Hungary - Eastern Europe - page 317

MORE MUSEUMS & SIGHTS
PEST
Ludwig Múzeum (Ludwig Museum of Contemporary Art) Located in the
recently opened Palace of Art, overlooking the Danube, this was formerly the Museum
of the Hungarian Workers' Movement. Now converted to a more politically correct pur-
pose, it houses a less-than-inspiring and poorly curated permanent exhibition of con-
temporary Hungarian and international art. The collection consists primarily of
American pop art and central European contemporary works. It includes several late
Picassos, Andy Warhol's Single Elvis, and a still functional Jean Tinguely, as well as an
eclectic mix of Hungarian works by artists like Imre Bukta, Beáta Veszely, and Imre Bak.
Like the Kunsthalle in Vienna, this museum is sometimes worth visiting for the various
temporary exhibitions of contemporary works, mostly by alternative European artists.
IX. Komor Marcell u. 1. & 1/555-3444. www.ludwigmuseum.hu. Free admission for permanent collection. Sun, Tues,
Fri 10am-6pm; Wed noon-6pm; Thurs noon-8pm; Sat 10am-8pm; closed Mon. Tram: 2 or 2A.
Nemzeti Zsidó Múzeum és Levéltár (National Jewish Museum and Archives)
This museum is located in the Dohány Synagogue complex (p. 314). A tablet outside
informs visitors that Theodor Herzl, the founder of Zionism, was born on this spot.
The four-room museum is devoted to the long history of Jews in Hungary. Displays
include Sabbath and holiday items (including some gorgeous examples of the famous
Herend porcelain company's Passover plates), and ritual and everyday artifacts. The
last room contains a small, moving exhibit on the Holocaust in Hungary.
VII. Dohány u. 2-8. & 1/342-8942. Admission 1,000 Ft ($5/£2.60). Mon-Thurs 10am-5pm; Fri and Sun 10am-2pm.
Metro: Astoria (Red line) or Deák tér (all lines).
Terror Háza (House of Terror) The former headquarters of the ÁVH secret
police, this building is witness to some of the darkest days of 20th-century Hungary
and is now a chilling museum, one of the best in Hungary. It was set up as a memo-
rial to the victims of both Communism and Fascism, and is an attempt to recapture
life under successive oppressive regimes in Hungary. The building was the headquar-
ters of the Nazis in 1944, and many individuals were tortured and murdered in the
eerie cellars of this building. The Communist secret police were next to use the venue
as a place for their own torture and oppression. The tearing down of the ugly exterior
facade has been the subject of much debate, however, and for political reasons it has
remained the sore thumb of the grand Andrássy boulevard.
VI. Andrássy út 60. & 1/374-2600. www.houseofterror.hu. Admission 1,200 Ft ($6/£3.10). Tues-Fri 10am-6pm;
Sat-Sun 10am-7:30pm. Metro: Oktogon (Yellow line).
PARKS & GARDENS
Hungarians love to stroll in the park, and on weekends and summer afternoons, it
seems as if the whole of Budapest is out enjoying what Hungarians lovingly refer to as
“the nature.”
Popular Margaret Island (Margit-sziget) has been a public park since 1908.
The long, narrow island, connected to both Buda and Pest via the Margaret and Árpád
bridges, is barred to most vehicular traffic. In addition to three important ruins—the
Dominican Convent, a 13th- to 14th-century Franciscan church, and a 12th-century
Premonstratensian chapel—attractions on the island include the Palatinus Strand
open-air baths ,hich draw upon the famous thermal waters under Margaret Island; the
Alfréd Hajós Sport Pool; and the Open-Air Theater. Sunbathers line the steep