The three towns of Budapest; Part 3, Pest
May 27th 2008 10:47
Pest, which lies on the east bank of the Danube, is flatter, bigger, busier and younger than Buda and Obuda. However, it is by no means less well endowed with majestic buildings, grand monuments, fascinating history and iconic characters than its west bank sisters.
Following the final defeat of the Magyars in 955, Istvan I set up Hungary’s Royal Court in Pest. His Arpad Dynasty flourished here until 1242, when, after the Mongol attacks, Bela IV moved it to the hilltop castle in Buda. Life continued peacefully for Pest until it was razed by the Turks in the 14th century. The town was rebuilt from the ashes after Hungary was finally freed from the Turks by the Hapsburg commander Eugene of Savoy in 1686. So, even though Pest’s history as a Hungarian town is older than Buda’s or Obuda’s, its bricks and mortar are younger. Its oldest building is the former Péterffy Palace, now Százévres Restaurant, which was built in1708. With the formation of Budapest in 1873, came a frenzied building boom as the Dual Monarchy sought to create a city to rival Vienna, Paris and the other great cities of Europe. Pest, as the centre of government, administration and commerce for the new capital, benefited royally from the boom and its beautiful, coherent cityscape was born of this time.
Flat, compact, logically laid out and liberally dotted with landmarks, as well as picturesque spots to pause and drink them all in, Pest is a wonderful place for walkers. A stroll around the boulevards uncovers one brilliant building after another. Each little side street opens onto a stunning square and every square has at least one great monument with a fascinating story.
A good place to begin a promenade around Pest is down by the Danube, with the totally unmissable star of this side of the city, the immense, neo-gothic Hungarian Parliament, on Lajos Kossuth Ter. Measuring 268 by 116 metres, it has 20km of staircases winding through its interior, 233 statues adorning its exterior and a giant 96 metre dome. The building was designed by Imre Steindl. Construction began in 1884 and was completed in 1904. Its frescos are the work of some of Hungary’s most notable artists, among them Karoly Lotz and Mihaly Munkacsy. To the north and south of the Parliament are statues of the poet Jozsef Attila and Count Mihaly Karoly who headed Hungary’s first Republic in 1919. In front of the building, are the statues Lajos Kossuth, leader of the 1848-49 revolution and Ferenc Rakoczi II who led the failed War of Independence 1703-1711. On the other side of Kossuth Ter is the beautiful neo-baroque Ethnographic Museum. Constructed in 1896 as the seat of the Royal Court, it later became the Palace of Justice. Inside are a massive hall with pillars stretching over several stories, stained glass windows and a superb Karoly Lotz ceiling fresco. The museum’s collections give a fascinating insight into life, especially village life, in Hungary through the ages.
Further down the river, on Roosevelt Ter, sits the magnificent neo-renaissance, Hungarian Science Academy. Built between 1862 and 1865 it was the brainchild of Istvan Szechenyi, whose name and mark are on many of Budapest’s great 19th century ventures. Also on Roosevelt Ter is the art nouveau Gresham Palace, now a Four Seasons Hotel but built originally in 1903 by Szigmund Quittner for the Gresham Life Insurance Company. Further down again is Petoffi Ter, which was named in memory of the poet who inspired the 1848 revolution against the Austrians. The square has been the scene of many memorable demonstrations and protests ever since. All along the promenade chic restaurants and bars (some on jetties and moored boats) provide stunning views, especially at night, across the Danube to Buda Castle and the Statue of Liberty on Gellert Hill.
Just beyond the Danube’s Liberty Bridge is the Market Hall, an old steel-framed brick building which dates back to the end of 19th century. The ground floor stalls offer local produce of every kind; fresh fruit and vegetables, meat and fish; wine, cheeses, nuts, pulses, preserves and pickles and sweet and pungent smelling Hungarian delicacies. Upstairs are exquisite local crafts, knitted goods, lace, embroidery and fabulous wooden toys – knights and soldiers, cars and trains and gorgeous dolls of all sizes, in national dress. There are bands, buskers, constant movement, noise and fun. There are sensational little eateries selling traditional dishes. Everything is cheap.
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Museum Korut, or Museum Street, which curves away from the river, is home to two of Hungary’s great Museums. The Hungarian National Museum, founded by Ferenc Szechenyi (father of Istvan) in 1802, houses an exhibition illustrating the history of the Hungarian State, from its foundations to the 20th century. It includes displays of jewels, craft work, furniture arms and armour, paintings, garments, posters, films and even a piece of the Berlin Wall. St Stephen’s crown, coronation mantle, royal scepter, orb and sword, which were smuggled to Germany at the end of the war and eventually returned to Hungary by the US in 1978, are on display. The neo-classical museum building is as impressive as its contents. Designed by the Viennese architect Mihaly Pollock it has a vast pillared hall hung with massive chandeliers and wide sweeping staircases. The Museum of Applied and Decorative Arts, built at the turn of the 20th century by Odon Lecher is also an architectural marvel. Inside is an amazing display of Hungarian handicrafts from ceramics to leatherwork and lace.
On the corner of Museum Korut and Racoczi Ut is the huge and magnificent Great Synagogue, which was built in the 1850s by the Viennese architect, Lugwig Forster. A museum in front of the building shows Jewish life as it used to be before the Holocaust decimated Budapest’s Jewish community. Behind it is a memorial, a metal weeping willow, its leaves inscribed with the names of the dead.
A short walk from the Synogogue lies busy, vibrant Varosmarty Ter, dedicated to the famous romantic poet Mihaly Varosmarty. The grand Gerbaud coffee house, founded by Hungary’s culinary leading light has stood at no 7 since 1858. It still offers traditional coffee and cake as well as its own home-brewed beer.
Leading away from Varosmarty Ter is Vaci Utca the smart hub of Budapest’s shopping district. It is lined with elegant department stores, global chain stores, boutiques, and international fast-food outlets as well as uniquely Hungarian folk art stores, traditional cafes, local burger joints and a fascinating little second hand shop which sells everything from old Dual Monarchy heirlooms to insignia from Soviet uniforms. The area comes alive at night when Budapest comes out to play in Vaci Utca’s clubs and bars.
Across busy, constantly shifting Deak Ter, Budapest’s transport hub, just back from the river, behind and between Roosevelt Ter and Kossuth Lajos Ter, is quiet, quaint Leopold Town. Its beautiful main square, Szabadsag Ter has a children’s park, bright beds of flowers and a star-crowned monument to the heroes of the 1956 uprising. It is overlooked by the majestic Hungarian Television building and the American Embassy, where the rebel Cardinal Mindszenty lived in exile between 1956 and 1971.
Majestic St Stephens Basilica, just nearby, was begun in 1851 and finished between 1873 and 1905 by the architect Moklos Ybl. The mosaics in its giant 96 metre dome are by Karoly Lotz and the figure of St Stephen on the high altar is by Alojos Strobl. The church treasury includes one of the saint’s mummified hands.
Beyond St Stephens, the grand old Hungarian State Opera House, also built by Moklos Ybl (1844-75) and guarded by statues of great composers, including Hungary’s own Franz Liszt, stands on broad tree-lined Andrassy Ut.
It’s a fair hike up Andrassy Ut, through busy Oktagon Ter to Heroes Square, but it’s worth it to see this huge, powerful, sculptural extravaganza. Built in 1896 to commemorate the conquest of the Carpathian Basin by the Magyars, it depicts the Archangel Gabriel surrounded by the tribal chiefs, with Arpad, father of the Hungary's first dynasty, in the centre. The tomb of the Unknown Soldier lies at their feet and behind it are the Kings, statesmen and heroes of Hungary. In front of the monument, a vast, white flagstoned square stretches away. The Museum of Fine Arts stands on the left of the square and on the right is the Mucsarnok which houses temporary modern exhibitions.
Behind the heroes monument lies Virosliget or City Park, a rambling expanse of trees, lawn, flower beds and ponds, surrounded by the Budapest Zoo and the riotous Vidam Fun Park. Vajdahundad Castle, a copy of Janos (liberator from the Turks) Hunyadi’s castle in Romania, stands on an island in Virosliget’s artificial lake. It now houses the Museum of Agriculture. At Virosliget’s centre are the famous Szchenyi Baths, a huge neo-baroque complex with full spa facilities – steam baths, saunas and hot pools – as well as a fabulous communal swimming pool. And the Szchenyi Baths, after a day which has challenged the body and stimulated the brain, is great place to sink back and soak it all up.
A Hungarian Hero
Following the final defeat of the Magyars in 955, Istvan I set up Hungary’s Royal Court in Pest. His Arpad Dynasty flourished here until 1242, when, after the Mongol attacks, Bela IV moved it to the hilltop castle in Buda. Life continued peacefully for Pest until it was razed by the Turks in the 14th century. The town was rebuilt from the ashes after Hungary was finally freed from the Turks by the Hapsburg commander Eugene of Savoy in 1686. So, even though Pest’s history as a Hungarian town is older than Buda’s or Obuda’s, its bricks and mortar are younger. Its oldest building is the former Péterffy Palace, now Százévres Restaurant, which was built in1708. With the formation of Budapest in 1873, came a frenzied building boom as the Dual Monarchy sought to create a city to rival Vienna, Paris and the other great cities of Europe. Pest, as the centre of government, administration and commerce for the new capital, benefited royally from the boom and its beautiful, coherent cityscape was born of this time.
Flat, compact, logically laid out and liberally dotted with landmarks, as well as picturesque spots to pause and drink them all in, Pest is a wonderful place for walkers. A stroll around the boulevards uncovers one brilliant building after another. Each little side street opens onto a stunning square and every square has at least one great monument with a fascinating story.
The Parliament building
A good place to begin a promenade around Pest is down by the Danube, with the totally unmissable star of this side of the city, the immense, neo-gothic Hungarian Parliament, on Lajos Kossuth Ter. Measuring 268 by 116 metres, it has 20km of staircases winding through its interior, 233 statues adorning its exterior and a giant 96 metre dome. The building was designed by Imre Steindl. Construction began in 1884 and was completed in 1904. Its frescos are the work of some of Hungary’s most notable artists, among them Karoly Lotz and Mihaly Munkacsy. To the north and south of the Parliament are statues of the poet Jozsef Attila and Count Mihaly Karoly who headed Hungary’s first Republic in 1919. In front of the building, are the statues Lajos Kossuth, leader of the 1848-49 revolution and Ferenc Rakoczi II who led the failed War of Independence 1703-1711. On the other side of Kossuth Ter is the beautiful neo-baroque Ethnographic Museum. Constructed in 1896 as the seat of the Royal Court, it later became the Palace of Justice. Inside are a massive hall with pillars stretching over several stories, stained glass windows and a superb Karoly Lotz ceiling fresco. The museum’s collections give a fascinating insight into life, especially village life, in Hungary through the ages.
Further down the river, on Roosevelt Ter, sits the magnificent neo-renaissance, Hungarian Science Academy. Built between 1862 and 1865 it was the brainchild of Istvan Szechenyi, whose name and mark are on many of Budapest’s great 19th century ventures. Also on Roosevelt Ter is the art nouveau Gresham Palace, now a Four Seasons Hotel but built originally in 1903 by Szigmund Quittner for the Gresham Life Insurance Company. Further down again is Petoffi Ter, which was named in memory of the poet who inspired the 1848 revolution against the Austrians. The square has been the scene of many memorable demonstrations and protests ever since. All along the promenade chic restaurants and bars (some on jetties and moored boats) provide stunning views, especially at night, across the Danube to Buda Castle and the Statue of Liberty on Gellert Hill.
Buda Castle and Szchenyi Bridge from the Pest bank of the Danube
Just beyond the Danube’s Liberty Bridge is the Market Hall, an old steel-framed brick building which dates back to the end of 19th century. The ground floor stalls offer local produce of every kind; fresh fruit and vegetables, meat and fish; wine, cheeses, nuts, pulses, preserves and pickles and sweet and pungent smelling Hungarian delicacies. Upstairs are exquisite local crafts, knitted goods, lace, embroidery and fabulous wooden toys – knights and soldiers, cars and trains and gorgeous dolls of all sizes, in national dress. There are bands, buskers, constant movement, noise and fun. There are sensational little eateries selling traditional dishes. Everything is cheap.
.
Museum Korut, or Museum Street, which curves away from the river, is home to two of Hungary’s great Museums. The Hungarian National Museum, founded by Ferenc Szechenyi (father of Istvan) in 1802, houses an exhibition illustrating the history of the Hungarian State, from its foundations to the 20th century. It includes displays of jewels, craft work, furniture arms and armour, paintings, garments, posters, films and even a piece of the Berlin Wall. St Stephen’s crown, coronation mantle, royal scepter, orb and sword, which were smuggled to Germany at the end of the war and eventually returned to Hungary by the US in 1978, are on display. The neo-classical museum building is as impressive as its contents. Designed by the Viennese architect Mihaly Pollock it has a vast pillared hall hung with massive chandeliers and wide sweeping staircases. The Museum of Applied and Decorative Arts, built at the turn of the 20th century by Odon Lecher is also an architectural marvel. Inside is an amazing display of Hungarian handicrafts from ceramics to leatherwork and lace.
On the corner of Museum Korut and Racoczi Ut is the huge and magnificent Great Synagogue, which was built in the 1850s by the Viennese architect, Lugwig Forster. A museum in front of the building shows Jewish life as it used to be before the Holocaust decimated Budapest’s Jewish community. Behind it is a memorial, a metal weeping willow, its leaves inscribed with the names of the dead.
A short walk from the Synogogue lies busy, vibrant Varosmarty Ter, dedicated to the famous romantic poet Mihaly Varosmarty. The grand Gerbaud coffee house, founded by Hungary’s culinary leading light has stood at no 7 since 1858. It still offers traditional coffee and cake as well as its own home-brewed beer.
Leading away from Varosmarty Ter is Vaci Utca the smart hub of Budapest’s shopping district. It is lined with elegant department stores, global chain stores, boutiques, and international fast-food outlets as well as uniquely Hungarian folk art stores, traditional cafes, local burger joints and a fascinating little second hand shop which sells everything from old Dual Monarchy heirlooms to insignia from Soviet uniforms. The area comes alive at night when Budapest comes out to play in Vaci Utca’s clubs and bars.
Szbadsag ter
Across busy, constantly shifting Deak Ter, Budapest’s transport hub, just back from the river, behind and between Roosevelt Ter and Kossuth Lajos Ter, is quiet, quaint Leopold Town. Its beautiful main square, Szabadsag Ter has a children’s park, bright beds of flowers and a star-crowned monument to the heroes of the 1956 uprising. It is overlooked by the majestic Hungarian Television building and the American Embassy, where the rebel Cardinal Mindszenty lived in exile between 1956 and 1971.
Majestic St Stephens Basilica, just nearby, was begun in 1851 and finished between 1873 and 1905 by the architect Moklos Ybl. The mosaics in its giant 96 metre dome are by Karoly Lotz and the figure of St Stephen on the high altar is by Alojos Strobl. The church treasury includes one of the saint’s mummified hands.
Beyond St Stephens, the grand old Hungarian State Opera House, also built by Moklos Ybl (1844-75) and guarded by statues of great composers, including Hungary’s own Franz Liszt, stands on broad tree-lined Andrassy Ut.
Heroes Square
It’s a fair hike up Andrassy Ut, through busy Oktagon Ter to Heroes Square, but it’s worth it to see this huge, powerful, sculptural extravaganza. Built in 1896 to commemorate the conquest of the Carpathian Basin by the Magyars, it depicts the Archangel Gabriel surrounded by the tribal chiefs, with Arpad, father of the Hungary's first dynasty, in the centre. The tomb of the Unknown Soldier lies at their feet and behind it are the Kings, statesmen and heroes of Hungary. In front of the monument, a vast, white flagstoned square stretches away. The Museum of Fine Arts stands on the left of the square and on the right is the Mucsarnok which houses temporary modern exhibitions.
Szchenyi Baths, Budapest
Behind the heroes monument lies Virosliget or City Park, a rambling expanse of trees, lawn, flower beds and ponds, surrounded by the Budapest Zoo and the riotous Vidam Fun Park. Vajdahundad Castle, a copy of Janos (liberator from the Turks) Hunyadi’s castle in Romania, stands on an island in Virosliget’s artificial lake. It now houses the Museum of Agriculture. At Virosliget’s centre are the famous Szchenyi Baths, a huge neo-baroque complex with full spa facilities – steam baths, saunas and hot pools – as well as a fabulous communal swimming pool. And the Szchenyi Baths, after a day which has challenged the body and stimulated the brain, is great place to sink back and soak it all up.
Szchenyi Baths
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