Budapest straddles the Danube River. On the west side is hilly Buda, dominated by Castle Hill.
The royal palace marks the place where one of Europe’s mightiest castles once stood.
Since the 14th century, Hungary has been ruled from this spot.
As World War II drew to a close; Buda became the front line between the Nazis and the approaching
Soviets, who sieged this hill for several months. Today’s palace — rebuilt from
the rubble of WWII — may not be worth touring, but it sits on soil drenched in Hungarian
history and is close to the soul of this nation.
Another Castle Hill landmark — the 800-year old Matthias Church — has also been destroyed
and rebuilt several times. Its flamboyant steeple and other frilly elements were added
for the 1896 celebrations.
The opulent and gilded interior tells a thousand years of local history — crusader heroics,
beating back the Turks — all painted in a fanciful neo-Gothic way.
The church’s prize possession hides in a chapel in the back. Peer through the black
iron grill to see the 500-year-old statue of Mary and Jesus — which comes with a story.
In the 16th century, the Turks were about to overrun Buda, locals — anticipating a
terrible ransacking — hid their most precious statue in the niche and plastered it over.
The Muslims took Buda and used this building as a mosque for over a century — they whitewashed
everything…hung carpets on the walls. Then, during a later siege, a nearby explosion rattled
the building. The plaster fell away from the statue and there was Mary looking out over
the mosque. This spooked the Muslims. According to legend, the Turks fled making this the
only part of town retaken without a fight.
Just outside stands the Fishermen’s Bastion — an icon of Budapest. It offers sweeping
views over the Danube to Pest. In the Middle Ages, the fish market was just below here
— so this part of the rampart actually was guarded by fishermen.
The current structure, though, is a fanciful rebuild — constructed for the big bash of
1896. Its seven towers symbolize the tents the nomadic Magyars — those original Hungarians
— called home before they moved west to Europe.
Hungary's first Christian king — St. Stephen — tamed the pagan Magyars. He established
strict laws, introduced the concept of private property, and made his people- whether they
liked it or not -Christian. The pope crowned St. Stephen in the year 1000 making Hungary
part of Christendom.
This was a pivotal point in Hungary’s history. While Steven could have accepted his crown
from the leader of the Eastern or Byzantine Church, he chose to have his rule legitimized
by accepting his crown from the leader of the Roman Church. And this gave Hungary more
of a western orientation.
The Buda Funicular is a popular landmark. Built in 1870 to provide cheap transportation
to Castle Hill workers, today it’s a fun little tourist trip. It shuttles visitors
every few minutes up and down between the top of Castle Hill and the mighty Chain Bridge.
Guarded by lions which symbolize power, the Chain Bridge — the city’s first great
bridge — offers a pedestrian-friendly way to connect Buda and Pest.
Before this bridge was built, people needed boats or a good freeze to cross the river.
Sometimes people would walk across the frozen Danube only to get stranded on the other side
during a thaw. Once a city big shot was stuck on the other side for a week trying to get
to his dad's funeral. He missed the funeral, he was so frustrated he commissioned the building
of Budapest’s first permanent bridge.
The Chain Bridge, finished in 1849, immediately became an important symbol of Budapest. While
this and all other great bridges of Budapest were destroyed in World War II, they were
quickly rebuilt.