Hungary - Eastern Europe - page 314

Hungary's best-known fresco artist. Note the large carpet from the small Hungarian
village of Békésszentandrás, which is purportedly the biggest handmade carpet in
Europe. The Parliament is also home to the legendary crown jewels of St. Stephen,
which were moved here from the National Museum as part of the Hungarian millen-
nium celebration.
V. Kossuth tér. & 1/441-4415. www.parlament.hu. Admission (by guided tour only): 60-min. tour in English 2,300
Ft ($12/£5.90), 1,150 Ft ($5.75/£2.95) students. Tickets are available at Gate X. Tours are given Mon-Fri 10am and
noon, 2pm (but not on days in which Parliament is in session, which are usually Tues and Wed, or during protocol
events); Sat 4pm; Sun 2pm. Metro: Kossuth tér (Red line).
Churches & Synagogues
Bazilika (St. Stephen's Church) Although not a basilica in the technical sense
of the word, Hungarians like to call St. Stephen's “the Basilica” in honor of its sheer
size: It's the largest church in the country. It took over 50 years to build the Bazilika
(the collapse of the dome in 1868 caused significant delays); three leading architects,
two of whom (József Hild and Miklós Ybl) died before work was finished, presided
over its construction. The church was considered so sturdy that important documents
and artworks were stored in it during the World War II bombings. In 2003 a full-scale
renovation of the church and neighboring square was completed, and now the
cleaned-up front of the church graces the colorful and grand Szent István tér (St.
Stephen's Sq.), where travelers sip their coffee in open-air cafes. The bust above the
main entrance is of King Stephen, Hungary's first Christian king. Inside the church,
in the Chapel of the Holy Right (Szent Jobb Kápolna), you can see Hungarian
Catholicism's most cherished—and bizarre—holy relic: Stephen's preserved right
hand. Organ concerts are sometimes held here, although repairs to the organ have
made them intermittent. Daily Mass is held at 7am and 8am at the Szent Jobb
Chapel, and 5:30 and 6pm in the Basilica; Sunday Mass at 8, 9, and 10am, noon, and
6 and 7:30pm.
V. Szent István tér 33. & 1/317-2859. www.basilica.hu. Church free; treasury 300 Ft ($1.50/80p); tower 500 Ft
($2.50/£1.30). Church daily 7am-6pm, except during services; treasury daily 9am-5pm (10am-4pm in winter); Szent
Jobb Chapel Mon-Sat 9am-5pm (10am-4pm in winter), Sun 1-5pm; tower Apr-Oct Mon-Sat 10am-6pm (closed
Nov-Mar). Metro: Arany János utca (Blue line) or Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út (Yellow line).
Dohány Synagogue Built in 1859, this is Europe's largest synagogue and the
world's second-largest synagogue. Budapest's Jewish community still uses it. The
architecture has striking Byzantine and Moorish elements; the interior is vast and
ornate, with two balconies and the unusual presence of an organ. An ambitious
restoration was completed in recent years, funded in large part by a foundation set up
by the American actor Tony Curtis, who is of Hungarian-Jewish descent. The build-
ing's original splendor is now apparent.
The synagogue has a rich but tragic history. Adolf Eichmann arrived with the occu-
pying Nazi forces in March 1944 to supervise the establishment of the Jewish ghetto
and the subsequent deportations. Up to 20,000 Jews took refuge inside the synagogue
complex, but 7,000 did not survive the bleak winter of 1944 and 1945. These victims
are buried in the courtyard, where you can also see a piece of the original brick ghetto
wall. The National Jewish Museum is inside the synagogue complex (see p. 317 for
information on the museum).
VII. Dohány u. 2-8. Admission 600 Ft ($3/£1.55). Mon-Thurs 10am-5pm; Fri 10am-2pm; Sun 10am-2pm. Services
are held Fri 6pm and Sat 9am. Metro: Astoria (Red line) or Deák tér (all lines).