Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Gellért Hotel and Baths
Gellért Gyógyfürdő XI, Kelenhegyi út 4 • Daily 6am-8pm • 1 466 6166,
gellertbath.com
• For more de-
tails, see
The baths
At the foot of the hill, the graceful wrought-iron
Szabadság híd
(Liberty Bridge) links the
inner boulevard of Pest to Szent Gellért tér on the Buda side, dominated by the Art Nouveau
Gellért Hotel
. Opened in 1918, it was commandeered as a staff headquarters by the Reds,
the Romanian army, and finally by Admiral Horthy, following his triumphal entry into “sin-
ful Budapest” in 1920 - in his eyes it was a decadent, Communist and, above all, a Jewish
city. During the 1930s and 1940s, the hotel's balls were the highlight of Budapest's social
calendar, when debutantes danced on a glass floor laid over its pool. The ostentatious domed
drinking fountain
in front of the hotel has been the source of some controversy: symboliz-
ing the eight springs of Budapest, it was erected without planning permission, and the city
authorities toyed with the idea of pulling it down before relenting.
The attached
Gellért Baths
(entered from Kelenhegyi út to the right of the main entrance,
though hotel guests can go down in the lift in their bathrobes) are magnificently appointed
with majolica tiles and mosaics, and a columned, Roman-style
thermal pool
, with lion-
headed spouts. In the summer, visitors can also use the
outdoor pools
, including one with a
wave machine, on the terraces behind the main baths.
The Cave Church (Pauline Welcome Centre)
Sziklatemplom (Pálos Fogadóközpont) • I, Szent Gellért rakpart 1 • Mon-Sat 9.30am-7.30pm but closed during
5pm service • 500Ft, which includes an audio guide • Service daily 8.30am, 5pm & 8pm and also Sun 11am
On the hillside opposite the
Gellért Hotel
, next to a
statue of St Stephen
with his horse,
you'll find the
CaveChurch
, where masses are conducted by white-robed monks of the Pau-
lineorder,theonlyreligiousorderindigenoustoHungary.Foundedin1256,itsmonksserved
as confessors to the Hungarian kings until Josef II dissolved the order in 1773, though it was
re-established 150 years later. The church itself was created in the 1930s to mark the return of
the monks to Hungary, and functioned until the whole community was arrested by the ÁVO
at midnight mass on Easter Monday, 1951, whereupon the chapel was sealed up until 1989.
Inside, a higgledy-piggledy warren of narrow corridors and small chambers eventually
brings you to the nave, the most striking aspect of which is the
tiled altar
from the Zsolnay
factory. To the rear of the nave, the tiny Polish Chapel is where Polish refugees sought sanc-
tuary during World War II, while a relief commemorates Saint Maximilian Kolbe, who died
at Auschwitz. Flickering candles and mournful organ music create a particularly eerie atmo-
sphere during services.
The hillside behind, which still bears fig trees planted by the Turks, was covered in vine-
yards until a phylloxera epidemic struck in the nineteenth century; kids will enjoy the long
tubular
slides
on the hotel-facing slopes.
