ZOO Budapest (Municipal Zoological and Botanical Gardens)
XIV. Állatkerti krt. 6-12.
The Budapest Zoo, built in 1866, is the oldest and largest zoo park of Hungary. Until the 1950-s, it was the sole zoo park of the country. Its 11-hectare territory has been declared a natural preserve area in 1986.
The park features 3,500 species of plants and 750 animal species, with 5,000 specimens. A major renovation began in 1990, resulting in nearly all species getting their modern, spacious habitats.
There are quite a few works of art on the territory of the Zoo; the two most significant of these are the Elephant House and the main entrance to the Zoo, built in Art Nouveau style.
For the sake of children, the Zoo has a special section where the cubs of some species may be fondled and fed with special food.
There are also signs in the Braille language, along with statuettes to touch for the blind. The roads and the animal houses can be accessed by wheelchair.
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Heroes’ Square
XIV. Budapest
Heroes' Square, where Andrássy Avenue meets Dózsa György út, is the biggest and most impressive square of Budapest. In the middle stands the Millennium Monument, with Archangel Gabriel on top, holding the double cross of Christianity and the Holy Hungarian Crown.
It was constructed to mark the 1000th anniversary of the arrival of the Magyar tribes. The pedestal below is occupied by the ornate horseback statues of the seven Hungarian leaders who led the Hungarian nation into the Carpathian Basin in 896 AD.
The left side of the is bordered by the Museum of Fine Arts, which holds the world's second largest collection of Spanish Art, on the right side is the Art Hall, giving home to temporary exhibitions in Budapest. Behind Heroes' Square, the City Park Lake is perfect for boating in the summer, and ice-skating in the wintertime (the ice is artificial and of good quality). The entertainment and cultural facilities of the City Park (Budapest Zoo, Funfair, Municipal Circus, Vajdahunyad Castle, the museum of Agriculture and Transport, the Petőfi Cultural Hall and the Széchenyi Thermal Bath) are among the most sought after tourist sights in Budapest.
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Millennium Monument
XIV. Hősök tere
The construction of the Millennium Monument began on the 1000th anniversary of the Hungarian Conquest of the Carpathian Basin, in 1896, and it was completed by 1906 – with the exception of the Monument of Heroes, which was built only in 1929. It is the central theme of Heroes’ Square.
The Monument and the two museums on the right and left side of the square - Museum of Fine Arts and the Art Hall, respectively - were designed by architect Albert Schikedanz and sculptor György Zala. This resulted in a unique architectural unison, enhanced by perfect symmetry with Andrássy Avenue.
In the middle of the composition, on a 36-metre column stands the bronze statue of the Archangel Gabriel, who, according to the legend, has appeared in a dream to St. Stephen, the Hungarian state founder, and offered him the Holy Crown of Hungary. On the pedestal, surrounding the column, stand the statues of the seven leaders, or chieftains of the once nomadic Hungarians. In perfect line with the axis of Andrássy út is the statue of Árpád; on his right are Előd, Huba and Tas, and on his left are Ond, Kond and Tétény leaders.
Directly in front of the pedestal is the Monument of Heroes, inaugurated by Governor Miklós Horthy in 1929. Although the creators must have been influenced by the high number of victims in World War I, it is neither a real soldier's grave, nor a world war monument. The original stonework was damaged in World War II, and the post-war Communist regime that came to power had it removed, along with the Habsburg kings' statues, which were deemed undesirable. It was restored in the spring of 1956, but the Habsburg statues never came back.
The two-winged semi-circular pantheon is filled with 7-7 statues of Hungarian leaders, kings and governors. On the top of the pantheons four allegoric bronze statues stand. Facing each other, the two chariots of War and Peace; on the far left the Work and Welfare, and on the far right Knowledge and Glory. The statues and embossments reflect to nearly all important landmarks of Hungarian history. The left side pantheon holds the statues of kings Stephen I, Ladislaus I, Coloman of Hungary, Andrew II, Béla IV, Charles I and Louis I. The right side one has the statues of János Hunyadi, Matthias Corvinus of Hungary, István Bocskay, Gabriel Bethlen, Imre Thököly, Francis II Rákóczi Lajos Kossuth.
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Széchenyi Thermal Bath
XIV. Állatkerti körút 11.
The Széchenyi Thermal Bath is o ne of the largest spa complexes in Europe. It's also the first thermal bath of Pest. It owes its existence to Vilmos Zsigmondy, a mining engineer. o n his initiative, successful deep borings had been performed in the City Park, where later, in 1881 already an "Artesian bath" was in operation.
However, this temporary type of bath was meeting the demands of the age less and less, so the Széchenyi Thermal Bath was built in 1913 o n the basis of plans composed by Gyozo Czigler. The Bath was expanded in 1927 with a public bathing department for gentlemen and ladies and a beach site. In the middle of the 1960s, further transformations took place, including the creation of a group thermal section in bathing suits as well as a daytime outpatient hospital (complex physiotherapy department).
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Vajdahunyad Castle
XIV. Városliget
Standing in Budapest’s City Park behind Heroes’ Square and the ice-skating rink, the Vajdahunyad Castle (official name: Historical Building Complex) was built to facilitate the 1896 Millennium Expo’s exhibitions, and also to show Hungary’s dominant architectural styles to visitors. Its best known part was modelled after the largest knight’s castle in historical Hungary, the Hunyad-castle in Transylvania, but all parts of the castle are copies of other buildings in Hungary.
It was originally constructed mainly from wood and cardboard, due to tight deadlines and the lack of funds. Due to its skyrocketing popularity, the whole complex was rebuilt from stone between 1904 and 1908. The main architect was Ignác Alpár, whose largest ever project was the castle. The Hungarian Agricultural Museum occupies most of the interior of the building.
The main parts of the complex are the lancet gate, the copy of the Csonka-tower of Segesvár, the copy of the Nyebojsza-tower from the Hunyad Castle, a small Romanesque church with the Gothic façade of the Ják church and the Baroque edifice of the Hungarian Agricultural Museum. The castle has a moat with two bridges: one from the direction of the City Park and one from Kós Károly Esplanade, underneath the main façade. There are three famous public statues in the castle: the statue of its architect, Ignác Alpár; the statue of King Béla IV's anonymous notary (Anonymus) and that of Sándor Károlyi economist in the courtyard.
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Gundel Restaurant
XIV. Állatkerti körút 2.
The restaurant, built in 1894 (until 1910, it was called Wampetics Restaurant). Gundel Károly has taken over in 1910, and turned it into the best place for fine dining in Budapest. The restaurant was the official caterer to the Hungarian Pavilion of the New York World Expo in 1937, helping spread the word about the wonderful Hungarian cuisine
In 1991, George Lang and Ronald S. Lauder have bought the restaurant, and reopened it following a complete renovation in 1992. It greeted its one-millionth guest in the year 2000. Today, it is Budapest's best restaurant without question. Its "little sister", the Bagolyvár Restaurant is adjacent to the Gundel building, and is the only restaurant where only ladies work - it's a matter of tradition.
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Ice-Skating Rink and Lake
XIV. Olof Palme sétány 5.
Europe’s largest ice-skating rink is located at the edge of the City Park, enclosed between Heroes’ Square and Vajdahunyad Castle. This is the second such establishment in Europe, built in 1926, shortly after the construction of the one in Vienna, Austria.
In the wintertime, a continuous, 12,000 m2 large ice surface is generated by special machinery underneath the lake. From spring until autumn, various cultural and recreational events await visitors.
In the summertime, the area is usually filled up with water, and boats can be rented. During the last few years, however, the lake remained dry; this is because the water corroded a part of the cooling system, and it needs to be repaired before the lake can be filled up with water again.
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Transport Museum
XIV. Városligeti körút 11.
The Museum of Transportation is one of Europe's oldest transport collections. Its railway historic collection is of international significance. The museum covers all branches of transportation.
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Agricultural Museum
XIV. Városliget Vajdahunyad-vár
The Museum of Agriculture is in the Vajdahunyad castle complex, which is located in Budapest’s City Park behind Heroes’ Square. Its permanent exhibitions show the history of Hungarian agriculture from the beginning of times until 1945, the culture of keeping livestock, the domestic plants in Hungary, forestry in Hungary, hunting methods, winemaking and fishery.
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Museum of Cotemporary Art
XIV. Dózsa György út 37.
The Museum of Cotemporary Art is the definitive exhibition gallery in Hungary for the contemporary arts. Conceived on the model of the German Kunsthalles, the neo-Renaissance building was erected in 1896, for the country’s Millennial celebrations.
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Museum of Fine Arts
XIV. Dózsa György út 41
Hungary’s premier gallery of non-Hungarian works of art from early times right up to the present day is on display in a stately neo-Classical gallery at Heroes’ Square. The gallery began with a collection donated by Archbishop Pyrker of Eger and an extensive art collection purchased by the State in the 1870’s from the Esterházy family. Today, as well as Egyptian, Roman and Greek exhibits there is a particularly fine collection of Italian art, affording a comprehensive survey of the various schools of painting from the twelfth to the eighteenth centuries. The Spanish collection includes no fewer than seven masterpieces by El Greco.
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Hungarian Railway Museum
XIV. Tatai út 95.
The Railway History Park has over 100 railroad vehicles on display, on a vast 70,000 m2 area, in an interesting and interactive exhibition. It is one of Europe’s largest outdoor railway museums. Visitors not only get the chance to just look at the vehicles, they get to try them too!
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