Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
his death in 1886. The three rooms that once comprised the first floor apartment now harbour
the
Liszt Memorial Museum
, the centrepiece of which is the drawing room and its extens-
ive collection of pianos; the star exhibit is a Chickering Grand given to Liszt in 1880, atop
which sits a silver music stand, complete with a bust of Beethoven, among others. Among
the wealth of personal memorabilia on display in the study-bedroom are letters, books and
scores, items of clothing, and a bronze cast of Liszt's right hand by Stróbl.
Kodály körönd
Kodálykörönd
, named after the composer Zoltán Kodály, is one of Budapest's most elegant
squares, albeit flanked by four neo-Renaissance mansions in various states of disrepair. Dur-
ing World War II, the
körönd
(circus) was named Hitler tér, prompting the émigré Bartók to
vow that he would not be buried in Hungary so long as anywhere in the country was named
after Hitler or Mussolini. Curiously, there is no statue of Kodály here, but instead, there are
statues of three military heroes who fought in the wars against the Ottomans, namely Miklós
Zrinyi, János Botthány and György Szondy, in addition to a statue of the poet Bálint Balassa.
Kodály Memorial Museum
Kodály Emlékmúzeum • VI, Andrássy út 89 • Wed-Fri 10am-noon & 2-4.30pm by prior appointment only on
1 352 7106 • 900Ft •
kodaly.hu
In the northeast corner of Kodály körönd, the ground-floor flat where Zoltán Kodály lived
until his death in 1967 now houses the
Kodály Memorial Museum
, preserving his library,
diningroomandsalon,thelast ofwhichkeepshisgrandpianoaswell asarichassemblage of
folk art, which Kodály was particularly fond of collecting during his various trips. A fourth
room is used for temporary exhibitions, often pertaining to Kodály himself.
Ferenc Hopp Museum
Hopp Ferenc Múzeum • VI, Andrássy út 103 • Tues-Sun 10am-6pm • 1000Ft •
1 322 8476,
Lurking just beyond the Kodály körönd, the
FerencHoppMuseum
presents temporary dis-
plays of works from the vast collection of more than twenty thousand items amassed by
optician and art collector Ferenc Hopp (1833-1919), with pieces from Japan, China, India,
Korea,IndonesiaandVietnam.OneitemonpermanentdisplayistheimposingChinesemoon
gate standing in the garden.
The Southeast Asian Gold Museum
Délkelet-Azsiai Aranymúzeum • VI, Andrássy út 110 • Tues-Thurs & Sun 11am-5pm, Fri & Sat 11am-7pm •
2500Ft • 1 482 3190,
thegoldmuseum.eu
Of all the many museums hereabouts, the most rewarding is the
SoutheastAsianGoldMu-
seum
, an extraordinary private collection of a former diplomat to the region. The nine rooms
of dazzling artefacts (ninety percent of which are gold) have been acquired from various tri-
bal cultures, notably the Javanese, Khmer and Champa kingdoms (central/southern Vietnam
