Hungary - Eastern Europe - page 326

From Clark Ádám tér, take the:
3 Funicular (sikló)
The funicular will transport you up to the
Royal Palace in just a minute or two. Dat-
ing from 1870, it too was destroyed in
World War II and was not rebuilt until
1986. You can also walk up the steep
stairs to Castle Hill.
Whichever method of ascent you choose, when
you arrive at the top, turn and look left at the
statue of the:
4 Turul
This mythical eagle is perched on the wall
looking out over the Danube to Pest. The
eagle is said to have guided the ancient
Magyars in their westward migration.
The main courtyard of the palace, from which the
museums are entered, is on the building's far side,
but first go down the nearby stairs to see the:
5 Equestrian Statue of Prince
Eugene of Savoy
Prince Eugene was one of the leaders of
the united Christian armies that ousted
the Turks from Hungary in the late 17th
century. Inside the palace are a number of
museums. You might want to visit them
now or return after the walking tour.
The first museum is the:
6 Hungarian National Gallery
This museum houses much of the great-
est art ever produced by Hungarians.
Don't miss the works of the 19th-century
artists Mihály Munkácsy, László Paál,
Károly Ferenczy, Pál Szinyei Merse,
Gyula Benczúr, and Károly Lotz. Nor
should you overlook József Rippl-Rónai,
the great Art Nouveau painter of the
turn-of-the-20th-century period.
Proceed to the:
7 Budapest History Museum
The highlights here are the Gothic rooms
and statues that were uncovered during
the post-World War II excavation and
rebuilding of the Royal Palace. The
rooms and all their contents, dating from
as far as the 14th century, were buried for
hundreds of years.

Next we have the:
8 Széchenyi National Library
The library is named for Ferenc
Széchenyi (not his more famous son
István, after whom the Chain Bridge is
named), who founded the institution in
1802. It now houses the world's greatest
collection of “Hungarica,” with some
four million holdings.
Now proceed to Wing A of the Buda Palace,
where you'll find the:
9 Golden Eagle Pharmacy Museum
(Arany Sas Patikamúzeum)
Renaissance and baroque pharmacy relics
are displayed in this odd little museum.
Just ahead on Tárnok utca is:
0 Holy Trinity Square (Szenthárom-
ság tér)
This central square of the Castle District
is where you'll find the Holy Trinity Col-
umn, or Plague Column, dating from the
early 18th century, and the:
! Matthias Church (Mátyás
templom)
Officially called the Church of Our Lady,
this symbol of the Castle District is univer-
sally known as Matthias Church because
the Renaissance monarch, Matthias Corv-
inus, one of Hungary's most revered kings,
was the major donor of the church and
was married twice inside it. There's an
ecclesiastical art collection inside. Organ
concerts are held Tuesday and Friday
evenings in the summer.
Next door to the church is the:
@ Hilton Hotel
The Castle District's only major hotel, the
Hilton tastefully incorporates two ruins
into its award-winning design: a 13th-cen-
tury Dominican church, with a tower ris-
ing above the hotel, and the baroque
facade of a 17th-century Jesuit college,
which makes up the hotel's main entrance.
During the Socialist years, this was one of
the very few Western-style hotels accom-
panied by a casino. Summer concerts are
held in the Dominican Courtyard.