Hungary - Eastern Europe - page 316

Gellért Hegy (Gellért Hill)
Gellért Hill, towering 230m (754 ft.) above the Danube, offers the single
best panorama of the city. The hill is named after the iron-fisted Italian
Bishop Gellért, who assisted Hungary's first Christian king, Stephen I, in con-
verting the Magyars. Gellért became a martyr when vengeful pagans killed
him by rolling him down the side of this hill in a barrel. An enormous statue
of Gellért now stands on the hill, with the bishop defiantly holding a cross
in his outstretched hand.
On top of Gellért Hill you'll find the Liberation Monument, built in 1947
supposedly to commemorate the Red Army's liberation of Budapest from
Nazi occupation, though many believe that Admiral Horthy, Hungary's
wartime leader, had planned the statue prior to the liberation to honor his
fighter-pilot son, who was killed in the war. A mammoth statue, it's one of
the last Socialist Realist memorials you'll find in Hungary. The statue's cen-
terpiece, a giant female figure holding a leaf aloft, is affectionately known
as Kiflis Zsuzsa ( kifli is a crescent-shaped roll eaten daily by many Hungari-
ans, while Zsuzsa, or Susie, is a common girl's name). Hungarian children
like to call the smaller flame-holding figure at her side Fagylaltos fiú (the
boy with the ice-cream cone).
Also atop Gellért Hill is the Citadella ( & 1/365-6076 ), a symbol of power
built for military control by the Austrians in 1851, shortly after they crushed
the Hungarian War of Independence of 1848 and 1849. It costs 1,200 Ft
($6/£3.10) to enter the Citadella, which is open daily from 9am to 7pm.
There are several exhibitions to see here, but the main attraction is the
great view. To get here, take bus no. 27 from Móricz Zsigmond körtér or
hike up on any of the various paved pathways that originate at the base of
the hill.
antipedestrian (the main Budapest-Szentendre highway cuts right through Óbuda), so
it's difficult to see everything. Fortunately, two major sites are right across the road
from one another, near the Aquincum station of the suburban HÉV railroad. The
ruined Amphitheater of the Civilian Town is directly beside the HÉV station. It's
open all the time and you're free to wander through (you should be aware that home-
less people sometimes set up shelter within the walls). Across the highway from the
amphitheater stand the ruins of the Civilian Town. Everything is visible from the
roadside, except for the collection at the Aquincum Museum, which is located at III.
Szentendrei u. 139 ( & 1/250-1650; www.aquincum.hu). This neoclassical structure
was built at the end of the 19th century in harmony with its surroundings. The
museum exhibits coins, utensils, jewelry, and pottery from Roman times. Its most
unique exhibit is a portable water organ (a rare and precious musical instrument) from
A . D . 228. Entry to the museum is 700 Ft ($3.50/£1.80). It's open from May to Sep-
tember, Tuesday through Sunday from 10am to 5pm, and from October to April,
Tuesday through Sunday 9am to 5pm. Take the HÉV suburban railroad from
Batthyány tér to Aquincum.