Architecture sights in Budapest
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A
Nyugati Train Station
The large iron and glass structure on Nyugati tér (known as Marx tér until the early 1990s) is the Nyugati train station, built in 1877 by the Paris-based Eiffel Company. In the early 1970s a train actually crashed through the enormous glass screen on the main facade when its brakes failed, coming to rest at the 4 and 6 tram line. The old dining hall on the south side now houses one of the world’s most elegant McDonald’s.
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Bedő House
Just around the corner from Kossuth Lajos tér is this stunning art nouveau apartment block deigned by Emil Vidor and built in 1903. Now a shrine to Hungarian Secessionist interiors, its three floors are crammed with furniture, porcelain, ironwork, paintings and objets d’art. The lovely Art Nouveau Café is on the ground floor.
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Parliament
The parliament building, designed by Imre Steindl and completed in 1902, has 690 sumptuously decorated rooms but you’ll only get to see three on a guided tour of the North Wing: the main staircase and landing, where the Crown of St Stephen, the nation’s most important national icon, is on display, along with the ceremonial sword, orb and the oldest object among the coronation regalia, the 10th-century Persian-made sceptre with a crystal head depicting a lion; the Loge Hall; and the Congress Hall, where the House of Lords of the one-time bicameral assembly sat until 1944. The building is a blend of many architectural styles (neo-Gothic, neo-Romanesque, neobaroque) and over…
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Pater Noster
One of the strangest public conveyances you'll ever encounter can still be found in a few office and government buildings in Budapest. They're the körfogó (rotator) lifts or elevators, nicknamed 'Pater Nosters' for their supposed resemblance to a large rosary. A Pater Noster is essentially a rotating series of individual cubicles that runs continuously.
You don't push a button and wait for a door to open; you hop on just as a cubicle reaches floor level and you jump out - quickly - when you reach your desired floor. If you were wondering what happens at the top, stay on and find out. Don't worry - you'll live. The lift simply descends to the ground floor in darkness to …
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Mary Magdalene Tower
The big steeple on the south side of Kapisztrán tér, opposite the Military History Museum and visible for kilometres to the west of Castle Hill, is the reconstructed spire of an 18th-century church. The church, once reserved for Hungarian speakers in this district (German speakers worshipped at Matthias Church), was used as a mosque during the Turkish occupation and was destroyed in an air raid in 1944.
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National Bank of Hungary
The National Bank of Hungary has reliefs that illustrate trade and commerce through history: Arab camel traders, African rug merchants, Chinese tea salesmen – and the inevitable solicitor witnessing contracts. The MNB Visitor Centre contains an interesting multimedia exhibition on the history of currency and banking in Hungary, but most people come to gawp at the stunning entrance hall and staircase.
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Török Bank House
A building worth a look in Belváros is the former TörökBank House, designed by Henrik Böhm and Ármin Hegedűs in 1906. It has an almost totally glass-covered facade and in the upper gable sports a wonderful Secessionist mosaic by Róth called Patrona Hungariae, which depicts Hungary surrounded by great Hungarians of the past.
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H
Castle Garden Palace
Castle Garden Palace is a lovely little renovated building with a fountain designed by Miklós Ybl in 1878. It was once a pump house for Castle Hill and is now a conference and events venue and can be inspected on weekdays. The dilapidated steps and archways across the road are all that is left of the Castle Bazaar (Várbazár) pleasure park.
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Water Tower & Open-Air Theatre
Erected in 1911 in the north-central part of the island, the octagonal water tower rises 66m above the open-air theatre, which is used for opera, plays and concerts in summer. The tower contains the Lookout Gallery. Climbing the 153 steps will earn you a stunning 360-degree view of the island, Buda and Pest.
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Roman Civilian Amphitheatre
The Roman Civilian Amphitheatre is about half the size of the one reserved for the military. Much is left to the imagination, but you can still see the small cubicles where lions were kept and the ‘Gate of Death’ to the west through which slain gladiators were carried.
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K
Orthodox Synagogue
There were once a half dozen synagogues and prayer houses in the Jewish Quarter, reserved for different sects and ethnic groups (conservatives, Orthodox, Poles, Sephardics etc). The Orthodox Synagogue, which can also be accessed from Dob utca 35, was built in 1913.
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L
Military Court of Justice
In 1958 Imre Nagy and others were tried and sentenced to death here for their role in the uprising two years before. It was also the site of the notorious Fő utca prison, where many other victims of the regime were incarcerated and tortured.
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Palatinus House
To the north of Jászai Mari tér is an elegant apartment block called Palatinus House, built in 1912 and facing the Danube. It contains some of the most expensive flats for sale or rent in Budapest.
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Lehel Church
If you look east down Victor Hugo utca you’ll catch sight of the twin spires of the Lehel church, a 1933 copy of the 13th-century Romanesque church (now in ruins) at Zsambék, 33km west of Budapest.
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O
Institute of Geology
Some people go out of their way for another glimpse of their favourite buildings and details, such as the Institute of Geology, designed by Lechner in 1899 and probably his best preserved work.
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MNB Visitor Centre
The MNB Visitor Centre contains an interesting multimedia exhibition on the history of currency and banking in Hungary, but most people come to gawp at the stunning entrance hall and staircase.
reviewed
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Bank Palace
The sumptuous Bank Palace, built in 1915, was the home of the Budapest Stock Exchange for 15 years until 2007. It is now being converted into a shopping gallery called Váci 1.
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Rumbach Sebestyén Utca Synagogue
The Moorish Rumbach Sebestyén utca Synagogue was built in 1872 by Austrian Secessionist architect Otto Wagner for the conservatives.
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Former Hungarian Radio Headquarters
The recently renovated former Hungarian Radio headquarters was where shots were first fired on 23 October 1956.
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Parliament
The parliament building, designed by Imre Steindl and completed in 1902, has 690 sumptuously decorated rooms but you’ll only get to see three on a guided tour of the North Wing: the main staircase and landing, where the Crown of St Stephen, the nation’s most important national icon, is on display, along with the ceremonial sword, orb and the oldest object among the coronation regalia, the 10th-century Persian-made sceptre with a crystal head depicting a lion; the Loge Hall; and the Congress Hall, where the House of Lords of the one-time bicameral assembly sat until 1944. The building is a blend of many architectural styles (neo-Gothic, neo-Romanesque, neobaroque) and over…
reviewed
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