Fisherman's Bastion, Budapest

Fisherman's Bastion (The Halászbástya) is a terrace in neo-Gothic and neo-Romanesque style situated on the Buda bank of the Danube, on the Castle hill in Budapest, around Matthias Church. It was designed and built between 1895 and 1902 on the plans of Frigyes Schulek. Construction of the bastion destabilized the foundations of the neighboring 13th century Dominican Church which had to be pulled down. Between 1947–48, the son of Frigyes Schulek, János Schulek, conducted the other restoration project after its near destruction during World War II.

Its seven towers represent the seven Magyar tribes that settled in the Carpathian Basin in 895. From the towers and the terrace a panoramic view exists of Danube, Margaret Island, Pest to the east and the Gellért Hill.

The Buda side castle wall was protected by the fishermen's guild and this is the reason why it was called fishermen's Bastion. Other people say, it got the name from the part of the city, which lies beneath the tower. The guild of fishermen was responsible for defending this stretch of the city walls in the Middle Ages. It is a viewing terrace, with many stairs and walking paths.

A bronze statue of Stephen I of Hungary mounted on a horse, erected in 1906, can be seen between the Bastion and the Matthias Church. The pedestal was made by Alajos Stróbl, based on the plans of Frigyes Schulek, in Neo-Romanesque style, with episodes illustrating the King's life.

Castle Hill, Budapest

Castle Hill is a kilometre-long limestone plateau towering 170m above the Danube. It contains some of Budapest’s most important medieval monuments and museums, 

and is a Unesco World Heritage Site. 

This is probably the biggest post I have ever made, beware of loads of photos, enjoy the pictures!

Liberty Bridge, Budapest

The Liberty Bridge is 333.6 m in length and 20.1 m in width. The top of the four masts are decorated with large bronze statues of the Turul, a falcon-like bird, prominent in ancient Hungarian mythology.

St. Stephen's Basilica, Budapest

Today our route is basically within the Andrassy Avenue, we took the tram and start to walk towards St. Stephen's Basilica. It is a Roman Catholic basilica in Budapest. The name is to honor Stephen, the first King of Hungary (975–1038). 

It is told that Stephen's right hand is housed in the reliquary, it is said that his right hand is "incorruptible". St. Stephen was the sixth largest church building in Hungary before 1920 and now it is the third largest church building in present-day Hungary.

Budapest, Hungary

Touch down Budapest, capital of Hungary!

Budapest is the tenth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits. When I arrived, I didn’t know what to expect of Budapest! I know that it is a beautiful city and with beautiful architecture--plus the fact that it actually in my bucket list but haven’t had the chance to put it in realization; so it's about time to explore the eastern Europe!

I must say that Budapest has strengths in commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and entertainment!! 

The central area of the city along the Danube River is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has many notable monuments, including the Hungarian Parliament, Buda Castle, Fisherman's Bastion, Gresham Palace, Széchenyi Chain Bridge, Matthias Church and the Liberty Statue. Many of these will be in my next post. Another famous landmarks include Andrássy Avenue, St. Stephen's Basilica, Heroes' Square, the Great Market Hall, the Nyugati Railway Station built by the Eiffel Company of Paris in 1877 and the second-oldest metro line in the world, the Millennium Underground Railway. The city also has around 80 geothermal springs, the largest thermal water cave system, second largest synagogue, and third largest Parliament building in the world.

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