Museum sights in Hungary
-
A
House of Terror
This startling museum is housed in what was once the headquarters of the dreaded ÁVH secret police. The building has a ghastly history, for it was here that many activists of every political persuasion that was out of fashion before and after WWII were taken for interrogation and torture. The walls were apparently double thickness to mute the screams. A plaque on the outside of this house of shame reads in part: ‘We cannot forget the horror of terror, and the victims will always be remembered’.
The museum focuses on the crimes and atrocities committed by both Hungary’s fascist and Stalinist regimes in a permanent exhibition called Double Occupation. But the years aft…
reviewed
-
B
Hospital in the Rock
Part of the Castle Hill caves network, this newly opened attraction was used extensively during the siege of Budapest during WWII. It contains original medical equipment as well as some 70 wax figures and is visited on a guided half-hour tour. More interesting is the hour-long ‘full tour‘ (3000/1500/7000Ft), which includes a walk through a Cold War–era nuclear bunker.
reviewed
-
C
Castle Hill
Castle Hill, a 1km-long limestone plateau towering 170m above the Danube, contains Budapest's most important medieval monuments and museums and is a Unesco World Heritage Site. It is the premier sight in the capital, and with its grand views and so many things to see, you should start here.
Below is a 28km network of caves formed by thermal springs that were supposedly used by the Turks for military purposes, as air-raid shelters during WWII, and as a secret military installation during the Cold War.
The walled area consists of two distinct parts: the Old Town to the north, where commoners lived in the Middle Ages (the current owners of the coveted burgher houses here are …
reviewed
-
D
Hungarian National Museum
The National Museum (a neoclassical structure, purpose-built in 1847) houses Hungary’s most important collection of historical relics. Exhibits trace the history of the Carpathian Basin from earliest times to the end of the Avar period in the early 9th century (on the 1st floor); and the Magyar people and the nation from the conquest of the Carpathian basin to the fall of communism (on the 2nd floor). In the basement, a lapidarium has finds from Roman, medieval and early modern times. Look out for the enormous 3rd-century Roman mosaic from Balácapuszta, near Veszprém; the crimson silk royal coronation robe (or mantle) stitched by nuns in 1031; a reconstructed 3rd-century …
reviewed
-
E
Ethnography Museum
Visitors are offered an easy introduction to traditional Hungarian life at this sprawling museum opposite the parliament building with thousands of displays in 13 rooms on the 1st floor. The mock-ups of peasant houses from the Őrség and Sárköz regions of Western and Southern Transdanubia are well done, and there are also some priceless objects collected from Transdanubia. On the 2nd floor, most of the temporary exhibitions deal with other peoples of Europe and farther afield: Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas. The building itself was designed in 1893 to house the Supreme Court; note the ceiling fresco in the lobby of Justice by Károly Lotz.
reviewed
-
F
Ludwig Museum of Contemporary Art
Housed in the architecturally controversial Palace of Arts opposite the National Theatre, the Ludwig Museum is Hungary’s most important collector and exhibitor of international contemporary art. Works by American, Russian, German and French artists span the past 50 years, while Hungarian, Czech, Slovakian, Romanian, Polish and Slovenian works date from the 1990s onward. The museum also holds frequent, cutting edge, temporary exhibitions.
reviewed
-
G
Zwack Unicum Museum & Visitor Centre
If you really can’t get enough of Unicum – the thick, brown medicinal-tasting bitter aperitif made from 40 herbs, clocking in at 42% alcohol, supposedly named by Franz Joseph himself – visit this very commercial museum tracing the history of the product since it was first made in 1790 and inviting visitors to buy big at its sample store (mintabolt). Enter from Dandár utca.
reviewed
-
H
Christian Museum
Just north of the Italianate Watertown Parish Church (Víziváros plébániatemplom; 1738), which is vaguely reminiscent of the glorious Minorite church in Eger, is the former Bishop's Palace. Today it houses the Christian Museum - the finest collection of medieval religious art in Hungary and one of the best museums in the country.
Established by Archbishop János Simor in 1875, it contains Hungarian Gothic triptychs and altarpieces; later works by German, Dutch and Italian masters; tapestries; and what is arguably the most beautiful object in the nation: the sublime Holy Sepulchre of Garamszentbenedek (1480), a sort of wheeled cart in the shape of a cathedral, with rich…
reviewed
-
I
Fabricius House
Across the square in which the Firewatch Tower stands is Fabricius House, containing exhibits of the Sopron Museum. Of particular interest are the urban flats (polgári lakások) on the upper floors, with rooms devoted to domestic life in Sopron in the 17th and 18th centuries. There are a few kitchen mock-ups and exhibits explaining how people made their beds and washed their dishes in those days, but the highlights are the rooms facing the square that are crammed with priceless antique furniture.
The lower floors have an archaeological exhibition covering Celtic, Roman and Hungarian periods of history. Scarbantia-era statues reconstructed from fragments found in the are…
reviewed
-
J
Storno House
Across the square in which the Firewatch Tower stands is Storno House containing exhibits of the Sopron Museum. On the 1st floor of this building, built in 1417, there's a less-than-enthralling exhibit on Sopron's more recent history, but on the floor above is the wonderful Storno Collection (Storno Gyűjtemény), which belonged to a 19th-century Swiss-Italian family of restorers whose recarving of Romanesque and Gothic monuments throughout Transdanubia is frowned upon today.
To their credit, the much maligned Stornos did rescue many altarpieces and church furnishings from oblivion, and their house is a Gothic treasure-trove. Highlights include the beautiful enclosed balc…
reviewed
Advertisement
-
Széchenyi Memorial Museum
The entrance to the Széchenyi Memorial Museum is in the mansion through the Sala Terrena - it's almost austere compared with the similarly named hall at the Esterházy Palace in Fertőd. There's a taped commentary in several languages (including English) in each room; just press the button.
The rooms on the ground floor of the museum, furnished with period pieces, deal with the history of the Széchenyi family and their political development, from typical baroque aristocrats in the 18th century to key players in the 1848 War of Independence and István's involvement in the ill-fated government of Lajos Batthyány. A sweeping baroque staircase leads to the exhibits on the 1s…
reviewed
-
K
Applied Arts Museum
This museum owns a king’s ransom of Hungarian furniture dating from the 18th and 19th centuries, art nouveau and Secessionist artefacts, and objects related to the history of trades and crafts (glass making, bookbinding, goldsmithing, leatherwork etc). But only a small part of it forms the 400-piece ‘Collectors and Treasures’ permanent exhibit on the 1st floor. Most everything else makes up part of one of the four or five temporary exhibitions on display at any given time. A combined ticket (2500/1250/4500Ft per adult/student or child/family) will get you into everything. It’s a novel way to rake in the dosh – just make everything a temporary exhibit. Consider visiting th…
reviewed
-
Domokos Kuny Museum
The remains of the medieval Old Castle - one of four original towers and a palace wing - were rebuilt in neo-Gothic style at the end of the 19th century to mark a visit by Emperor Franz Joseph. Today they house the Domokos Kuny Museum. On the ground floor are archaeological finds from nearby Roman settlements, bits of the 12th-century Benedictine monastery near Oroszlány and contemporary drawings of the castle in its heyday.
The 'Life in the Old Castle' exhibit on the 1st floor is interesting; don't miss the cathedral-like green-tiled Gothic stove that takes pride of place in the Knights' Hall. Material on the 2nd floor examines the work of a dozen 18th-century artisans,…
reviewed
-
Palóc Museum
The Palóc Museum in Palóc Park (a lovely green space of mature trees and grassy corners, and perfect for a picnic) was purpose-built in 1914 to house Hungary's richest collection of Palóc artefacts and is a must for anyone planning to visit traditional villages in the Cserhát Hills.
The standing exhibit 'From Cradle to Grave' on the 1st floor takes you through the important stages in the life of the Palóc people, and includes pottery, superb carvings, mock-ups of a birth scene, a classroom and a wedding. There are also votive objects used for the all-important búcsúk (church patronal festivals). But the Palóc women's agility with the needle - from the distinctive f…
reviewed
-
L
Aquincum Museum
The new purpose-built Aquincum Museum, on the western edge of what remains of the Roman civilian settlement, puts the ruins in perspective, with a vast collection of coins and wall paintings. Look out for the replica of a 3rd-century portable organ called a hydra (and the mosaic illustrating how it was played) and the mock-up of a Roman bath. Most of the big sculptures and stone sarcophagi are outside to the left of the old museum building or behind it in the lapidary. Across the road to the northwest, on Szentendrei út, is the Roman Civilian Amphitheatre, about half the size of the one reserved for the military. Much is left to the imagination, but you can still see the…
reviewed
-
M
Castle Museum
The small Castle Museum at the southern end of Castle Hill is housed in the former Royal Palace, which was built mostly by French architects under Béla III (r 1172-96) during Esztergom's golden age. The palace was the king's residence until the capital was relocated to Buda - at which time the archbishop moved in. Most of the palace was destroyed and covered with earth for defensive purposes under the Turks; excavations only began in the 1930s.
The museum concentrates on archaeological finds from the town and its surrounding area, the majority of which is pottery dating from the 11th century onwards. Other points of interest include some of the basilica's original ornate…
reviewed
-
N
Ferenc Móra Museum
Oskola utca, one of the city's oldest streets, leads from Dóm tér to Roosevelt tér and the Palace of Education (1896) at No 1-3, which now houses the Ferenc Móra Museum. The museum's strength lies in its colourful collection of folk art from Csongrád County, bearing intelligent descriptions in several languages.
The unique exhibit of 7th-century Avar finds of delicate gold work and other art pieces showcases the sophistication and art appreciation of these often forgotten people while another room is given over to an even more obscure group, the Sarmatians. Originating in present-day Iran, these people moved to the plain as allies of the Romans; construction of the n…
reviewed
-
Abbey Library
The most beautiful part of the abbey is the neoclassical Abbey Library built in 1836 by János Packh, who was involved in designing the Esztergom Basilica. It contains some 300,000 volumes - many of them priceless historical records - making it the largest private library in Hungary. But the rarest and most important document is in the abbey archives. It is the Deed of Foundation of Tihany Abbey and dates from 1055.
It is written in Latin, but also contains about 50 Hungarian place names, making it the earliest surviving example of written Hungarian. The library's interior may look like marble, but it is actually wood made to look like the more expensive stone. An ingenio…
reviewed
-
O
Bishop's Palace
Maulbertsch frescoes in the upstairs Reception Hall at the Bishop's Palace, built in 1783 and south of the cathedral, miraculously survived the air raids, but are not usually open to the public. You can, however, admire the murals of Roman ruins and gods painted in 1784 by István Dorffmeister in the Sala Terrena on the ground floor.
Other rooms contain photographs of the cathedral before and just after the bombing of WWII and the Diocesan Collection and Treasury (Egyházmegyei Gyüjtemény és Kincstár), including missals and Bibles from the 14th to 18th centuries, Gothic vestments, a beautiful 15th-century monstrance from Kőszeg and even a bejewelled replica of St Stephen's…
reviewed
-
István Türr Museum
South of the town hall stands the István Türr Museum, named after a local hero who fought in the 1848-49 War of Independence and alongside Garibaldi in southern Italy in 1860. The museum's prime exhibit, entitled 'Life on the Danube', covers wildlife, fishing methods and boat building. Another deals with the folk groups of Baja and its surrounds: the Magyars, Germans, South Slavs (Bunyevác, Sokac) and - surprisingly for Hungary - Roma; all have lived together in this region for several centuries. The rarely seen Roma woodcarving is superb, and don't miss the exquisite South Slav black lace, the gold work for which Baja was once nationally famous, or the weavings from Nagy…
reviewed
Advertisement
-
P
Lyceum
Directly opposite Eger Cathedral is the sprawling Zopf-style Lyceum, dating from 1765. The 20,000-volume library (adult/student 700/350Ft) on the 1st floor of the south wing contains hundreds of priceless manuscripts and codices. The trompe l’œil ceiling fresco (1778) depicts the Counter-Reformation’s Council of Trent (1545–63) and a lightning bolt setting heretical manuscripts ablaze. The Astronomy Museum (adult/student 800/650Ft) on the 6th floor of the east wing contains 18th-century astronomical equipment and an observatory. Climb three more floors up to the observation deck to try out the camera obscura, the ‘eye of Eger’, designed in 1776 to spy on the town and to e…
reviewed
-
Q
Kiscelli Museum & Municipal Picture Gallery
Housed in an 18th-century monastery, later a barracks that was badly damaged in WWII and again in 1956, this museum contains two excellent sections. The Contemporary City History Collection (Újkori Várostörténeti Gyűjtemény) in which you’ll find a complete 19th-century apothecary moved here from Kálvin tér; a wonderful assembly of ancient signboards advertising shops and other trades; and rooms (both public and private) furnished in Empire, Biedermeier and art nouveau furniture and bric-a-brac. The Municipal Picture Gallery (Fővárosi Képtár), with its impressive collection of art works by József Rippl-Rónai, Lajos Tihanyi, István Csók and Béla Czóbel (among others) is up…
reviewed
-
R
Hungarian Electrical Engineering Museum
This place doesn’t sound like everyone’s cup of tea, but the white-coated staff are very enthusiastic and some of the exhibits are unusual enough for a visit. Its collection of 19th-century generators, condensers, motors and – egad – the world’s largest supply of electricity-consumption meters is not very inspiring, but the staff will show you how the alarm system of the barbed-wire fence between Hungary and Austria once worked. There’s also a display on the nesting platforms that the electric company kindly builds for storks throughout the country so they won’t try to nest on the wires and electrocute themselves. Sizzling stuff.
reviewed
-
S
Holocaust Memorial Center
This centre, housed in a striking modern building in a working-class neighbourhood, opened in 2004 on the 60th anniversary of the start of the holocaust in Hungary. Both a museum and an educational foundation, the centre’s permanent exhibition traces the rise of anti-Semitism in Hungary from 1938 to the mass deportations of Jews to German death camps in 1944–45. A sublimely restored synagogue, designed by Leopold Baumhorn and completed in 1924, in the central courtyard hosts temporary exhibitions on everything from the Anschluss to the genocide of the Roma people during WWII. An 8m-high wall outside records the names of Hungarian victims of the Holocaust.
reviewed
-
T
Underground Railway Museum
In the pedestrian subway beneath V Deák Ferenc tér and next to the main ticket window, the Underground Railway Museum traces the history of the capital’s three (and soon to be four!) underground lines, and displays plans for the future. Much emphasis is put on the little yellow metro (M1), Continental Europe’s first underground railway, which opened for the millenary celebrations in 1896 and was completely renovated for the millecentenary 100 years later. In fact, the museum is housed in a stretch of tunnel that once formed part of the M1 line until it was diverted in 1955.
reviewed
