Budapest, Hungary

Hungary's capital Budapest, situated on both banks of the Danube, unites the hills of Buda and the wide boulevards of Pest. The modern city was only established in 1873 when the towns of Obuda, Pest and Buda were merged.

1. The Fisherman's Bastion in Budapest is a striking covered terrace overhanging Pest and the Danube, built at the turn of the century as a watchtower to guard the then thriving fishing village.

2. The Royal Palace in Budapest, also known as Buda Castle, where the Nazis took their last stand and left behind a blackened wasteland. Under the rubble, archaeologists discovered the medieval foundations of the palace of King Matthias Corvinus, who, in the 15th cent. He ruled over one of the most magnificent courts in Europe. The rebuilt palace is a huge museum complex and cultural centre. The north wing of the castle houses a collection of over 200 examples of Hungarian and contemporary world art. The central part of the palace houses the Hungarian National Gallery, which exhibits numerous works of fine art by Hungarian artists. In the south wing is the Budapest History Museum, which houses a permanent exhibition relating to the city's history from the liberation of Buda from the Turks in 1686 until the late 1970s.

3.The Matthias Church in Budapest is an ancient church with a characteristic roof of coloured hexagonal tiles and an islet-shaped Gothic tower from the 12th century. Built as a mosque by the Turks, it was destroyed and rebuilt again in the 19th century, only to be bombed in World War II. Only the south portal remains of the original building. The Habsburg emperors were crowned kings of Hungary here, the last of whom, Charles IV in 1916.

4.The Museum of the History of Music in Budapest is located in a beautiful palace from the 17th century, built of grey stone and belonged to the noble Erdögi family. Here, chamber concerts of classical music were performed and rare manuscripts and antique instruments were displayed.

5. The parish church of the Inner Town is the oldest church in Pest from the 12th century. A Muslim prayer niche has been preserved here from the time when the Turks ruled the country. List, who lived nearby, often played the organ in the church.

6. The Hungarian State Opera House in Budapest, with its pair of marble sphinxes on either side, is a 19th-century Renaissance treasure designed by Mikolos Ybl.

7. Budapest's 15th-March Square commemorates the struggle for independence from the Habsburgs in 1848 with the statue of the poet Sándor Petőfi, who died in the subsequent uprising.

8. The Great Synagogue in Budapest was built between 1844 and 1859 in the Byzantine-Moorish style and is the largest in Europe. Liszt and Saint-Saëns were among the great composers who played the synagogue's huge organ.

9.The Parliament in Budapest is the most impressive of the buildings whose facades overlook the river. Although still the workplace of the nation's legislators, it can be viewed from inside by visitors. The largest landmark is the Holy Crown, made for the first Hungarian king, St. István, 1000 years ago. The crown, Hungary's national symbol, is guarded by two uniformed guardsmen armed with swords under the soaring central dome of the Parliament.

10. The Chain Bridge in Budapest is the most beautiful of the eight Danube bridges. It was built twice: once in the 19th century. And a second time after it was destroyed by the Nazis.

11. St István Basilica in Budapest is a gloomy and massive building from the 19th century. And is one of the symbols of Pest. The mummified right hand of St István, the first king and patron saint of Hungary, is kept in the Szent Jobb Chapel.

12. The Statue Park in Budapest preserves forty-two monuments and statues of Communists which until recently towered over the city. Here one can see the giant figures of Lenin and Marx while listening to the songs of the Hungarian and Russian labour movements.