Fő Utca

Fő utca is the arrow-straight ‘Main St’ running from Clark Ádám tér through Víziváros; it dates from Roman times. At the former Capuchin church, used as a mosque during the Turkish occupation, you can see the remains of an Islamic-style ogee-arched door and window on the southern side. Around the corner there’s the seal of King Matthias Corvinus – a raven with a ring in its beak – and a little square with the delightful Lajos Fountain (Lajos kútja; 1904) called Corvin tér. The Eclectic building on the north side at No 8 is the Buda Concert Hall. To the north the Iron Stump 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 take pictures of the photogenic 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 the 18th-century baroque Church of St Anne, with one of the most eye-catching interiors of any church in Budapest. A couple of streets north is Nagy Imre tér, with the former Military Court of Justice on the northern side. Imre Nagy and others were tried and sentenced to death here in 1958 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. The Király Baths, parts of which date from 1580, are one block to the north. Across pedestrianised Ganz utca is the Greek Catholic Chapel of St Florian, built in 1760 and dedicated to the patron saint of fire-fighters.