Budapest snow globes
Budapest is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union. Known for its art nouveau architecture, thermal baths and bridges over the Danube. To form the city, the towns of Óbuda, Buda and Pest were unified into one single city in 1873, naming the city Budapest.
Hungarian Parliament Building, the largest building in Hungary, was designed in neo-Gothic style and opened in 1902 after taking 17 years to build.
About 100,000 people and 40 million bricks were involved in its construction. The domed style was inspired by the British House of Parliament and serves as a government center and a prominent landmark above the Danube. There are over 150 statues in and around the building.
The Church of the Assumption of the Buda Castle, more commonly known now as the Matthias Church (after King Matthias who added extensive building in the 19th century). Tradition, states it was originally built by Saint Stephen, King of Hungary, in Romanesque style in 1015. The building now existing was built in late Gothic style in the second half of the 14th century. The church was used for coronations of Hungarian kings for centuries, and was also a Turkish mosque for over 150 considerable years. Franciscans, Jesuits, and now Catholics owned the building. The decorated base has the Fishermans bastion on it - see below.
St. Stephen's Basilica is named after Stephen, the first King of Hungary (c. 975–1038), whose mummified right hand (photo below) is housed in the reliquary. The glass cover containing it delightfully lights up for a Euro.
It is no accident it is equal in height (96 metres) with the Hungarian Parliament Building, showing that earthly and spiritual life are equally important. Regulations for a long time meant no building taller than these were allowed in Budapest.
The base shows the 12th century, Crown named after Saint Stephen, used in coronations of Hungarian kings since the twelfth century.
The Fisherman’s Bastion was built between 1895 and 1902 to help celebrate the 1000th birthday of the Hungarian state.
The Bastion therefore deliberately copies early medieval style. The seven towers represent the 7 Hungarian chieftains whose tribes settled and formed the origins of Hungary in 895. The building though built on the castle walls, was for its scenic views and to enhance the Mattias Church rather than for any military use. The base shows the relationship with the river and what looks like the Chain Bridge
