A star-crossed place if there ever was. Burned to the ground by the Mongols, Ottomans, and Soviets then occupied off and on for centuries for some of the same plus a siege by the Germans and you have quite a mix of history.
Because of that history the place doesn’t have the same medieval feel as Prague but more art nouveau/turn-of-the-century. Our hotel is a nearly perfect example of that. This is the lobby.
Opened in 1817 as a shopping arcade it is now a gem of a hotel in central Budapest.
Budapest is divided in two by the Danube River, with flat land Pest on the east side and hilly Buda on the west side. Bridges across the Danube connect the two sides.
Over the centuries, on top of the hills of Buda the Hungarians built royal palaces and other important buildings.
The neighborhood that now occupies Castle Hill is quite festive and is filled with restaurants and shops. The top of the hill can be reached by a funicular.
While not innocent during World War II (Hungary sided with the Axis powers and was responsible for the deaths off hundreds of thousands of Jews and Roma), Budapest and Hungary suffered enormous damage to the historical buildings that sat atop Castle Hill towards the end of the war.
Buildings that could not be saved were brought down and in the years since the war have been rebuilt.
Along with the government and cultural buildings on Castle Hill is the St. Matthias Cathedral.
It’s difficult to imagine the destruction today, especially when you see the amazing restoration work that has taken place.
Here is the inside of St. Matthias CathedraL today.
The exterior roof of St. Matthias is made of hand-painted porcelain tiles.
That rebuilding effort continues even today. Cranes and construction sites dot the hill as they continue to restore the beauty of Castle Hill.
They are meticulously recreating each of the buildings using modern construction techniques while maintaining the historical appearance.
The view from across the river to the Hungarian Parliament Building is incredible.
Heading over to Pest we zeroed in on St. Stephen’s Basilica. The Square in front of the church was hosting one of Budapest’s many Christmas markets.
The inside was truly stunning.
You’re able to freely walk around and we got lucky by being among the first to enter after a service.
Every little nook inside the church was embellished in some way.
You’re able to take a lift up to the top of the basilica and go outside to get a beautiful view of Budapest.
It is a 360 degree view as you can walk all the way around the dome of the basilica.
We continued our religious theme by visiting Europe’s largest synagogue called Dohany Street Synagogue.
Built between 1850 and 1860, it seats nearly 3,000 people.
It is a centre of Neolog Judaism in Hungary and the congregation worships in the Ashlenazi rite, which is a style of Jewish liturgy that traces back to the 1300s. Neolog Jews in Hungary form the liberal wing of the religion, with Orthodox Jews on the conservative side.
The synagogue was severely damaged during the war and rebuilding was only completed in 1998.
We finished our tour of Budapest back on Castle Hill, but this time at night. St. Matthias looked like glowing porcelain.
And the Parliament Building looked like it was levitating!
Crossing back to Pest on the Chain Bridge, the view at night was just as arresting.
The Chain Bridge was the very first permanent crossing of the Danube and was opened in 1849.
It was blown up in 1945 by the Germans as they retreated after the Siege of Budapest. The bridge was rebuilt and reopened in 1949.
Tomorrow we leave for our last leg of the trip in Vienna. So excited to be returning to such a beautiful city!
