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Budapest is fascinating by
its architectural diversity and the influences that have shaped its Magyar
identity over the centuries, from the Turkish occupation to the stamp left
on it by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The capital of
Hungary ideally
combines the pleasures of art, gastronomic delights and the bathing ritual,
a veritable philosophy of well-being.
What strikes you straight away is the geographic contrast between the two
banks. On one side, Buda sits aristocratically on its hill, with its Mátyás
Church and royal palace; on the other, lies Pest, flat like the great
Hungarian plain, with its wide, busy avenues bordered by imposing buildings
and literary cafes. In between flow the brownish waters of the Danube,
crossed by many metallic bridges. Theatrical like a Baroque retable,
charming like a palace from the Thousand and One Nights, Budapest
immediately captures your attention. You can feel there will be many
pleasures ahead.
En route to my hotel, I recognised successively the Chain Bridge
(Lánchíd) guarded since 1849 by its stone lions, the immense Neogothic
Parliament (a copy of Westminster),
Gresham Palace (a Secession* masterpiece and today a Four Season chain
luxury hotel), Marguerite Island (Margit-sziget, a place of mystical retreat
in the Middle Ages and nowadays a fitness park). And when night falls, all
the city and its main monuments are floodlit. The pearl of the Danube casts
its spell...
Buda
Várnegyed, the castle district
Here I am then in Buda, on the castle hill (Várhegy), some fifty metres
above the Danube. The castle district, a star attraction for tourists to
Budapest is nevertheless charming and concentrates in a small area the royal
palace, churches, museums and many Baroque houses. These are decorated with
medallions and cherubs on their facades and feature wells hidden away in
their courtyards. There is an ample amount to fill a day, without forgetting
a pause at the confectionery Ruszwurm.
The royal palace (Budavári palota)
This little plateau surrounded by ramparts was therefore the site where
everything or nearly everything began in the 13th century when Bela IV built
a fortress to resist the Mongolian invasions. Around 1400, the Emperor
Sigismond build on this site a Gothic castle which was to be transformed and
embellished in 1458 under the enlightened reign of Mathias Corvin, the
brilliant, well-read and humanist sovereign. Destroyed then rebuilt, this
castle which had become a royal palace (Budavári palota) was constantly
altered by the successors, especially by the Hapsburgs, becoming a
hotchpotch of styles and forms. It received direct hits during the siege of
Budapest in 1944-1945. Restoration work has since been executed in
accordance with the palace plans of 1905.
The wrought iron entrance gate (Várpalota kapuja), decorated with floral
motifs and Franz Joseph's monogramme, is a masterpiece of light delicacy
signed by the wrought iron craftsman Gyula Jungfer. Threatening Pest with
its sharp beak, an enormous bronze bird of prey, wings unfurled, perches on
the left pillar: this is Turul, the pagan Magyars' totem bird. Another
masterpiece, King Mathias' monumental bronze fountain, the work of the
sculptor Alajos Stróbl (1904), presents the monarch in a hunting and love
scene, next to the beautiful Helen, the hunter's daughter with whom he fell
in love.
Inside the palace, several museums await you, including the Budapest
History Museum (Budapesti Történeti Múzeum) and above all the Hungarian
National Gallery (Nemzeti Galéria). I opted for the latter to learn about
the history of Hungary painting which begins with a magnificent series of
Gothic retables. As in France, 19th century Hungarian painters discovered
the joys of realism (illustrated by the great Mihály Munkácsy) and of
nature, in a style recalling that of the School of Barbizon more than
Impressionnism. The highlight of this museum is however the work of the
self-taught painter Csontváry, a former pharmacist who used striking
psychedelic colours.
The castle district
White and immaculate, Mátyás Church (Mátyás Templom) may well shock you
by its outrageous Neogothic style. It is however another emblematic place of
Hungary's history where Franz Joseph 1st and Sissy were crowned sovereigns
at a mass written and directed by Franz Liszt. Purists will perhaps call
this a kitsch pastiche confection. Yet, the stained glass windows and
frescoes by the two decorators, Bertalan Székely and Károly Lotz, combine
felicitously Art Nouveau, popular Hungarian traditions and Oriental
influences, and trumpet the originality of Hungarian taste.
On leaving the church, don't miss the panorama from the fishermen's
bastion (Halászbástya), a set of ramparts and seven turrets representing the
seven Magyar tribes. Built to celebrate Hungary's millennium in 1896, like
so many other buildings in Budapest, this fairytale Neoromanesque castle
offers unimpeded views over the Danube and Pest.
The rest of the district is worth a long walk through the streets
Táncsisc Mihály, Tárnok, Országház, Úri and Fortuna bordered by houses with
Baroque facades and Gothic elements (such as seat recesses situated under
porches where coach drivers could rest) and freshly restored fine ochre or
green parging.
On the Pest bank
A radical change in decor! Here is Pest with its broad avenues like
Andrássy ut (the Budapest Champs-Élysées), its assortment of highly varied
architecture, its pompous monuments and its cafes, some of which contributed
to the capital's intellectual and artistic glory at the beginning of the
20th century.
Vörösmarty Squareand Váci Street
Located in the very heart of the pedestrianised district, Vörösmarty
Square is a place not to be missed in Pest, thronged with Budapesti out
shopping. At the back, the clothes shop Luxus, occupying a building
constructed in 1911 by the architects Kálman Giergl and Flóris Korb, is a
curiosity: the nec plus ultra of luxury fashion under the socialists, the
shop is today slowly declining in our age of globalised brands. Opposite,
the tearoom Gerbeaud has represented for over a century the excellence of
central European confectionery (see our article Budapest dishes) and some of
its products are exported as far as ... Palerma, incredible as that may
seem.
Váci Street is a highly commercial pedestrian thoroughfare. If you like
Art Nouveau blocks of flats just explore the surrounding streets (such as
Párizsi, Haris köz and Kígyó Streets). You'll come across a rare example of
Brussels Jugendstil, ceramic facades and even a shop decorated with burr
walnut (20, Petőfi Sándor Street). Nearby, at Rózsavölgyi és Társa,
musicians can buy superbly edited classical scores at a low price, works
which are an honour to the city of Béla Bartók, Zoltán Kodály and Franz
Liszt!
At the end of Váci Street looms a monumental red brick building topped by
Neogothic towers and a roof covered with majolica tiles, something like a
giant station typical of 19th century industrial architecture. In actual
fact it is the central food halls (Vásárcsarnok) by the architect Samu Petz.
Its interior is a vast metallic nave under which many fruit, vegetable and
cooked meat stalls are to be found. A must on any walk in Pest!
Andrássy ut, the Budapest Champs-Élysées
This 2.5 km long straight avenue, inspired by Haussmann town-planning,
enjoyed its heyday under the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. Since the fall of
communism, the town mansions and the highly varied blocks of flats have been
restored to their former glory. With its porch advancing on to Andrássy
Avenue, the National Opera (Magyar Állami Operaház) is Miklós Ybl's
masterpiece, to be distinguished among all the other Millennium buildings.
The interior decoration is a marvel, especially the grand marble staircase
with its twin flight of steps and its coffered ceiling painted with
mythological scenes.
Further on, the avenue intersects Nagymező utca, nicknamed at the
beginning of the 20th century Pest's Broadway with its numerous cabarets and
its festive life reminiscent of that of Vienna. To this day a few theatres
such as the Thália and the Operetta Theatre keep the tradition alive.
Andrássy út then widens with two squares: on one side Jókai tér, with its
statue of the Romantic author Mór Jókai, and on the other, Liszt Ferenc tér
where you'll find a young, trendy district with a succession of hip bars and
restaurants, such as Menza. Franz Liszt Music Academy (Liszt Ferenc
Zeneakadémia), built between 1904 and 1907 by Kálmán Giergl and Flóris Korb,
is above all worth a visit for its entirely black, copper and bronze
interior Secession decor which has remained intact. The most brilliant
pianist and conductor Zoltán Kocsis reigns over the programming of the two
1200 and 400 seat concert halls.
Heroes' Square (Hősök Tere)
This monumental square, laid out by the architect Albert Schickedanz, is
not lacking in panache, with on each side a museum inspired by Greek
temples. In the centre stands the Millennium monument commemorating the
thousandth anniversary of the Magyar conquest: this 36 m column bears a
statue of the archangel Gabriel standing on a globe and holding the
Hungarian crown and the Apostolic cross. On the pedestal, an imposing
sculptural group of seven warriors with Viking moustaches represents the
Magyar Prince Árpád leading the seven mythical tribes to victory. Behind the
column, the colonnade, decorated on top with sculpted allegories, features
statues of Hungary's great, from Saint Steven to Lajos Kossuth, hero of the
1848-1849 revolution. On 16 June 1989, Heroes' Square was the setting of a
commemorative celebration of Imre Nagy and his comrades executed in 1958
after the Soviet intervention.
The Fine Arts Museum (Szépművészeti Múzeum)
Of the two museums on the square, we opted for the Fine Arts Museum. Also
built as part of the Millennium celebrations, this colossal Neoclassical
building houses European art treasures, namely the collections acquired in
the 19th century by Prince Esterházy and the Hungarian archbishop Pyrker,
patriarch of Venice. Italian painting is also very well represented with
examples of the Schools of Venice, Florence and Urbino, from the early
Renaissance to the Baroque period. But it is the Spanish school which best
represents the purchasing talent of Prince Esterházy and another collector,
Marcell Nemes, both of whom took an interest in El Greco, Velasquez,
Zurbaran and Goya at a time when their paintings were worth nothing on the
art market! Since the opening in 2003 of the exhibition 'Monet and his
friends', which has attracted more than 300,000 visitors, Budapesti are keen
on temporary exhibitions and are impatiently awaiting the next one devoted
to Spanish art, scheduled for January.
Széchenyi baths
Széchenyi baths (Széchenyi Gyógyfürdő), the capital's most popular, are
located five minutes on foot from the Fine Arts Museum! Built in the first
decade of the 20th century to take advantage of a 75°C source, Budapest's
hottest, this Neobaroque palace painted an outlandish mustard yellow is a
marvel devoted to the art of bathing. This ritual, combining hygiene and
relaxation, is practised in the interior thermal baths, the large outdoor
pool heated to 27°C and 50 m long, and the two other outdoor semi-circular
pools heated to 34 and 38°C, with their well-known chess players. Winter,
when wafts of steam rise from the surface of the hot water, is the best
season to take advantage of this antechamber to paradise...
* Name given to Hungarian Art Nouveau
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