HUNGARY PICTURES

The city is divided into 2, Buda (the oldest and major attractions) and Pest (modern and lively commercial center).
Buda and Pest are linked by numerous bridges over the Danube, the most famous bridge with chains. Among the must-see attractions of the village up the hill in Buda, where are the major monuments of the medieval city. The hill, surrounded by walls, is divided into two parts, the Old Town and Royal Palace, which houses several museums (to contemporary history, the collection of modern art, National Gallery alone with Hungarian art historian and museum).
Also the striking neo-Gothic church of St. Matthias the beautiful multi-colored roof.Do not miss even the Fishermen's Bastion, whose name derives from the Guild of Fishermen in the Middle Ages were responsible for defending this stretch of wall. Beautiful among the most photographed monument in the city, the Parliament, a mixture of styles that blend well in the complex. The city, covering 525 km2 and has a population of less than 2,000,000 inhabitants and is divided into 23 districts. The waters of the river that runs through the town for 28 miles, spanning several islands including the Margaret Island, which is the most popular. The capital is the administrative center of life, politics, culture of the country, which is concentrated to half of the domestic industry, about one third of the internal trade and almost all trade with foreign countries is also vital crossroads of tourism the country.

BUDA - OLD CITY

FISHERMEN'S BASTION
In place of today's Fishermen's Bastion in the Middle Ages there was a fish market and fishing village, hence its name.
The Bastion, built in 1901-03, is a neo-Romanesque and neo-Gothic ramparts of the medieval walls even though he never played defense purposes. From its terraces presents an unforgettable view over the Danube and Pest.
The panorama of Buda with the Fishermen's Bastion in 1988 was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

MATTIA CHURCH
Founded in the thirteenth century, the Church of Our Lady, now Matthias, was altered in the next century, with the construction of the door of Mary, and rebuilt by order of King Matthias Corvinus to 1470. On the facade of the tower is placed the royal coat of arms, which, in fact, gave the church its name.
After the destruction occurred during the siege of 1686, the church was rebuilt, and took its current form.
Even damaged in World War 2 has been restored in the '60s.
Matthias Church was the scene of the coronation of some Hungarian kings. The church tower is 80 meters high. In the church there is a collection of religious art, which shows the lapidary, the reliquary and the history of the Hungarian Holy Crown and the masterpieces of jewelry treasure.

ROYAL PALACE
The great bulk of the Royal Palace occupies the southern part of the fortress, with its towers and adjoining walls. Of ancient origin, the complex we see today dates from the eighteenth century, divided into blocks with symmetric stretch towards the Danube, with colonnades on the central dome. Years of restoration of the building have a great concentration of cultural institutions. We are here, besides the National Gallery, the National Library and the Historical Museum of the city, set up in the gothic environments come to light in recent restorations. The Royal Palace has been for 700 years the residence of Hungarian kings. Built in the Middle Ages, was destroyed during the Turkish occupation.
In 1849, during the War of Independence, a part of the building was destroyed by fire.
At the end of the eighteenth century, the building block Neobarocco got its present appearance. During the Second World War, the interior was destroyed by fire. During reconstruction and restoration have come to light, under the plaster eighteenth century, medieval facades and windows.

At about 50 km north of the capital, is the Danube Bend, about 20 km long, near a large resort area. The bed of the river carried out by the way South. Between the first century until the middle of the fifth, the Danube Bend was the Limes, the border of the Roman Empire. In those days the river was on the handle of a chain of fortifications, of which the remains are still present.
In the Middle Ages, it belonged to the royal family of �rp�d.
Over the centuries, several kings XI-XV settled in this stretch of the Danube, rich in charm and beauty.
Today we can see the significant historical, cultural and artistic.

OUT OF BUDAPEST

ESZTERGOM CHURCH
At about 60 km from the capital, to the north, along the beautiful valley of the Danube, Esztergom is. The territory was inhabited since the Palaeolithic age, then became a land of the Celts, Romans, and finally of the Magyars. In the Middle Ages, for three centuries, Stringorium called, was the capital and later the ecclesiastical center of the country.
From here they passed, before going to the Holy Land, the Crusaders, including Godfrey of Bouillon, and Frederick Barbarossa. It was the first royal seat and ecclesiastical center from the eleventh century.
Today is the seat of the archbishop of Esztergom, primate of the Hungarian Catholic Church. The symbol of the city is the Basilica, in the nineteenth-century neo-classical style, built on Castle Hill (V�rhegy), the largest church in the country with one of the greatest paintings of the altar of the world