Melissa's Amusings: Germany Vacation- On our Own In Budapest

After our city tour the bus let us off on the Pest side of the Chain bridge, where in just 2-2 1/2 hrs. we would be picked up again.The day before Jim was a bit discouraged from not finding the frescoes in Vienna and as a consequence did not feel inclined to make a plan for our free time in Budapest. So, that night I figured out an agenda of what we would try to find along with a map with the places marked. I had more places listed than we could possibly get to, but that way if we had any troubles we could just keep on going :-) Luckily, where the bus left us off at worked perfectly for my itinerary. I will be marking with an * the bonus sights that were not on my list , but happened to see on the way.
We started off with a stroll along the Danube Promenade, which runs along the Danube from the Chain bridge to the Elisabeth bridge. The promenade was made in the mid 19th century and was enjoyed by the Aristocrats. It was destroyed during WWII and was reconstructed in the 1970's. There are wonderful views of the Royal Palace.

The dome of the Royal Palace is in the Neo-Classical style.


The Palace is now a cultural center, housing three museums.

We pass by Laszlo Marton's sculpture of a boy*, oddly named the 'Little Princess".

The 'shiny'/worn parts are a result of many people posing for pics and touching that area.

I like that wild crown of his :-)

Glimpses of the Vigado are seen,

and we turn onto the pathway in front of it for a better view. The Vigado (meaning-having fun, being happy) is a concert hall built in the Romanticist style between 1854-64.The facade is decorated with folk motifs, dancers on columns, busts of former Monarchs, rulers, and other Hungarian personalities.

Statues of muses are above the pillars in the central area.

"Children's Fountain" by sculptor Senyei Karoly in 1896.

The upper part of the Greek Orthodox Church* can be seen along the promenade.

I like the looks of the left tower better than the right one.

Paid by Greek merchants it was built 1791-1794.

Not sure what this is, but I thought it was pretty.

Nearing the end of the promenade at the Elisabeth bridge, the statue of St. Gellert* built in 1904 can be seen.

St. Gellert is the Patron St. of Budapest.

The next item on my list, the Inner City parish Church, was a bit tricky for us to find because it was being renovated. Since the church was being renovated, it was covered up (kind of like a slipcover over furniture) and at street level was sort of hard to see.We finally decided that we must have the right place and managed to find a slit of an opening in which to enter. There must have been a no picture taking rule or I was tired/grumpy from the uncertainty of finding the church because I ended up having no pictures of it....the oldest building in Pest :-(
As we turn away from the Danube, we now make our way into Pest. Along the way to our next main destination (University Church), we pass by the Klotild Palaces. The Grand Duchess Klotild Maria Amalia had bought two long and quite narrow plots of land and wanted 2 palaces built. She had architects Korb Floris and Giergl Kalman handle the designing and building of something elaborate on such difficult plots of land.

Neo-Baroque in style and built entirely with stone.

One of the Klotild Palaces showing the narrowness and length.

While we pause to consult the map for where we want to turn, I look back and see the Parisi Udvar*(Paris Shopping Arcade). A building originally intended to be a savings bank was built in the early 20th century by architect Henrik Schmal.

The shopping arcade is located on the bottom 2 levels and offices occupy the higher levels.

The exterior is a mixture of Venetian Gothic, Renaissance, Art Noveau, and oriental styles.

After looking at the map Justin and Geoffrey seem fairly confident that they know the way.

So, I just follow and take a few more pics.

It seemed like quite a bit of our walk involved many construction areas, which was kind of noisy.

But still able to enjoy some of the pretty buildings.

Beautiful lines/curves on that building...and those faces do give it quite a bit of character!

We arrive at the University Church, which is one of the most impressive Baroque churches in the city.

Built 1725-42

pretty detail above the entry way

carved wooden door

carving up close

One of our first thoughts was, "Wow, that's a lot of marble!"

Pilasters are all marble.

Chapels behind the pilasters.

Then we look up, the ceilings are covered in frescoes.

Frescoes were done in 1776.

The scenes are from the life of Mary.

Looking back towards the entrance.

The main altar made in 1746, with carved statues behind it.

Above the altar is a copy of the painting "The Black Madonna of Czestochowa".

Painting believe to be dated from 1720.

The carved pulpit and the

balustrade of the organ loft are examples of the handiwork of the Pauline Monks, who are responsible for the baroque interior of the church.

One last picture before we take our leave.

As we wind our way through the streets

we pass the Servite Church*. The architects Janos Holbins and Gyorgy Paver built it from1725-32. The Column of the Virgin Mary* stands in front of the church.

Right above the door area are statues of St. Peregrin and St. Anne. Farther above them, the statues of St. Phillip and St. Augustine stand.

Turn a corner, and all of a sudden, there is St. Stephen's Basilica. It took from 1851-1905 to build. The original architect, Josef Hild used a Greek cross floor plan and a Neo-classical style. After his death in 1867, Miklos Ybl took over and he added the Neo-Renaissance dome after the original one collapsed in 1868. Josef krauser completed it in 1905.

The dome's height of 96 meters is related to the year 896, when the Magyar tribes settled the Carpathian Basin.

The right tower houses a bell weighing 9 tons.

I liked the paved design leading up to the Basilica.

was tempted to 'follow the yellow brick road' here :-)

Relief figures in the tympanum are by Leo Fessler.

St. Hieronymus in a niche of the exterior .

Inside, the gold leaf and the 50 different types of marble add to the 'dazzle'.

There are many beautiful pieces of art found throughout the basilica.

A mosaic fresco of Jesus.

The dome is decorated with mosaics done by Karoly Lotz.

Fresco of 'God the Father'

In the center of the altar is a Carrara marble statue of St. Stephen by Alajos Strobl.

The mosaics(1900) in the half dome are of angels celebrating five steps in Holy Mass.

Behind the altar are scenes from the King's life.

A very unusual and honored relic, the mummified right hand of King Stephen, is kept in the Szent Jobb Chapel(Holy Right Hand Chapel).

Every Aug. 20th, the day of St. Stephen's death, the hand is paraded thru the surrounding streets.

The mummified hand is kept in an ornate casket.

close up

Some of the stained glass windows in Szent Jobb Chapel.

As a contrast to all the ornateness, I especially liked the simplicity of many of the statues.

Statue portrayal of St. Gellert and his pupil St. Emeryka, by Alajos Strobl.

A few extras that I liked :-)

A very nice view while exiting the Basilica.

Near this area are quite a few gift shops for Geoffrey to get his Budapest's mementos. While waiting for him to make his purchases, I enjoy the surroundings.

store window of the shop he bought from

Last look of St. Stephen's

At this point we decide we have just enough time to walk to and across the Chain Bridge if we don't stop for lunch. At Roosevelt Square, next to the head of the Chain Bridge, we pass by the Hungarian Academy of Science building*, built between 1862-64 using Neo-Renaissance designs of Friedrich August Stuler, a Berlin architect. Statues symbolizing major fields of knowledge (Law,natural history, mathematics, philosophy, linguistics, and history) decorate the facade.

Statues of famous 'thinkers'(ie. Newton, Descartes,Revay) are on the corners.

The statues on the Danube side(left side of building) represent poetry, astronomy, and archaeology.

One of the statues in Roosevelt Square; Szarvas Gabor , An Hungarian linguist who was the 1st to fight for the Hungarian language culture.

Statue by Gyula Jankovitz.

Another outstanding building along Roosevelt Square is the Secession style Gresham Palace*. Built in the early 1900's, it was commissioned by the Gresham Life Assurance Co. Now it is a 4 Seasons Hotel.

Flowing lines and floral motifs were used for ornamental decorations.

We are about a half minute from where the bus will be picking us up; so we can enjoy our crossing of the Chain Bridge without worrying about how long it will take us to get to the pick up point :-) The bridge designed by William Tierney Clark was built between 1839-49 and was the first permanent river crossing between Buda and Pest. The two towers and the giant iron chains(where the bridge gets its name) support the 1,230 ft. bridge--quite an engineering accomplishment back then!

At the bridgeheads on both sides are stone lions guarding the bridge.

We take off on the footpath portion of the bridge and enjoy both the design of the bridge and

Hungary's coat of arms decorates the towers of the bridge.

the scenery from it.

Calvinist Church,St.Anne's Church, and St. Elizabeth's Church stand out in this picture.

Matyas Church , Fishermen's Bastion and the Hilton

Parliament building

At the other side we take a few minutes at the roundabout, Clark Adam Ter ; named after Adam Clark, who was the Scottish engineer that supervised the construction of the bridge. At this roundabout the lower end of the Castle Hill Funicular and the tunnel that goes under the Castle District is located.

The funicular, running by 1870 was the world's 2nd one. It was the only way to get to the castle at that time.

Adam Clark also supervised the building of the tunnel.

Behind the street sign, a monument-Kilometer Zero*- stands. From this monument all distances from budapest are measured.

Another good view of Buda Castle

At the upper end of the funicular is the Turul statue. It is a giant bronze eagle clasping a sword in its talons. The Turul is from Magyar mythology.

The funicular carries between 500,000-1 million passengers a year.

The lions on Buda's side.

Time to turn around and head back, still stopping to take pics and enjoy the scenery.

Geoffrey to busy taking in the sights to look my way :-)

Jim checking out the chains

The line up of cruise boats

We are back to where we started along the Danube Embankment and have a few minutes to relax and enjoy area before the bus arrives to take us back to the hotel.