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For the Budapest walk listed below you may/will need:
A decent map of the city (see our choice in essentials m2o)
A valid metro, tram or bus ticket for travel to Deák tér. We recommended the Budapest Card.
Sensible walking shoes and a good sense of direction!
Walking Tour Three - Around Parliament and the Víziváros district, Time: 3-4 hours (excluding refreshment breaks), Starting Point: Szent István tér, Finish: Batthyhány tér
The starting point for our third walk is the Basilica of Stephen which stands on the square of the same name. Although shrouded in scaffolding for restoration work, it is the largest church in Budapest holding more than 8000 worshippers.
Designed by Jozsef Hild in 1845, work only began in earnest in 1851. However, Hild died before the project was complete, leaving the task of overseeing its construction to architect Miklós Ybl. During an inspection, he was amazed to find that huge cracks had appeared in many of the building's outer walls. Less than a week after cordoning off the site, the church's vast dome tilted and collapsed. The remainder was then declared structurally unsound and demolished to make way for Ybl's neo-Renaissance design. The building, which was finally opened by Emperor Francis Joseph in 1906, also suffered terribly from allied bombing raids during World War II.
Quite rightly, the inside of the Basilica has been criticized as being too dark - there are simply not enough windows for such a large building. Consequently, it's hard to fully appreciate many the interior decoration of the church, which includes Gyula Benczúr's depiction of St. Stephen offering the Hungarian crown to the Virgin Mary.
In the Szent jobb kápolna (chapel of the Sacred Right) lies Catholic Hungary's most revered relic - what is claimed to be the mummified right hand of St. Stephen. For the princely sum of 20 HUF, you can get one of the resident attendants to flick a switch, lighting up the small glass case containing the hand. Eerie in the extreme.
Taking the route down Zríni u. to Október 6 utca, we head north to the Szabadság tér (Freedom square). On the corner of Bank utca, you'll first find The Hungarian National Bank and International Bank Center. Whilst neither building can be considered amongst Budapest's finest, Ignác Alpár's 1905 Hungarian National bank is undoubtedly the grander of the two. On the first floor level are elegant limestone reliefs depicting every aspect of money, commerce and trading in the early 20th century.
Staying on the right hand side of the square, we pass by the American Embassy and the wonderfully elegant Post Office Savings Building. Designed by Odön Lechner, this intricately decorated early 20th century building is among the finest in the city. Although the main exterior walls are restrained in their use of motifs and plasterwork mouldings, the attractively coloured roof and interior main hallway are the work of pure genius.
The centrepiece of the square can now also be seen at close quarters. The Soviet War Memorial serves as a reminder of the sacrifices made by Red army troops who died liberating Budapest in 1944/45.
Branching off to the right down Aulich utca is the Batthyány Eternal Flame. The memorial flame commemorates Count Lajos Batthyány, Hungarian prime minister at the time of the 1848 revolution against the Habsburgs. As one of the most prominent figures in the uprising, Batthyány was immediately imprisoned after the revolt was crushed. The flame actually marks the spot of his execution a year later by firing squad.
Retracing our steps, we briefly re-enter the square before venturing down Vécsey u. to the statue standing on Vértanúk tér. This fine bronze figure commemorates the life of Imre Nagy, Prime Minister of Hungary immediately prior to the 1956 uprising. Nagy had tried to introduce a more relaxed form of communism in the country, pulling away from Soviet domination. After bitter fighting the revolution was crushed and Nagy took refuge in the Yugoslavian Embassy. However he was given false assurances of safe passage by the Soviets who arrested him as soon as he left the safety of the compound.
He was tried and executed two years later and quietly buried in an unmarked, overgrown corner of the main Budapest cemetery. Following the country's move to parliamentary democracy in 1989, Nagy's body was exhumed and finally given a full State burial.
Passing behind the Parliament building, we now pass the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ethnographical Museum on Kossuth Lajos tér. This impressive building, designed by Alajos Hauszmann, was originally the Palace of Justice and the sculptures on the main façade depict magistrates and legislators. The interior decoration is also beautifully decorated (particularly the huge entrance hall with its chandeliers and marble staircases). However, pride of place must go to the magnificent ceiling fresco by Karoly Lotz (again, note the images of Justitia the goddess of justice which give away the original function of the building). It houses a fine permanent exhibition of Hungarian culture and colourful folkart as well as other cultural displays from around the world.
Next, the highlight of our walk. The Hungarian Houses of Parliament (Országház) were conceived and built for the millennium celebrations of 1896. Designed by Imre Steindl, the building was only finished in 1902 (the year of his death). Inspired in part, by the Palace of Westminster in England, its white neo-Gothic turrets and arches stretch for over 250 metres along the Danube embankment.
The building, which comprises of 691 rooms, immense halls and over 12½ miles of corridors, has a central dome of 96-metres (precisely the same height as that of Szent István Basilica). Group excursions take place when Parliament is not in session. The guided tour of Parliament, which takes in the chamber of the former upper house (you can actually sit on the members benches) lasts approx. 20 minutes.
Heading northwards, we now exit Kossuth Lajos tér and turn left onto the Széchenyi Rakpart. Making our way past a children's playground and then the offices of Hungary's MPs we come to the foot of the Margaret Bridge. As the second bridge over the Danube it was built between 1872 and 1876 by a firm of Paris based engineers. Unusual only for the fact it turns at an angle in the middle to continue along the line of the Nagykörút. At the turn, a connecting branch joins the bridge to the Margaret Island (Margit Sziget).
Depending on how much time you have left, there's the choice of either exploring the Island or continuing over the bridge to the Víziváros area of Budapest. Those interested in stopping here will be rewarded by one of most beautiful open spaces in the city. Named after the daughter of King Bela IV (1235-1270), who lived in a Dominican convent here during the 13th century, the ruins of the convent can still be seen today on the island's east bank.
Heading along the Pest side of the island, you'll also find two spa hotels situated in close proximity to each other (they are actually linked by an underground tunnel). The first is Miklós Ybl's attractively designed Ramada Grand Hotel (recommended as a refreshment stop) which shares its facilities with the relatively modern Thermal Hotel. A short distance away is the island's distinctive and colourful rock garden, which leads onto Szent Mihály templom, a 20th century re-construction of a 12th-century church.
Across the Margaret Bridge we enter the Víziváros (Water town). From here, it's possible to walk all the way back to Clark Ádám tér via Fő utca, but for this tour our destination will be Batthyány tér. Turning left, we find the first monument of our Buda walk - the Przemysl Memorial. Symbolising the Austro-Hungarian soldiers who recaptured the stronghold of the same name in southern Poland during WW1 from the Russian Army (1915), the memorial's majestic lion sits proudly alongside the Danube embankment.
Heading south on what has now become Fő utca, we find (also on our left) the Statue of Józef Bem. Of Polish origin, Bem was a hero of the 1848-49 War of Independence who famously commanded Hungarian soldiers in the attack against the Habsburg forces at the Pisk bridge. Inscribed with words he uttered during the battle the statue reads "I will recapture the bridge or perish", "Forward Hungary", "If there is no bridge, there is no homeland".
A little further down Fő utca on our right is the Florian Chapel. Now used by the Greek Catholic Community, the chapel was partially raised in 1938 to avoid the problem of flooding from the Danube (which had previously befallen the low-lying buildings in this part of Buda).
On the same side as the Florian Chapel is the Király Baths. Undoubtedly one of the city's most historic Turkish monuments, the Király is second only in splendour to the Rudas baths. Owned by the wealthy König family during the 19th century, its origins date back as far back as 1570. As with the Rudas, the octagonal main pool is surrounded by a number of smaller pools, steam rooms and saunas.
Now reaching Batthyány tér, we find on the west side of the square the Former White Cross Inn. Dating back to the late 17th century, this fine Baroque building was, at the time, a popular and important venue for theatrical performance. Today it's named Casanova House - apparently after the great man himself who is said to have stayed here. As far as latter day entertainment is concerned, there's a fairly uninspiring disco/bar on the ground floor.
Finally we come to the Church of St. Anne. Located on the south side of Batthyány tér, this fine Baroque building (Kristóf Hamon, Máté Nepauer 1740-1762) is a wholly captivating place of worship. Over the years the church has withstood the ravages of earthquakes, floods, two World Wars and the construction of the nearby metro line and station. It's elegant well-proportioned exterior is matched inside, by the high altar statues of the Virgin Mary and St Anne. Statues of angels and cherubs embellish the supporting altars, with a wonderful oval domed ceiling fresco by Pál Molnar completing the effect. To mark the end of this walk we recemmend treating yourself to a pastry in Angelika - an elegant café housed in the former crypt of the church. The ornate entrance to the building sets the scene for the fine late 19th-century interior complete with lavish furnishings and marble flooring. Popular with Budapest's older folk, the cakes, pastries and teas here are all first-rate. And, if you're visiting during the summer, try the terrace (which makes an ideal spot to unwind after a long sightseeing walk).
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