Budapest
The capital city was originally two cities on each side of one of the most beautiful stretches of the Danube river – Buda, the older, more graceful part, with cobbled streets and medieval buildings, and Pest, the commercial centre. The ‘Pearl of the Danube’ is a lively city which has long been a haven for writers, artists and musicians.
In Buda, Gellért Hill gives a wonderful view of the city, river and mountains. On the hill is the Citadella, a fort built after the unsuccessful 1848 uprising, and a number of thermal baths including the great Gellért Baths adjoining the hotel of that name. The Royal Palace, fully reconstructed after being bombed during World War II, houses the National Gallery, with collections of fine Gothic sculpture and modern Hungarian art, and the Historical Museum of Budapest, containing archaeological remains of the old city as well as furnishings, glass and ceramics from the 15th century. Also on this side of the Danube is the rampart of Halászbástya (Fisherman’s Bastion), so called because it was the duty of the city’s fishermen to protect the northern side of the Palace during the Middle Ages, and the great Mátyás templon (church) with its multicoloured tiled roof.
On the Pest side are the Parliament; the Hungarian National Museum, containing remarkable treasures ranging from the oldest skull found in Europe to Franz Liszt’s gold baton; the Belvárosi Templom, Hungary’s oldest church, dating from the 12th century, the Museum of Fine Arts housing European paintings and the Ethnographic Museum. Margaret Island, connected to both Buda and Pest by bridges, is a park with a sports stadium, swimming pool, spas, a rose garden and fountains. Budapest has about 100 hot springs.
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