During our first full day in Budapest we decided to explore the Jozsefvaros and Ferencvaros districts, where our hotel was situated.
On Lorinc Pap square, across from the hotel is the Heart of Jesus Jesuit Church - we had very loud bell ringing every evening at 7:00.
Jozsefvatos' grand but neglected apartment blocks speak of an old middle class suburb that fell into decline. Gentrification is spreading through the district now though.
The hospital on Maria Utca
On Maria Utca again, this four-storey building, in szecesszion style, was built by Imre Benes in 1909-10 and was designed to be a tenement house. The apartments facing the courtyard were meant for the servants and the ones facing the street were the beautiful ones for the middle class. During WWII the building was hit by a bomb and during the revolution of 1956 this was the first building that collapsed and had to be rebuilt.
Detail from a building on Ulloi Ut
A bit further down Ulloi Ut, a modernist building that houses, what else? a bank
not many modernist buildings in Budapest,
so when we saw this we had to go and investigate.
The Holocaust Memorial Centre, just off Ulloi Ut - there will be a separate post on this but much later on, as I need to do some research.
One of the things that delighted me while we wandered around the city, are the intricate, wrought iron doors that so many of the buildings possess - I photographed lots of them and they will be appearing in the posts on Budapest
As for the buildings! So many styles: Gothic, Baroque, Classical,
but Hungarian Art Nouveau, Szecesszio style, dominates the city. Many buildings were commissioned in this style, as Hungarian Art Nouveau flourished in Budapest's golden era when its population tripled, the number of its buildings doubled and the city turned into a metropolis.
This is the Applied Arts Museum, the most flamboyant creation of Odon Lechner - there will be a separate post about that too.
When we reached the Danube, the view took our breath away: the Gellert-Hegy district of Buda with all its grand buildings as well as the green Buda hills
Looking closer
The Liberation Monument of a female figure brandishing the palm of victory, and the Citadella behind it. At the bottom of the picture is the Cave Church created in the 1930s to mark the return of the white-robed monks of the Pauline order, the only religious order indigenous to Hungary.
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An excellent view of the Lanchid, the Chain Bridge, the first permanent link between Buda and Pest which was a tremendous spur to the country's economic grown and eventual unification, linking the rural hinterland to European civilisation so that Budapest became a commercial centre and transport hub. The bridge symbolised the abolition of feudal privilege as nobles, hitherto exempt from taxes, were obliged to pay the toll to cross it.
In 1945 the Wehrmacht bombarded all of Budapest's bridges in a bid to check the Red Army and their reconstruction was one of the first tasks of the postwar era.
There is a little green oasis on the embankment
with one of the many Holocaust Memorials that are dotted around the city. This one is dedicated to the Roma that were killed by the Nazis
and if you look inside one of the slits you can see a face in agony and despair
Further down the embankment is a glass come that houses a mall
and an art gallery which unfortunately was closed that morning.
The Cornivus University is the next building we came across.
We then reached the back entrance of the Great Market Hal.
We walked through the market and came out in a square by Vamhaz Korut. Lots of people cooling off in the fountain - temperatures reached and stayed at 31oC while we were in Budapest.
Three wonderful buildings facing us, the one in the middle a fine example of Art Nouveau style
as is this one
looking closer
and another one further down the road
another majestic building
another Art Nouveau building
detail of its Art Nouveau relief work - so typical of the period
sculpture of a cyclist
very different to the majority of the majority of sculptures around the city featuring famous men quite often riding their horses, celebrating Budapest's golden period
lovely face looking up at the sky.
This is Lorinc Pap square a few nights later.
There was a real treat in store for us that evening. At seven o'clock we heard a choir singing outside our hotel window. They were singing classical songs and it was beautiful.
When we went out to eat and chose the restaurant in Lorinc Pap Square, just outside our hotel, we were able to see and hear the choirs
There were 8 different choirs: they would stay in one location for half and hour and then move on to be substituted by another group singing. The music ranged from classical songs to folk music, and even a Mikis Theodorakis song, yalo-yalo pigainame, which was sung in Greek to my delight.
Such a good idea! It's always wonderful to come across excellent singing like this when you least expect it.
