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Budapest Hotels, Budapest Apartments, Hotel Apartment Accommodation in Budapest.
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Novotel Budapest Centrum
Budapest
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Budapest Karoly Central
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Budapest
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Historic churches, jewish sights, worship in foreign languages
Historic churches
Cave Church (Sziklakápolna)
XI. Szt. Gellért rkp.1., tel. 385-1529. The Cave Church of Gellért Hill was founded in 1924 following a pilgrimage of Pauline monks to Lourdes. The chapel was consecrated on Whit Sunday 1926, and Pauline monks performed their duties here for 17 years. At midnight on Easter Monday 1951, the Hurgarian secret police (IVH) broke into the chapel, arresting the entire order. The superior Ferenc Vezér was condemned to death, the others condemned to five to 10 year prison sentences, and the chapel blocked up with a 2.25m thick concrete wall. It was not until August 27, 1989, that the chapel was reopened, although the demolition of the concrete wall was not finished until 1992. The revived Pauline Order now counts some 10 friars. Open 09:00-20:00.
Lutheran Church (Deák téri evangélikus templom)
V. Deák tér 5. When it was buit in 1809, this neo-Classical building initially served as a warehouse for miltary uniforms. Two years later, it was converted into a church. At that time -believe it or not- this site was on the outskirts of town. Athough most of the interior is unadorned in keeping with Protestant tradition, the altar is backed by an impressive replica of Raphael`s Transfiguration. An imposing double-decker gallery rounds out the rear of the church. The church can be seen during services, or as part of a visit to the next-door National Lutheran Museum. Open 10:00-18:00. Closed Mon.
Matthias Church (Mátyás templom)
I. Szentháromság tér 2., tel. 355-5657. The 13th century Matthias Church was renamed for the king who rebuit it in 1470. It has witnessed significant events, including the marriage of King Matthias and the crownings of Franz Josef I and Charles IV. King Béla III and his wife are buried in the Holy Trinity Chapel here. The Turks whitewashed the Chrstian frescoes on the church`s walls and turned the building into a mosque, The church was severely damaged when the Turks were driven out in 1686. It was again ravaged in WWII and not fully restored until 1968. Thechurch`s distinctive Gothic tower soars 80m high. Between the church and Fishermen`s Bastion stands a statue of St. Stephen, founder of the Hurgarian state. Open 09:00-17:00, Sat 09:00-13:00, Sun 13:00-17:00. Admission:300 HUF.
Roman Catholic Parish Church (Plébánia templom)
Templomdomb (Church Hill), tel. 06-26-312-545. After admirirg the panorama from Church Hill, take a look inside this church, Szentendre`s oldest. It was buit in the 13th century: the current Baroque structure dates back to the 18th century. The old iron stake jutting out above and left of the entrance is actualiy part of a medieval sundial. Inside is displayed an 18th century banner of Catholic Dalmatians.
St. Stephen`s Basilica (Bazilika)
V. Szt. István tér, tel. 317-2859. This church, the city`s largest, was built on the site of the unholy `Prank Theatre,` an animal-cruelty extravaganza in which bears, wolves and hyenas tore each other to shreds while bloodthirsty crowds egged them on. Construction of the Basgica began in 1851 but was not conpleted until 1905, because the dome caved in. If you`re reading this inside the church and are now castirg a wary eye upward, concentrate instead on the fact that the dome is exactly as tall as that of Parliament - 96m. The church contains the mummified right hand of King St. Stephen, founder of the Hungarian state. To see this relic, head to the chapel to the left of the main altar. Drop 100 HUF in the slot, and the glass case lights up to reveal this celebrated extremity in all its gnarled brown glory. The price is the same whether you`ve come to venerate a holy relic or merely to indulge your morbid curiosity. To get to the viewing platform above the cupola, take the elevator up, then scale 146 more steps great views of Budapest. Open 09:00-19:00.
Jewish sights
Great Synagogue
VII. Dohány u. 2., tel. 317-2754. Completed in 1859, this synagogue is the second largest in the world (the lagest being in New York). The onion domes are strikingly Oriental Byzantine, as is the facade: the patterns in the brick work were inspired by ancient ruins in the Middie East. But for ali its exoticism, the design also expresses 19th century Hungarian Jews`s aspirations toward assimilation. The twin towers, for instance, evoke church steeples, and the organ inside the synagogue is a clear cosncession to Christian traddion (one that provoked spirted opposition from Orthodox Jews). During WWII, the Germans turned the synagogue into a detention camp. Some of the 3,000 Jews who did not survive the privations of the ghetto are buried in the adjoining courtyard. One ticket entitles you to see the synagogue and the adjacent Jewish Museum(see below), which has the same hours. For more information, contact the Jewish Information Center at VII. Síp u. 12, tel. (+36-1) 342-1335/343-0420. Open 10.00-17:00, Fri, Sun 10:00-14:00. Closed Sat. (5100-5600 HUF)
Jewish Museum
VII. Dohány u. 2., tel. 342-8949, bpjewmus@visio.c3.hu, www.bpjewmus.hu. The museum displays items from the 18th and 19th centuries, from both Hungary and abroad, grouped according to the holiday or occasion on which they were used. In 1993 almost the entire collection was stolen (it was later recovered in Romania). One of the most notable items is a Chevra book from Nagykanizsa, dating back to 1792. At the end of the exhibition, in a room draped in black, photos and clippings document the insaniry of the Holocaust in Hungary. The site of the museum was the birthplace of Theodor Herzl (1860-1904), father of Zionism. Open 10:00-17:00, Fri, Sun 10:00-14:00. Closed Sat. Admssion: 600 HUF (synagogue and museum).
Small Synagogue (Középkori Zsidó Imaház)
I. Táncsics Mihály u. 26., tel. 225-7815/375-7533/ ext.237. Buda`s small synagogue was built in 1364, some 80 years prior to the erection of the Jewish community`s main temple of worship. Closed by the authorities in 1686, it served as a private apartment until 1964-65, when the street was renovated and 14th century inscriptions of the Star of David were uncovered beneath the plaster. The synagogue is a small museum today; its exhibits include medieval Jewish tombstones. Open 10:00-18:00. Closed Mon.
The Old Jewish Quarter
The Great Synagogue is the gateway to what was once a sizable Jewish quarter in the heart of Budapest, in District VII. in the early part of the century, roughly half of this area`s residents were Jewish. During the German occupation in 1944, part of this district - the area between Dohány utca, Király utca and Erzsébet körút- was walled off and turned into a ghetto, where about 70 000 were confined under brutal conditions. This ghetto was the only one in Europe to be spared total liquidation - in this instance the arrival of the Red Army really did mean a liberatíon. You might notice that the synagogue at Rumbach Sebestyén u. 11-13, bears the same striped orange and yellow motif as the Great Synagogue. In fact, it was not so much a relative as a rival: The Rumbach Sebestyén utca synagogue was built in 1872 for those who were too traddional to attend the Great Synagogue. The Rumbach Sebestyén utca synagogue has been cosed since 1944; what it will be used for in the future is unclear. Its owner, the Hungarian state, hopes to find a suitable buyer. One previous suggestion was to turn the building into a theatre. The Jewish community had hoped, with state funding, to open a Holocaust museum here, but the state has instead designated a synagogue on Páva utca (in far-away District IX) for that purpose. Another synagogue, this one Orthodox, stands at VII. Kazinczy utca 29-31. It was buit in 1913. Enter at VII. Dob u. 35 and you`ll find an old huppah (wedding canopy).