Budapest is beautiful. It is actually made up of Buda and Pest separated by the river Danube. It is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe and demands a visit more than the 2 days I spent there.
After Vienna, I think, it has the most number of beautiful buildings. I could not stop taking pictures as you can see from the below.
Budapest was and is a truly global city. It was first inhabited by the Celts, then the Romans and the Magyars in the 9th Century. The Mongols invaded next in the 13th Century followed by the Ottomans. It was also the second capital of the Austro-Hungarian empire.
The National Museum
The funicular to the Buda castle complex
Gates to the Buda Castle
Buda Castle is the historical castle complex of the Hungarian kings in Budapest first completed in 1265. In the past, it was also called Royal Palace and Royal Castle. It was built on the southern tip of Castle Hill, surrounded by what is known as the Castle District famous for its Medieval, Baroque and 19th century living quarters and public buildings. It is linked to Adam Clark Square and the Széchenyi Chain Bridge by the Castle Hill Funicular.
View of The Parliament - which looks like Royal Icing, from the Buda Castle
The Horse Wrangler
Matthias Fountain
The spectacular fountain decorates the western forecourt of the palace. It shows a group of hunters lead by King Matthias Corvinus together with hounds, a killed deer, Galeotto Marzio with a hawk and Szép Ilonka with a doe. The fountain was made by sculptor Alajos Stróbl.
The Turul
The Turul is the most important mythological bird of the origin myth of the Magyars. It is a messenger of god in Hungarian mythology, who sits on top of the tree of life along with the other spirits of unborn children in the form of birds.
Statue of Prince Eugene of Savoy
Budapest has many UNESCO heritage sites which include the Buda Castle, the banks of the Danube, Andrassy Avenue, Heroes Square and the Millennium Underground Railway
A quaint postbox
Fisherman's Bastion Towers
The Halászbástya or Fisherman's Bastion is a terrace in neo-Gothic and neo-Romanesque style situated on the Buda bank of the Danube, on the Castle hill in Budapest, around Matthias Church. It was designed and built between 1895 and 1902 on the plans of Frigyes Schulek.
From the towers and the terrace a panoramic view exists of Duna, Margaret Island, Pest to the east and the Gellért Hill.
Its seven towers represent the seven Magyar tribes that settled in the Carpathian Basin in 896.
The Bastion takes its name from the guild of fishermen that was responsible for defending this stretch of the city walls in the Middle Ages. It is a viewing terrace, with many stairs and walking paths.
A bronze statue of Stephen I of Hungary mounted on a horse, erected in 1906, can be seen between the Bastion and the Matthias Church. The pedestal was made by Alajos Stróbl, based on the plans of Frigyes Schulek, in Neo-Romanesque style, with episodes illustrating the King's life.
Matthias Church
St Stephan's statue
The Hungarian Jewish WWII Memorial
Between 20% and 40% of Greater Budapest's 250,000 Jewish inhabitants died through Nazi and Arrow Cross Party genocide during 1944 and early 1945. Despite this, modern day Budapest has the highest number of Jewish citizens per capita of any European city.
St Stephan's Basilica where the Holy Right Hand of King Stephan, the founder of Hungary, is on display.
View from the top of the Basilica
Dohány Street Synagogue
The Hungarian State Opera House which is smaller than the one in Vienna but supposedly more beautiful.
The beautiful ceiling of the Opera House
View of the Parliament from the River. It is an outstanding building.
Buda Castle
