Friday, July 07, 2006

BUDAPEST AND SUBURBS - JULY 1978

TOURING THE COUNTRY AND FAREWELL TO BUDAPEST

ESZTERGOM


"DANUBE - On the other margin it used to be Tchecoslovakia"


"THE BASILICA - The monumental Basilica, built between 1822 and 1869, is the largest church of the country. In the sacrarium one can admire Grigoletti's altarpiece, titled «Maria's ascension», which is the largest painting on a single canvas (136,5 m) of the whole world"


"ESZTERGOM and OBUDA's ROMAN RUINS - Esztergom was the first capital city and birthplace of the first King of Hungary: Saint Stephen"

SZENTENDRE


"SZENTENDRE - 19 kilometres away from Budapest, Szentendre was originally settled by Serb refugees and still retains a South Slav air (Orthodox churches, Cyrillic-inscribed monuments and Mediterranean townscape). Natural disasters lead the Serb population to abandon the city in the 19th century, but the town's Baroque appearance was preserved intact. Artists rediscovered the village in the 1920s and turned it into an art colony"

BUDAPEST



"THE CITY PARK in Pest is the largest green space. The Museums of Fine Arts, the Palace of Arts, the Millenary Monument and Vajdahunyad Castle were all constructed in the area in 1896 for the World Exhibition to mark the thousandth anniversary of the arrival of the Magyars in the Carpathian Basin. In summer there is pleasant rowing on the small lake; in winter ice skating"


"VAJDAHUNYAD CASTLE, designed by Ignác Alpár and built between 1896 and 1908, originally of timber and cardboard, is the most fascinating edifice in the City Park. It shows in one building only the different styles of Hungarian architecture. It houses today the Hungarian Agricultural Museum"



"VAJDAHUNYAD CASTLE - it has romanesque and baroque wings, and some parts - the wing facing the lake - were inspired by the Transylvanian Castle of Vajdahunyad, from where it got its name"


"CITY PARK - an area of marshland which served as a royal hunting ground, was changed into a huge English-style park. Visitors also find here the Széchenyi Baths, the Zoo, the Circus, the Fun Fair, the Transport Museum, and the Petőfi Hall"


"SZECHENYI BATHS is one of the biggest bathing complexes in Europe, and the largest in Budapest. Its thermal spring – the hottest and deepest in the city – was discovered in 1879. The neo-baroque building dates from 1913. The water is so warm that the outdoor pools are popular with bathers even in winter time"


"CITADEL HILL - Nice views towards Buda Castle and Pest"


"FAREWELL DINNER at the Citadell, with a magyar orchestra"


"GOODBYE BUDAPEST, and Magdolna"

4 comments:

Stella Bella said...

It has changed so much since 1978! :D It's great to see the old photos! :) I can see the difference between now and then. It seems they are looking after their buildings better than before which is a good thing. :)

BTW, we looked at your Macau and HK photos again. It's amazing to see the changes. ^^

Anonymous said...

Stella Bella,
It's true; it changed massively. I wonder if you also saw the pictures from 2006 at Blogtrotter! Huge change!!

A Lady's Life said...

Yes things do change and sometimes it isn't for the better .
I love to look at old buildings and wish they would preserve them more.
Budapest was lovely. Thanks.:)

Trotter said...

Lady,
They are restoring the old buildings; you may see some at Blogtrotter label Budapest! Great job!!