Friday, December 07, 2007
Budapest, day third: Thermal baths
Széchenyi Thermal Bath:
The Széchenyi Thermal Bath is one 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. on 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 on 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).
The reconstruction of the pools of the swimming section, their equipment with water filtering and circulation devices was completed in 1999. The so-called fancy bath includes a whirling corridor, underwater effervescence production, neck shower, water beam back massage installed in the sitting banks and many other services.
Budapest, Christmas fair
Budapest Christmas Fair is the best place to buy Exclusive Christmas Gifts:
* quality folk and applied art products,
* decorations made from traditional materials and with authentic techniques
All products are hand-made and the Hungarian Society of Folk Arts guarantees their quality. You can watch many cultural programmes and listen to folk music while you're looking for gifts.
On 21st-23rd December a small Betlehem comes alive on the square with a crib and live animals. You can take part in a Christmas tree decorating competition, as well.
We didn't forget to taste traditional Hungarian food and cakes: strudel, grilled sasuges and meat, Christmas cookies, kürtös kalács (hollow, cylinder-shaped pastry with different coatings: sugar, walnut)and cinnamon nectar.
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Budapest, Building of Parliament
The Hungarian Parliament Building (Hungarian: Országház) is the seat of the National Assembly of Hungary, one of the Europe's oldest legislative buildings, a notable landmark of Hungary and a popular tourist destination of Budapest. It lies in Kossuth Lajos Square, on the bank of the Danube, in Budapest. It is currently the Third Largest Parliament In the world (1st Romania, 2nd Argentina)
Budapest was united from three cities in 1873 and seven years later the National Assembly resolved to establish a new, representative Parliament Building, expressing the sovereignty of the nation. A competition was published, which was won by Imre Steindl, but the plans of the other two competitors were also realized, facing the Parliament: one serves today as the Ethnographical Museum, the other as the Ministry of Agriculture.
Construction from the winning plan was started in 1885 and the building was inaugurated on the 1000th anniversary of the country in 1896, and completed in 1904. (It is to be noted that the architect of the building went blind before its completion.)
There were about one thousand people working on its construction in which 40 million bricks, half a million precious stones and 40 kg gold were used.
Budapest, The Fishermen's Bastion
The Fishermen's Bastion is one of the most popular spots of the Castle District with visitors, as it offers a grand panorama of almost the entire city. It is situated ac the eastern side of Castle Hill, and can be reached from the centre of the district, Szentháromság tér (Trinity Square). Its architecture is characteristic of the turn of the century; its flights of stairs, its projections, its turrets, and its ambulatory-like galleries make it a mixture of the neo-Gothic and neo-Roman- esque styles and of the romantic baronial castles. In 1901-3, the aim of its architect, Frigyes Schulek, was to provide a worthy setting for the Church of Our Lady (Matthias Church); when building it he also made use of the remaining stones of the old Castle wall.
The Fishermen's Bastion received its name from the medieval ramparts system which rose above the suburb named Fishermen's Town; furthermore, there used to be a fish-market behind the ramparts. Beneath the Fishermen's Bastion lies the old suburb of Vízi- város (Water Town), now full of new bindings; its Baroque church towers recall the past. Looking to- wards the north we get a view of the Danube with Margaret Island.
A bronze statue of Stephen I of Hungary mounted on a horse, erected in 1906, can be seen between the Bastion and the Matthias Church. The pedestal was made by Alajos Stróbl, based on the plans of Frigyes Schulek, in Neo-Romanesque style, with episodes illustrating the King's life.
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