On Tuesday 1st April 2025 we got up in the early hours and drove to Stansted Airport. After whizzing through security and the bag drop we were sitting around for hours, it was finally time to board our Ryanair flight to Budapest.
We landed in Budapest and took a Uber to the Star City Hotel in Istvan Utca, Budapest, and were allowed into our room early.
Afterwards we walked over to Budapest Keleti station and the cheapest option for travel for the five days here was to buy a month pass at £18.80 each, this gave us access to buses, trams, trains and the metro in the city.
We got the Metro Line 2 from Keleti-Palyaudvar to Kossuth Lajos Ter and this bought us out opposite the (Orszaghas) Hungarian Parliament building.
The Parliament is situated on Kossuth Square in the Pest side of the city, on the eastern bank of the Danube. It was designed by Hungarian architect Imre Steindl in neo-Gothic style and opened in 1902. It has been the largest building in Hungary since its completion. The architectural style of the Hungarian parliament building was influenced by the gothic Vienna City Hall, and the renaissance elements like the cupola was influenced by the Maria vom Siege church in Vienna.
Budapest was united from three cities in 1873, namely Buda, Óbuda, and Pest. Seven years later, the Diet resolved to establish a new, representative parliament building, expressing the sovereignty of the nation. The building was planned to face the Danube River. An international competition was held, and Imre Steindl emerged as the victor; the plans of two other competitors were later also realized in the form of the Ethnographic Museum and the Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture, both facing the Parliament Building. One reason that Steindl's proposal was chosen is that his neo-Gothic plans bore a strong resemblance with the Palace of Westminster in London. Leading Hungarian politicians of the 19th century found it extremely important that the country's new parliament building should symbolise their commitment to Western Europe, especially Britain, the country Hungarian reformers considered a political role model. Construction from the winning plan was started in 1885, and the building was inaugurated on the presumed 1,000th anniversary of the country in 1896. With the keys to the building being handed over in 1902, it was however not fully completed until 1904, after which 40 million bricks, half a million precious stones and 40 kg (88 lb) of gold were used. The architect of the building first went blind and later died before the building's completion.
Since World War II, the legislature has been unicameral, and today the government uses only a small portion of the building, with the other wing occasionally serving to house events. During the People's Republic of Hungary, a red star perched on the top of the dome, but it was removed in 1990 after the fall of communism. Mátyás Szűrös declared the Hungarian Republic from the balcony facing Kossuth Lajos Square on 23 October 1989.
The Parliament Building is built in the Gothic Revival style; it has a symmetrical façade and a central dome. The dome is Renaissance Revival architecture. The parliament is also largely symmetrical from the inside, with two identical parliament halls on the opposing sides of the building. One of the two halls is still in use today for sessions of the Hungarian National Assembly, the other for ceremonies, conferences, and guided tours. It is 268 m (879 ft) long and 123 m (404 ft) wide, making it the largest building in the country since its construction. Its interior includes 10 courtyards, 13 passenger and freight elevators, 27 gates, 29 staircases and 691 rooms (which includes more than 200 offices). Its height of 96 m (315 ft) is an allusion to the purported nation's millennium in 1896, with the establishment of the Principality of Hungary in 896 following the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin. It was one of the two tallest buildings in Budapest, along with Saint Stephen's Basilica, until the MOL Campus topped out in 2021.
The main façade overlooks the Danube, but the official main entrance is from the square on the east side of the building. Inside and outside, there are altogether 242 sculptures on the walls. The façade displays statues of Hungarian rulers, Transylvanian leaders, and famous military figures. The coats of arms of kings and dukes are depicted over the windows. The eastern staircase is flanked by two lions. When entering the Parliament Building, visitors can walk up great ornamental stairs, see frescoes on the ceiling, and pass by the bust of the architect Imre Steindl in a wall niche. Other statues include those of Árpád, Stephen I and John Hunyadi. The building features stained glass and glass mosaics by Miksa Róth.
One of the most famous parts of the building is the hexadecagonal (sixteen-sided) central hall, with huge chambers adjoining it: the Lower House and the Upper House. The modern National Assembly is unicameral and meets in the Lower House, while the Upper House is used as a conference and meeting room. The Holy Crown of Hungary, which is also depicted in Hungary's coat of arms, has been displayed in the central hall since 2000. Due to its extensive surface and detailed handiwork, the building is almost always under renovation.
We walk over to the River Danube.
The Danube is the second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and South-Eastern Europe, from the Black Forest south into the Black Sea. A large and historically important river, it was once a frontier of the Roman Empire. In the 21st century, it connects ten European countries, running through their territories or marking a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for 2,850 km (1,770 mi), passing through or bordering Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, and Ukraine. Among the many cities on the river are four national capitals: Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest, and Belgrade.
We walk over to a statue of Attila József Statue that sits between Parliament and the river.
Sitting on stairs, the poet is staring at the river.
A crumpled coat lies at his side, possibly a reference to one of his poems, Sárga füvek, Yellow Grass, where he likens his country to an “eladott kabát”, a peddled coat. A symbolic image that appears even stronger due to the statue’s proximity with the Parliament building, one of the greatest landmarks and symbols of the Hungarian nation.
Nevertheless, this sculpture is said to have been inspired by another one of his poems, By the Danube. And despite the contradictions of his life and tragedy, let us simply be led and swept away by his poetic art: “Én úgy vagyok, hogy már százezer éve/nézem, amit meglátok hirtelen”. In other words, let us feel like “the one who gazed for a hundred thousand years what he sees now for the first time – thanks to his poetry”.
Every year, Poetry Day – költészet napja – is celebrated in Hungary on April 11, a date chosen to honour the memory of one of the country’s greatest poets: Attila József, born on that same day exactly 115 years ago.
Attila József was one of the poets, along with the likes of Endre Ady or Miklos Radnóti, who defined modern Hungarian poetry.
During his short life, from the turn of the 20th century to the late 1930’s, he revolutionized poetic writing, addressing in his prolific work everyday topics as much as politics, odes and celebrations of love or calls for revolutionary upheaval.
We cross the tramline and walk along the river to the Shoes on the Danube Bank.
The Shoes on the Danube Bank (Hungarian: Cipők a Duna-parton) is a memorial erected on 16 April 2005, in Budapest, Hungary. Conceived by film director Can Togay, he created it on the east bank of the Danube River with sculptor Gyula Pauer to honour the Jews who were massacred by fascist antisemitic Hungarian militia belonging to the Arrow Cross Party in Budapest during the Second World War. They were ordered to take off their shoes (shoes were valuable and could be stolen and resold by the militia after the massacre), and were shot at the edge of the water so that their bodies fell into the river and were carried away. The memorial represents their shoes left behind on the bank.
"The composition titled 'Shoes on the Danube Bank' gives remembrance to the 3,500 people, 800 of them Jews, who were shot into the Danube during the time of the Arrow Cross terror. The sculptor created sixty pairs of period-appropriate shoes out of iron. The shoes are attached to the stone embankment, and behind them lies a 40-meter-long, 70 cm high stone bench. At three points are cast iron signs, with the following text in Hungarian, English, and Hebrew: "To the memory of the victims shot into the Danube by Arrow Cross militiamen in 1944–1945. Erected 16 April 2005."
We walk along the river further towards the Széchenyi Chain Bridge.
After a brief look at the bridge we head back inland and walk up Zrinti St with views up to St Stephens Basilica.
We find 'The Policeman' Statue. A famous one and had to wait for a few to disappear before we could grab a photo.
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The Fat Policeman Statue (Kövér rendőr szobor) With its jovial expression and rotund figure, the Fat Policeman Statue serves as a beacon of warmth and humour in the bustling city. It’s a playful representation that captures the heart of Budapest’s lively spirit, inviting visitors to engage in a moment of light-heartedness amidst their explorations. |
It has become a popular tradition for tourists to rub the statue’s belly for good luck and to ensure their return to Budapest. This practice has given the statue’s belly a shiny patina, contrasting with the darker bronze of the rest of the sculpture.
