Hungarian Parliament Building

Hungarian Parliament

The Parliament from above

Grand Stairwell

Conference Hall

The Hungarian Parliament Building (Template:Lang-hu) is the seat of the National Assembly of Hungary, one of the world's greatest legislative buildings, a notable landmark of Hungary and a popular tourist destination of Budapest. It lies in Kossuth Lajos Square, right on the bank of the Danube, at Budapest

History

Budapest was united from three cities in 1873 and seven years later the National Assembly resolved to establish a new, representative Parliament Building, expressing the sovereignty of the nation. A competition was published, which was won by Imre Steindl, but the plans of the other two competitors were also realized, facing the Parliament: one serves today as the Ethnographical Museum, the other as the Ministry of Agriculture.

The construction of the winner's plan was started in 1885, inaugurated in the millennium anniversary of the country in 1896, and was completed in 1904. (It is to be noted that the architect of the building went blind before its completion, similarly to Beethoven who composed his late works deaf, and he could not live up to the completion of his plan.)

There were a thousand people working on it on average; 40 million bricks, half a million precious stones and 40 kg gold were used during the construction.

Features

Similar to the Palace of Westminster, it was built in a Gothic Revival style. It is 268 m long and 123 m wide. Its interior includes 10 courtyards, 13 passenger and freight elevators, 27 gates, 29 staircases and 691 rooms (out of them, more than 200 office rooms). With its height of 96 m, it is one of the tallest buildings of Budapest, along with Saint Stephen's Basilica. The number 96 refers to the nation's millennium, 1896, and the conquest of the later Kingdom of Hungary in 896.

The main façade is the one facing the Danube, but the official main entrance is from the square in front of it. Inside and outside, there are altogether 242 sculptures on the walls.

On the façade, statues of Hungarian rulers, Transylvanian leaders and famous military people are to be seen. Over the windows, there are pictures of coats of arms of kings and dukes. The main entrance is the stairs located on the eastern side, bordered by two lions.

When entering the Parliament, the visitor can proceed on gigantic ornamental stairs, see frescoes on the ceiling and pass by the bust of the creator, Imre Steindl in a niche of the wall. Other statues include those of Árpád, Stephen I and John Hunyadi.

One of the famous parts of the building is the hexadecagonal (sixteen-sided) central hall, with huge chambers adjoining it: the Lower House (today the National Assembly meets here) and the Upper House (until 1945).

Further sights include the stained glass and glass mosaic paintings by Miksa Róth.

Due to its extensive surface and its minute details, it is almost constantly under renovation. However, the renovation of its central part was finished in the summer of 2005, scaffolding was removed for a few months and this part can be seen white again. Renovation was resumed in the autumn of 2005; new covering materials and methods are hoped to be more resistant to weather.

Accessibility, neighbourhood

Main article: Lajos Kossuth Square

The Parliament is accessible with the 2nd line of the Budapest Metro, from the Lajos Kossuth Square station. Entrance is free for those coming from EU countries and affordable for others as well.

In front the building, a 1956 Hungarian Revolution memorial is to be found, as well as the imposing Kossuth Memorial and the equestrian statue of Francis II Rákóczi. There is also a sitting statue of Attila József at the side of the Parliament, as described in his poem By the Danube. Martyrs' Square (Vértanúk tere) is immediately adjacent to Kossuth Square, with a statue of Imre Nagy.

Image Gallery

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  Conference Hall
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See also

• Austrian Parliament Building

External links

• House of the Nation: Information system of the Hungarian National Assembly

47°30′25″N 19°2′44″E

• The New Hungarian Parliament