Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Hungarian Parliament
In 1846, the Hungarian poet Mihály Vörösmarty wrote with some
desperation that “the motherland has no home”. When Hungary
opened its magniicent Parliament building after decades of
construction in 1902, it not only had a home, but one of the
inest Neo-Gothic buildings in Europe. The largest Parliament
building in the world at the time, it stood as a symbol of
Hungarian self-conidence in the early 20th century. Designed by Imre Steindl,
it is one of Budapest's deining landmarks, surpassed only by the Royal Palace.
One of a pair of lions
at the main entrance
Top 10 Attractions
1Cross-DanubeVista
2GrandStaircase
3MainEntrance
4CrownJewels
5DomedHall
6NationalAssemblyHall
7DelegationRoom
8TheConquest
9CongressHall
0PresidentialSuite
Ceiling of the dome with
its Neo-Gothic gilding
The only way to see
all the building's
attractions is to
join one of the
guided tours that
are available when
Parliament is not
in session.
!
Cross-Danube Vista
Sensationalcloseup,
Hungary'sParliamentis
arguablyevenbetterfrom
afar.Setalongthebanks
oftheDanube
(right)
,its
spiresandsymmetrycan
beadmiredfromtheother
sideoftheriver.
Find out if
Parliament is in
session and book
a ticket by calling
441 49 04 (English
spoken).
@
Grand Staircase
There is no café on
the premises, but
the Ethnographical
Museum just across
the road has a café
in its entrance hall.
Sweepingupwards
fromtheentrance,the
sumptuousmainstaircase
(left)
hasthreeoutstanding
ceilingfrescoes.These
includeKárolyLotz's
Gloriication of Hungary
,
depictingallegoricalmom-
entsinHungary'shistory.
• Map J1
• V, Kossuth Lajos tér
1-3
• 441 49 04
• Daily tours in English
at 10am, noon, 1pm and
2pm. Ask at Gate 10,
where the tour starts,
about other language
tours. Tours are free for
EU citizens, but cost
Ft2,300 for all others
• Dis. access
• www.parlament.hu
$
Crown Jewels
SpiritedoutofHungary
afterWorldWarII,and
storedinFortKnox,USA
till1978,theCrown
Jewels-theCrown
ofStStephen
(left)
andthe
RoyalSceptre
-arenow
keptinthe
DomedHall.
£
Main Entrance
InspiredbyLondon's
HousesofParliamentand
builtwithnolimitationson
money,themain
entranceisguardedby
twohugelionssculpt-
edbyBélaMarkup
andJózsefSomogyi.
