the second largest in the world was built in Moorish-byzantine style architecture with design inspirations from North Africa and Spain. Built in 1859 by Ludwig Forester, the structure has witnessed many turbulent times and has survived them. It was bombed by the Hungarian arrow cross party in 1939, it was used as a stable during the war and was heavily damaged during the siege of Budapest. During the Nazi occupation of the city in 1944, 20,000 Jews took refuge in the synagogue, 7000 of whom perished in the harsh winter of 44-45 and are buried in the courtyard. Restoration began in 1991-1998 and was financed by the state and by private donations. Today it houses a Jewish history museum and one can walk inside the courtyard were the memorial to Hungarian Jewish martyrs can be seen as well as a memorial for Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat in Budapest who protected Jews, issuing protective passports and saving thousands of lives during the holocaust.
Gellert Hill
Gellert Hill is a 140-meter height rock overlooking the Buda hills and the Danube river. At the top of the hill is the citadel built by the Hapsburgs after the 1848 revolution in order to ensure their control of the area. By the end of the 19th century the Hapsburgs handed over the citadel to the city council which then symbolically destroyed parts of it. The citadel later served as an army bunker, an anti-aircraft gun and now holds a museum and a restraint.
Gellert hill also holds a statue of saint Gellert facing the Danube. Saint Gellert was a bishop who was invited to Hungary by king Stephen to help convert the pagan Magyars to Christianity. It is said that after king Stephens death, no longer protected, Gellert was attacked and stuffed in a barrel filled with nails which was rolled down what is now known as Gellert hill where the abbot met his end. The monument was erected in 1904 and has become an important part of the Budapest landscape.
On top of the hill is a statue of a woman holding up a palm tree leaf called the freedom or liberty statue. Originally the monument was erected to commemorate the victory of the soviet forces in liberating Budapest from the Nazis and contained a statue of a soviet soldier and names of fallen soldiers in the battle for Budapest. After the collapse of the soviet union the soviet soldier and the names were torn down leaving behind only the statue of the woman which became symbolic of Hungarian independence.
The Chain Bridge
The suspension bridge called Szechenyi Lanchid was the first bridge to connect the yet unconnected Buda and Pest, which was the first step in the formation and unification of the two cities into Budapest. The bridge gets its name from Count Szechenyi who took the initiative to build the bridge and commissioned William Clark to design it. Clark had by that time already designed two bridges over the Thames river in London. It was opened in November 20, 1849. The bridge was one of the factors leading to the Hungarian golden century as it helped economic growth and the faster urbanization of the city. The bridge was destroyed, along with other bridges during the allied air raids on Budapest during the second world war, it was reconstructed in 1949.