190. Farewell to Budapest ...

Time has come for me to say farewell to this beautiful city and move onto my next destination - but before I go, here are a few final impressions of Budapest ...

The Hungarian Parliament Building perched on the Pest side of the Danube - also known as the House of the Nation - is the seat of the National Assembly of Hungary. It is one of Europe's oldest legislative buildings and is currently the largest building in Hungary and still the tallest building in Budapest.

As I mentioned in a previous post, Budapest was united from three cities in 1873 and seven years later the Diet resolved to establish a new, representative Parliament Building, expressing the sovereignty of the nation. An international competition was held, and Hungarian architect  Imre Steindl emerged as the victor.

Construction from the winning plan was started in 1885 and the building was inaugurated on the 1000th anniversary of the country in 1896, and completed in 1904. ( Sadly the architect of the building went blind before its completion.).

The Parliament Building is in the Gothic Revival style and over  1,000 people were involved in its construction, during which 40 million bricks, half a million precious stones and 40 kilograms of gold were used.

 Due to its extensive surface and its detailed handiwork, the building is almost always under renovation.

 Statue of Hungarian poet Attila Joozsef 1905 - 1937

 Museum of Ethnography

 

The very grand Matthias Church - the first church on the site was founded by Saint Stephen, King of Hungary in 1015. This building was destroyed in 1241 by the Mongols; the current building was constructed in the latter half of the 13th century. The church was named after King Matthias in the 19th Century. 

The Fisherman's Bastion is a terrace in neo-Gothic and neo-Romanesque style situated on the Buda bank of the Danube  around Matthias Church. It was designed and built between 1895 and 1902 and takes its name from the guild of fishermen that was responsible for defending this stretch of the city walls in the Middle Ages.

Wonderful views across the Danube from The Fisherman's Bastion ...

National Archives of Hungary

 

" fill er up ... while I finish my coffee"

 Liberty - catching the cold Autumn sun  ...

Freedom statue on top of Citadella - overlooking Budapest and the Danube
erected in 1947 after the Soviets liberated the city from the Nazis occupation

Impressive Archway leading to the Budapest History Museum at Buda Castle

Lions guarding the Castle gate

 

Wonderful sculptures on either side of National Museum doors

 

 Columbo ( Peter Falk ) and his dog

 Policeman from 1900's

Museum of Applied Arts

This Art Nouveau building with its glass paneled roof dates back to the end of the 19th century, and houses an interesting collection of metalwork, furnitures textiles etc ...

 

Budapest boasts a very modern and reliable rapid transport system including the oldest electrified underground rail system in Europe - and when I say underground, I mean way way way underground - these escalators are not for sufferers of vertigo ...

And up on ground level there are all sorts of rail carriages from the ultra new to the relics left over from Soviet days but still playing a part in moving the population ...

... and a very good tram system - from the #2 free tourist tram ...

... to the slick suburban people movers ...

 

Entrance to Keleti Railway station ...

where I landed in Budapest three weeks ago ...

And after three weeks of exploring this fascinating ( ... but very cold weather-wise ... ) city of Budapest, it's time for me to head out to the airport and thumb a lift to my next destination ...

 

... and who knows where this little bird peeping around the corner will deposit me ...

... stay tuned ...