Budapest - St. Stephen's Basilica

 St. Stephen's Basilica is a beautiful large cathedral that Hungarian's take great pride in.  It is named for St. Stephen who as king, brough Christianity to the Magyar People.

 It is a real jewelbox with a beautiful altar

 and a magnificent dome. 

 It isn't the largest church I've visited in Europe, but it is a beautiful tasteful and impressive church.

 Off to the side of the main sanctuary is a small room dedicated to St. Stephen or Istvan as the Magyar people call him.

 And in a small reliquary that you pay to have a light illuminate

is the hand of St. Stephen himself.  Kind of strange, but cool. 

Budapest's History in Statues

Budapest's history like many great cities is marked by its statues.  In Heroes Square, the great men of Hungary's long past stand sentinel looking towards Hungary's future.

Atop the tall pillar in the center is the Archangel Gabriel bringing the Hungarian(Magyar) people to their land.  In his hand is the crown of St. Stephen.

And at the base of the pillar stands Arpad, who is sited as the founder of the Hungarian empire.












It is an impressive square.  Originally, there were members of the Austrian Hapsburgs in the square, but after the fall of the Hapsburg dynasty, they were removed, and replaced by more Hungarian heroes.

Also present in the square were many statues celebrating the Soviet heroes that "freed" Hungary from the Nazis.  Most have been removed and placed into Memento Park, which is just outside the city.  The best way to visit it is to take the shuttle out.  The shuttle price includes admission to the park, as well.

The park is full of large scale soviet era statues showing grateful Hungarians thanking their soviet saviors for rescuing them from the evil Nazis.


















They also celebrate the great visionaries of the Soviet Union.  Lenin, Marx, and Engels appear greeting you as you enter the park.

The statues are bold and emotional, and yet appear empty now and in some cases satirical.

At the far end of the park are two statues that appear to be screaming warnings to stop before you hit the brick wall at the end of the road.  People often site this as a commentary on the end of communism in Hungary.  It ultimately proved to be a dead end.


























Outside the park stands a parade ground rise upon which a statue of Stalin once stood.  After the fall of the Soviet Union, the statue was torn down and destroyed.  Stalin, like many dictators, is not well regarded by the people he controlled now that he is dead.















The Hungarians tread a fine tightrope in regards to the soviet monuments in that the soviets did liberate the Hungarian people from the Nazis, and many soviet soldiers gave their lives to do so, so there are still a few monuments and statues around town.  There is a monument to the soviet soldiers who gave their lives.  It still has a hammer and sickle on it.











In the same square, stands a statue of the American General H. H. Bandholtz, who is highly regarded by the Hungarians for preventing the removal of treasures from the National Museum by the Romanians. 









Also not far from the Soviet monument stands a statue of Ronald Reagan, who appears as pleased as the Hungarians regarding the collapse of the Soviets control over Hungary.

There are many newer statues appearing in Hungary.  Many of these are not about documenting Hungary's complicated political history, but are placed for fun. After all that Hungary has been through, I think it deserves a little fun.

Budapest at Night

Budapest is a city that really comes to life at night.  It is a wonderful city to wander through and see all the beautiful buildings illuminated.  

We even came across a fireworks show with mortors being shot up over the Danube.  What a wonderful way to end a day.

Budapest - The Grand Architectural Tour

Tony and I did a lot of walking in Budapest using our Rick Steve's Guide as our lead.  It is a beautiful city.  Most of its architecture harkening to the 1000 year anniversary of the town in 1896.   A lot of it is in an Art Nouveau  style, or a variation on it.

Budapest had a very difficult 20th Century, having survived 2 world wars, and Soviet occupation.  A lot of the buildings are glimmers of the treasures they once were, but since the end of the Soviet era, Budapest has had a tremendous influx of investment, and everywhere, buildings are rediscovering themselves, and being restored to their former grandeur.

 Everywhere, you can see buildings which still show the conditions the city had to endure, and buildings that have been resurrected.  This square in particular with its twin buildings is a great example.

 Some buildings are a blending of Art Nouveau and traditional Hungarian folk art in an attempt to create a style unique to the culture.

 Sadly, some of Budapest best architectural jewelboxes are closed and lonely places, just dying to have something done with them, but as landmarks, the cost to renovate and redevelop is very expensive. 

 This former shopping mall in the heart of Budapest is a great example.  Stunning, but closed and empty. . .

 In certain cases, these older buildings were modified and updated in the Soviet tradition of equality.  The bottom floors were stripped of their distinctiveness and modernized with a black granite covering.  Sadly, it makes many streets equally drab.  And no, the Hungarians didn't see this as an improvement to their city.

 Where buildings have been restored, they are beautiful.

 It's almost like Paris without the pretense. 

 Very European and cosmopolitan.

Budapest even has its own Opera House.  It was built during the Hapsburg dynasty and built using some money from Franz Ferdinand I.  His one stipulation was that it couldn't be larger than his Opera House in Vienna.  He didn't say anything about it being prettier.

Sadly some buildings are still waiting to be restored.  Even on the main boulevard. 

  It's only a matter of time and money. . .

Budapest - The Parliament Building

Budapest has a beautiful Parliament Building.  It was built in the late 1800s by a student of James Wyatt, who designed the London Parliament Building and Big Ben. 

It is an absolutely stunning building, especially when seen from the Danube. 

 Evidently, when the communists were here, a large red star was added to the top of the domed spire.  It is gone now, and the parliament has been scrubbed clean and is looking great. 

It took us 2 tries to get in for a tour of the Parliament building.  The first day, we showed up at 10 am when it opens, and discovered that all the allotted tickets for that day were gone. 








The second try, we showed up at 8am, when the ticket office is supposed to open, but then had to wait until 9am to get inside.

 To our delight, we were suddenly ushered into the building.  For some reason, no ticket was needed that morning.

 The interior is a jewelbox of gold, and jeweltone colors.  A magnificent, optimistic building constructed for a country which had just emerged from under the rule of the Hapsburg dynasty.

 Indeed, they have even now just emerged from under the totalitarian control of another foreign power, the Soviet Union.  They now have their own destiny to forge, and let's hope great things come from this beautiful building.

 We didn't get to see a lot of it, but we did get the main hall and the interior of the massive dome, which contains the crown of King Stephen I, who created the Christian kingdom of Hungary. 

 The crown has an interesting modern history, as it was stolen by the Nazis, retrieved by the Americans, and stored in the vaults of Fort Knox for a time.  When the Soviet Union began to relax their control over Hungary, it was returned.








 Somehow over the years, the cross on the top of the crown became bent.  It is not known when this occured, but in some ways this has become symbolic of the Hungarian people - Bent, but not Broken.


 






It's a bit of a challenge to get into the Parliament building, and tours are sporatic, and a bit unpredictable, but it is well worth the time to try and get in.