Budapest

Buda

Buda was the kernel of settlement in the Middle Ages, and the cobbled streets and Gothic houses of the castle town have preserved its old layout. Until the late 18th century, Pest remained a tiny enclave, but then its population exploded, leaving Buda far behind. In the latter half of the 20th century, growth has been more evenly distributed between the two parts. Contemporary Budapest covers 203 square miles (525 square km), of which about half is built up. Buda’s hilltops, still crowned by trees; the Danube flanked by three lower hills; the bridges; Margit (Margaret) Island; and the riverfront of Pest lend a remarkable visual identity to the city.

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In a central position is Castle Hill (Várhegy), 551 feet (168 metres) above sea level and crowned by the restored Buda Castle (Budai vár, commonly called the Royal Palace). In the 13th century a fortress was built on the site and was replaced by a large Baroque palace during the reign (1740–80) of Maria Theresa as queen of Hungary. The structure was destroyed or damaged and rebuilt several times over the centuries, most recently when it was razed during World War II. Restoration of the palace was completed in the mid-1970s, and it now houses the National Széchényi Library, Budapest History Museum (commonly called the Vármúzeum, or Castle Museum), and the Hungarian National Gallery. The spire of the medieval Gothic Church of Our Blessed Lady (Nagyboldogasszony), commonly called Matthias Church (Mátyás-templom), also thrusts into the skyline above Castle Hill, with the late 19th-century Neo-Romanesque Fishermen’s Bastion (Halászbástya) in front and a contemporary hotel next to it.

To the south of Castle Hill rises the higher Gellért Hill (771 feet), a steep limestone escarpment overlooking the Danube, which provides a panoramic view of the whole city. At the top stands the Citadel (Citadella)—built by the Austrian army in the mid-19th century in order to keep watch over the town—which serves today as a hotel and restaurant and doubles on St. Stephen’s Day (August 20) as the stage for a splendid fireworks display. The Liberation Statue near the Citadel commemorates the victory of the Soviet army over German forces in 1945. Rózsa (Rose) Hill, the third hill near the river, lies north of Castle Hill. It is the most fashionable district of Budapest, where Hungary’s elite have houses. The Lukács (Lucas) Bath at the foot of the hill is frequented by Budapest’s literati.

Below the three hills stretches the city. Opposite Rózsa Hill lies Margit Island, a mile-long park with hotels and swimming pools. Facing Castle Hill on the Pest side of the Danube is the ornate Parliament Building (Országház). Designed in Neo-Gothic style and influenced by the Houses of Parliament in London, the building (completed in 1902) has been little used since the end of World War II. Further along the bank lies the Neo-Renaissance building of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (1862–64) and the Vigadó, a large hall built in the Romantic style (1859–64).

Pest

The heart of Pest is the Belváros (Inner Town), an irregular pentagon with its longest side running parallel to the Danube; only traces of the original town walls remain. The district accommodates offices, parts of the Loránd Eötvös University, and shops. The Váci utca, a narrow street turned pedestrian thoroughfare, is the most fashionable shopping centre of Budapest. Another, newer pedestrian-friendly street, the New Main Street, also stretches through the city centre. The Town Hall (Fővárosi Tanács), a Baroque building erected between 1724 and 1747, is in the northeast corner of the Belváros next to Pest County Hall (Pest megyei Tanács). The Inner Town Parish Church (Belvárosi plébániatemplom) is the oldest building in Pest. Rebuilt in the Baroque style in the 18th century, as were many other churches in Pest and Buda, the church had been the most impressive of medieval Pest. St. Stephen’s Crown, the symbol of Hungarian nationhood, is on display in the Hungarian National Museum, a Neoclassical edifice located just outside the Belváros.

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Pest’s main boulevards form concentric semicircles around the Belváros. The nearest to the centre follows the line of the former city walls. The Nagykörút (Great Boulevard), which formerly bore the names of Habsburg archdukes and archduchesses and is now divided into four named sections, follows the riverbed of a dry tributary of the Danube. Most of the ministries and other government offices are to the north of the Belváros. The part Neoclassical, part Neo-Renaissance St. Stephen’s Basilica, the Neo-Renaissance State Opera House, the National Theatre, and the concert hall of the Franz Liszt Academy of Music were all built in the 19th century. The stucco buildings of this eclectic architectural collection have not weathered well.

The finest thoroughfare in Budapest, Andrássy Avenue, runs in a straight line from the centre of Pest to City Park (Városliget), which contains the Millennium Monument. The monument consists of a semicircular pillared colonnade displaying statues of Hungarian kings and national leaders, with a statue of the archangel Gabriel surmounting a 118-foot-high central column. The Museum of Fine Arts, other museums, the Budapest Zoo, the renowned city circus, and an amusement ground (which was once called the “English Park”) are all found nearby.