Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
was named after Karl Marx during Communist times and is still sometimes called the Eco-
nomics University.
Great Market Hall
Nagycsarnok • VIII, Fővám tér 1-3 • Mon 6am-5pm, Tues-Fri 6am-6pm, Sat 6am-3pm
The magnificent wrought-iron
Great Market Hall
was originally opened in 1897, though
badly damaged in World War II and only properly restored in the late 1990s. Today, it's as
famous for its ambience as for its produce, and ranks highly on many tourists' list of things to
see in Budapest. Downstairs, you'll find fresh fish, meat, fruit, vegetables and baked goodies,
while the stalls along the right side are known to locals as “tourist row”, thanks to the pleth-
ora of vendors selling paprika, Tokaj, foie gras and the like - you'll probably get better value
elsewhere. Upstairs you'll find cheap stand-up food stalls and an excellent restaurant.
Around Üllői út
Extending for some 15km, which makes it Budapest's longest avenue, grey, polluted
Üllői
út
isn't an obvious place to linger, but there's much to see within a few blocks' radius of the
Corvin negyed
metro station.
The Museum of Applied Arts
Iparművészeti Múzeum • IX, Üllői út 33-37• Tues-Sun 10am-6pm • Permanent collection 2000Ft • 1 456
5107,
imm.hu
The
MuseumofAppliedArts
is the most flamboyant creation of Ödön Lechner, who strove
to create a uniquely Hungarian form of architecture emphasizing the Magyars' Ugric roots,
but was also influenced by Art Nouveau. Inaugurated by Emperor Franz Josef during the
1896 Millennial celebrations, it was given a rough reception, derided by some as “the palace
of the Gypsy kings”, thanks to its green-and-yellow-tiled dome, and a portico with ceramic
Turkic motifs onan egg-yolk-coloured background. By contrast, the arcaded, all-white interi-
or, with its glazed roof and elegantly arching girders, is reminiscent of Mogul architecture: at
one time it was thought that the Magyars came from India.
Entitled
Collections and Treasures
, the permanent collection on the first floor is un-
doubtedly illuminating, but does take some getting through, with exhibits ranging from delic-
ately carved eleventh-century ivory and medieval goldsmith works, to Hungarian folk ceram-
ics and French furniture, though nothing comes close to the gilt copper and silver astronom-
ical clock, commissioned by Emperor Maximilian II in 1566.
Better still is the
Islamic Art
exhibition; Ottoman-era carpets, exquisitely embroidered
dolmányok
(undercoats) and silk taffetas from Iran take their place alongside bejewelled gala
saddles and ceremonial weapons, the latter items acquired mainly by way of trade with the
Ottoman Turks - look out, too, for the beautifully painted wooden door panels from Syria.
Temporary shows are also held on the ground floor.
