Fő Utca

Lonely Planet review

Fő utca is the 'Main Street' running through Víziváros and dates from Roman times.

At the former Capuchin church (I Fő utca 30-32), used as a mosque during the Turkish occupation, you can see the remains of two Islamic-style ogee-arched doors and windows on the southern side.

The seal of King Matthias Corvinus - a raven and a ring - and the little square with the delightful Louis Fountain ( Lajos kútja ; 1904) is called Corvin tér.

The Eclectic building on the north side is the Buda Concert Hall ( Budai Vigadó ; Corvin tér 8). The Iron Stump ( Vastuskó cnr I Vám utca & Iskola utca) to the north is the odd-looking tree trunk into which itinerant artisans and merchants would drive a nail to mark their visit.

Batthyány tér, a short distance to the northeast, is the centre of Víziváros and the best place to snap a picture of the Parliament building across the river. In the centre of this rather shabby square is the entrance to both metro M2 and the HÉV suburban line to Szentendre. On the southern side is St Anne's Church ( Szent Ana templom ; II Batthyány tér 7), with one of the most eye-catching baroque interiors of any church in Budapest.

A couple of streets north is Nagy Imre tér, with the enormous former Military Court of Justice (II Fő utca 70-78) on the northern side. Here Imre Nagy and others were tried and sentenced to death in 1958. It was also the site of the notorious Fő utca prison where many other victims of the regime were incarcerated and tortured.

The Király Baths ( Király Gyógyfürdő ; II Fő utca 82-86), parts of which date from 1580, is one block to the north. Across pedestrianised Ganz utca is the Greek Catholic St Florian Chapel ( Szent Florián kápolna ; II Fő utca 88-90), built in 1760 and dedicated to the patron saint of firefighters.