Parliament District

Parliament

The enormous Parliament building, completed in 1902, has more than 700 rooms! You will probably find parts of it under scaffolding as the limestone used is crumbling and it is being constantly renovated. When we went we queued for a ticket which was for an allocated time slot later in the day.

Only a small fraction of the building is open to the public but what is on offer is very special. The 800 year old crown of St Stephen with its bent cross, the domed hall, main staircase and assembly hall are all impressive.

The guards are more friendly than they look.

Basilica of St Stephen

This [mostly] 19th Century church is the most important Catholic church in Hungary. The dome is immense and you can pay to go to the top which offers wonderful views.

The mosaics and decor inside are what you may expect from such an important Catholic church, it is breathtaking. The Catholic Church used to raise the money from the sale of Indulgences which people believed bought them time off purgatory.

Shoes on the Danube

This cast iron monument is a powerful and poignant memorial to the Jewish residents of Budapest who were murdered by the Fascist Arrow Cross Party in World War 2.

Wikipedia states they were told to take off their shoes on the banks of the Danube before being executed. Another version of the story states that 3 or 4 people were tied together and thrown into the river, one was then shot and the others drowned as a result.

More Monuments and Memorials.

There are many statues and interesting monuments dotted around Budapest. We managed to see only a fraction of what was on offer. There are not many Soviet memorials remaining in Budapest but the Soviet Army memorial below is an exception.