The Chain Bridge
In 1832, count István Széchenyi, “the greatest Hungarian” began to organize the construction of the bridge. While travelling in England, Széchenyi became personally acquainted with William Thierney Clark, who was commissioned to draft the plans for the bridge, and his namesake Adam Clark was asked to direct the construction , which was finished in 1849. The retreating German troops blew up the Chain Bridge in January 1945. This vital element of Budapest’s cityscape was restored on the 100 th anniversary of its inauguration.
After long discussion the construction of Parliament began in 1885 according to plans by Imre Steindl. Completed in 1904 it is one of Europe’s most splendid Parliament buildings, reflecting its designer’s taste and the nation’s demands for representation. At the same time it is one of the landmarks of the capital. The neo-Gothic palace is 268 m long and its dome is 96 m high. The outer walls are decorated with statues of Hungarian monarchs and military commanders.
This was the coronation church of Hungarian kings since King Matthias. The records of 1247 first mention this church as the main church of Buda Castle. The originally French building in early Gothic style has been consistently enlarged and rebuilt over the centuries. In 1526, when the Turks conquered Buda, the church was transformed into a mosque. After the reconquest of the city (1686) the church belonged to the Franciscans and later to the Jesuits. Between the years 1874 and 1896, Frigyes Schulek completely reconstructed the Church of Our Lady in the neo-Gothic style.
As part of the expansive plans for the reconstruction of Castle Hill in the late 19th century was that segment of the city-wall that stands behind Matthias Church.
Between 1901 and 1905 the existing parts of the fortress were connected by neo-Romanesque corridors, terraces and towers following designs by Frigyes Schulek. The Fishermen’s Bastion has become one of the capital’s landmarks, offering a panoramic view of Pest.
The spectacular ensemble of statues erected to commemorate the thousandth anniversary of the Magyar Conquest is situated at the end of Budapest’s most beautiful avenue (Andrássy Street). The monument was designed by Albert Schickedanz and Fülöp Herczog. Many of the statues representing Hungarian Monarchs and Princes of Transylvania were made by György Zala. At the center of the Monument there is a column surrounded by seven figures - leaders of the seven Hungarian tribes.
The original construction of the bridge between 1897 and 1903 was carried out according to the plans by Aurél Czekelius. Many houses and squares had to be destroyed at the Pest end of the bridge, today’s Kossuth Lajos Street was straightened, and the bridge-gate and the two Eclectic “Klotild-Palaces”, were also built. The beatiful bridge, the world’s longest chain-bridge until 1926, was blown up in 1945 by the retreating German troops. Designed by Pál Sávoly, it was rebuilt as a cable-bridge in 1963.
Though Budapest’s biggest cathedral is not a basilica in the architectural sense tradition and the authority bestowed by the Pope have earned it this denotation. Its construction was begun in the neo-Classic style but later modified by Miklós Ibl according to architectural models from the Italian Renaissance. Dedicated in 1905, with a dome 96 m high Basilica holds up to 8500 persons. St. Stephen’s statue of Carrara marble by Alajos Stróbl stands in the Sanctuary.
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