Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Cathedral of the Dormition
Nagyboldogasszony magyar ortodox székesegyház • V, Petőfi tér 2 • Wed, Fri & Sat 3-5pm, Sun noon-5pm;
services Mon-Fri 5pm, Sat 6pm, Sun 8, 9 & 10am • Free
On the eastern side of Petőfi tér looms the Greek Orthodox
Cathedral of the Dormition
,
built by the Greek community in the 1790s and, more recently, the object of a tug-of-war
between the Patriarchate of Moscow that gained control of it after 1945 and the Orthodox
Church in Greece that previously owned it. One of the church's towers was lost in the siege
of Budapest in 1944, and in its place there now sits an awkward-looking temporary replace-
ment. The cathedral has services in Hungarian, Church Slavonic and Greek, according to the
make-up of the congregation, accompanied by singing in the Orthodox fashion. The big feast
here is on August 28, the Dormition of Mary (the Assumption) in the Orthodox calendar.
Vigadó tér
Vigadó tér is an elegant square named after the
Vigadó
concert hall, whose name translates
as “having a ball” or “making merry”. Inaugurated in 1865, this Romantic pile by Frigyes
Feszl is encrusted with statues of the Muses and plaques recalling performances by Liszt,
Mahler and Wagner and other renowned artists. Badly damaged in World War II, it didn't re-
open until 1980, such was the care taken to recreate its sumptuous decor. Following another
lengthy closure between 2004 and 2014, during which time the facade was cleaned up and
the interior renovated, the magnificent main hall is once again staging classical concerts.
On the other side of Vigadó tér, it's easy to miss the statue of the impish
Little Princess
,
which has been sitting on the railings by the tram line since 1990. After dusk, you'll hardly
notice that she isn't a person, if you notice her at all. By day, she looks like a cross-dressing
boy in a Tinkerbell hat. Prince Charles was so taken by her that he invited her creator, László
Marton, to hold an exhibition of his work in Britain.
Deák tér
Three metro lines and several important roads meet at
Deák tér,
to form a jumping-off point
for the Belváros and Lipótváros. However, finding local addresses can be confusing since
Deák Ferenc tér merges seamlessly into the far larger
Erzsébet tér
to the north.
Anker Palace
The vast, mustard-coloured
Anker Palace
(Anker palota), to the east of the square, is one
of several imposing edifices in the centre of Budapest built for a foreign insurance company,
in this case the Viennese Insurance Company. Its design by Ignác Alpár, the man behind the
former Stock Exchange and the National Bank on Szabadság tér, was widely admired for its
clever use of an awkward plot. Not everyone was impressed: when it opened in 1910, Alpár's
wife said, “Oh Ignác, aren't you ashamed of yourself? What have you done here?”
