The
Hungarian Parliament Building
Location:1055 Kossuth Lajos square, Budapest, Hungary
The Hungarian Parliament is - without any doubt - one
of the most visited sights by tourists in Hungary. The popular tourist destination
is located in the heart of Budapest, just right next to the Danube. Visitors
can see the enormous building from different perspectives: from inside with
guided tours walking on the bright red carpets, from the front sitting on the
River Ride[1]
floating bus on the river or from a bar drinking coffee on the Buda side. It is
quite hard to miss it, because it is visible from so many spots.
Facts about the building:
- It is the seat of the National Assembly of Hungary
- One of Europe’s oldest legislative buildings
- One of the world’s biggest governmental buildings
- It is currently the largest building in Hungary
Let
us take a short look into the history. Seven years after the merger of Budapest
(Buda, Pest, and Obuda) the diet decided to build up a new parliament in 1880.
The construction started 4 years later under the direction of Imre Steindl –
the winner of the international design competition. The aim of building was to
express the sovereignty of the Hungarian nation. The “Country House” was
supposed to be finished to the 1000th anniversary of the country
(1896), however it was completed justin 1904. During the communist regime a red star was
placed on the top of the dome, but it was removed in 1990. The country was
declared Hungarian Republic from one of its balconies. Tourists can feel a real
historical spirit when visiting the building.
The famous landmark has giant dimensions: it is 268 m
long and 123 m wide, there are more than 240 sculptures on the walls, its
interior includes 10 courtyards, 13 passenger and freight elevators, 29
staircases and 691 rooms (including more than 200 offices). With its height of
96 m, it is one of the two tallest buildings in Budapest.[2]
Today the government uses just the small portion of the building.
Whenever you come and visit Hungary you should not
miss this beautiful, Gothic Revival styled building. Medestino.com offers you the chance to live trough this wonderful
experience!
[1] http://www.riverride.hu/
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian_Parliament_Building
The first photo from: http://picasaweb.google.com/
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