Overblown tulip

Snowdrop carpet

There's a huge snowdrop carpet in Alcsút Arboretum in more than 2 acres :)







The Alcsúti Arboretum is probably the most original landscape garden in Hungary. It is situated next to the village of Alcsútdoboz in Fejér county, 40 kms from Budapest, between the M1 and the M7 motorways in the magnificent Valley of Vál along the 811 main road.



This tranquil 100 acre (ca. 40 hectares) garden was founded by the Habsburgs in the 1820s, when Joseph Palatin had one of Hungary's most attractive classicist-style palaces erected. The park was designed by Carl Tost – a gardener master at Schönbrunn, in Austria – and several hundred exotic and indigenous species of plants were planted.



In 1872 a wonderful Palm House – designed by Miklós Ybl – was attached to the palace and a watering system was created, and the fountain of an arthesian well supplied the lake with crystal clear water from a depth of 123 metres.



The rare collection of trees and shrubs is a nature protected arboretum, and is part of the National Heritage. The park is open to the public and provides different programmes all year round.



The chapel is home for wedding ceremonies, concerts and different exhibitions.









(Source: Botanic Gardens Conservation International)

Museum of Hungarian Agriculture

The biggest museum of agriculture in Europe can be found in the Castle of Vajdahunyad in the City Park (Városliget), Budapest in outstanding building. Its designer Ignác Alpár merged different architectural styles, made use of different elements, details of well-known buildings of historical Hungary. Citizens of Budapest named this group of buildings "Vajdahunyad castle" on the basis of the part of palace to be seen from the lake. The building was erected originally for the Millennial Exhibition, and it has been used to host the museum of agriculture starting in 1897.

Entering the main entrance we proceed through the marble arched court up to the first floor via marble staircase. You can cast a glance over the inside of the building while visiting the exhibitions. Beautifully painted walls, enormous crystal chandelliers, carved pillars, stained windows can also be seen.

In this wonderful building in 5200 m2 ground floor area there are 8 permanent and some temporary exhibitions. The Museum of Hungarian Agriculture has exhibitions in the country as well which are worth seeing whenever you go on an excursion. The Georgikon Farm Museum is situated in Keszthely, the Farm Museum in Lajosmizse and the Agricultural Landscape Museum in Cece.
(Source: Museum of Hungarian Agriculture)

Vigadó Concert Hall

Vigadó (usually translated as "Place for Merriment") is located on the right-hand side of the Danube in Budapest, Hungary. Although the acoustics of Budapest's second largest concert hall are lacking, the building itself, designed by Frigyes Feszl in 1859 makes a bold impression along the Pest embankment. Built to replace another concert hall on the same site (which was destroyed by fire in the 1848 War of Independence) Feszl's Vigadó was also badly damaged, this time during World War II. The post-war reconstruction, which took some thirty-six years to complete, remains faithful to his original design and continues to attract leading conductors and performers from around the world. The facade of the Vigadó was cleaned and restored in 2006.

(Source: wikipedia)

Little Princess

Sitting on the tram stop railing near to the Vigadó, on the Danube Embankment, the bronze statue of the Little Princess (Kiskirálylány) quickly became popular amongst pedestrians. The work of László Marton was unveiled in 1989.

Buda Castle

Buda Castle (Hungarian: Budavári Palota) is the historicalcastle and palace complex of the Hungarian kings in Bdapest, first completed in 1265. In the past, it was also called Royal Palace (Hungrian: Királyi-palota).

Buda Castle was built on the southern tip of Castle Hill, bounded on the north by what is known as the Castle District (Várnegyed), famous for its Medival, Baroque and 19th century houses, churches and public buildings. It is linked to Clark Ádám Square and the Széchenyi Chain Bridge by the Castle Hill Funicular.

After the Mongolian conquest in the 13th century, King Béla IV. ordered fortresses from stone to be built. The fortress of Buda was also founded at that time. The castle reached its golden age during the rule of the renaissance king, Matthias. He had it enlarged and transformed to a palace.

Later, during the Turkish occupation of Hungary, it was under Turkish rule for over 150 years. Not even the Habsburgs cared much about it, as the empire was ruled from Vienna. During the second world war it was badly damaged. The Palace was founded around 1247, but the royal seat was in Visegrád until the 15th century. It went under major reconstructions several times.

Firstly, King Matthias converted the fortification to a palace, later Maria Theresa had it rebuilt and enlarged. In the 19th century the famous Hungarian architect Miklós Ybl got the comission to reconstruct it. From the original fittings unfortunately nothing was left. Today the buildings house the National Gallery, the National Library and the Historical Museum. From the panorama terrace there is a magnificent view of the Pest side.The castle is part of the Budapest World Heritage, declared in 1987.

Chain bridge

The Széchenyi Chain Bridge (Hungarian: Lánchíd) is a suspension bridge that spans the River Danube between Buda and Pest, the western and eastern sides of Budapest, the capital of Hungary. It was the first permanent bridge across the Danube in Budapest, and was opened in 1849.



It is anchored on the Pest side of the river to Széchenyi (formerly Roosevelt) Square, adjacent to the Gresham Palace and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and on the Buda side to Adam Clark Square, near the Zero Kilometer Stone and the lower end of the Castle Hill Funicular, leading to Buda Castle.

The bridge has the name of István Széchenyi, a major supporter of its construction, attached to it, but is most commonly known as the Chain Bridge. At the time of its construction, it was regarded as one of the modern world's engineering wonders. It has asserted an enormous significance in the country's economic, social and cultural life, much as the Brooklyn Bridge has in New York and America.

Its decorations made of cast iron, and its construction, radiating calm dignity and balance, have elevated the Chain Bridge to a high stature in Europe. It became a symbol of advancement, national awakening, and the linkage between East and West.

The bridge was designed by the English engineer William Tierney Clark in 1839, after Count István Széchenyi's initiative in the same year, with construction supervised locally by Scottish engineer Adam Clark (no relation). It is a larger scale version of William Tierney Clark's earlier Marlow Bridge, across the River Thames in Marlow, England.

It was funded to a considerable extent by the Greek merchant Georgios Sinas who had considerable financial and land interests in the city and whose name is inscribed on the base of the south western foundation of the bridge on the Buda side.

The bridge was opened in 1849, and thus became the first permanent bridge in the Hungarian capital, after the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. At the time, its center span of 202 metres (663 ft) was one of the largest in the world. The lions at each of the abutments were carved in stone by the sculptor, Marschalko János. They are visibly similar in design to the famous bronze lions of Trafalgar Square by Edwin Henry Landseer with Marochetti (commissioned 1858, installed 1867), but they were earlier - installed 1852. They are also smaller (and appear from below to lack tongues). The bridge was given its current name in 1898.

It was designed in sections and shipped from the United Kingdom to Hungary for final construction. The bridge's cast iron structure was updated and strengthened in 1914. In World War II, the bridge was severely damaged during Siege of Budapest, and was rebuilt and reopened 1949.

(Source: Wikipedia)