The view of the Danube bank at Budapest offers one of the most beautiful panoramas of the world, looking either form the promenade on the Pest side, or from the quay on the Buda side. Reaching from the Technical University to the Chain Bridge, it includes the Gellrt Spa, the Statue of Liberty, the Citadel and the Buda Castle. On the opposite side, in Pest, the beautiful Parliament can be found (length 268 m, height 96 m) with frescoes of famous painters and the 1000 years old Coronation Jewels of King St. Stephen. Then the Chainbridge follows, the first bridge that connected Buda and Pest, which was built under the guidance of Adam Clark, from the donations of Count Istvn Szchenyi in 1842. On Roosevelt square one can find the Hungarian Academy of Sciences finished in 1865, the art-nouveau style Gresham Palace from 1907 and the Ministry of Home Affairs (the former building of Hitelbank). During the conquest of the land in 896 a settlement was formed on the Buda hills, which due to the Mongolian attacks was strengthened and built to a Gothic fortress by King Bla IV. Since 1347 it has been the seat of the kings, which was later developed to a magnificent Renaissance palace by King Matthias. It was released after a 150 years of Turkish occupation in 1686. When in 1873 the three city parts Buda, Pest and buda were unified, the castle was rebuilt using the middle age remnants but characterised by baroque features. Unfortunately in the second world war it was damaged again. Since the rebuilding, archaeological excavations and renovation takes place. The history of the castle is presented in the Budapest History Museum in the "E"? building of the castle. In 2002 the Andrssy Avenue became part of the World Heritage List too, with its unique environment, along with the Millenium Underground Line and the Heroes' Square. Both of them was built to commemorate the thousands anniversary of the conquest in 1896. Two and three storey high, eclectical and neo-renaissance residential buildings and villas line the Andrssy Avenue, which is divided into three parts by double line of trees. The two outer lanes were once cowered by wooden cubes for the genteel public on horse back. Among the edifices the Opera house, the Academy of Music - founded by Ferenc Liszt, the Institute of Ballet and the houses decorated by sgrafitto and mosaics at the corner of Kodly Krnd are of outstanding national value. At the Heroes' Square the great personalities of our history are represented by the statues of Gyrgy Zala in the colonnade. At the two sides of the square the Museum of Fine Arts and the Art Gallery are facing each other. Under the avenue the first underground of the continent is still running. The renovated stops and trains regained their old splendor. Period documents present the most beautiful buildings of Buda and Pest in the underground stops. |