Once again, we have been to Budapest before and there is an earlier write-up on my blog. We were supposed to do the typical Budapest experience which is to enter on the Danube and sail past the Parliament Building on the way into the city. But, due to incredibly low water levels, we could not sail in. So we used our bus day to Budapest to do something we didn’t do last time: tour the Parliament House.
The city is divided into two parts separated by the Danube River. Budapest is more hilly with the Prime Minister’s residence and a beautiful church perched above the river. There are four or five bridges that span the Danube.
Today we stayed in Pest, a flatter terrain that houses the Parliament Building, St Stephen’s Cathedral, and the Jewish sector.
The Parliament Building is Neo-Gothic and was constructed between 1885 and 1902. It has 96 steps to reach the dome, and the dome is 96 meters high. This number marks the year 896 when the Magyar settled the region. The 96 meters also equals the height of St Stephen’s Basilica to symbolize the balance between church and state.
The yellow area above on the model shows the parts of the building we toured. It included various hallways, the floor of their House, and the dome.
We were not allowed to photograph the Dome because it also contains St Stephen’s Crown, the most famous part of the Hungarian Crown Jewels. It dates back to 1000 and was sent by Pope Sylvester to King Stephen I of Hungary, who had recently converted to Christianity.
Upon finishing our tour, we had enough time to walk a few blocks to see St Stephen’s Cathedral.
Not a bad way to spend a morning !!
