A Visit to Budapest!

Hanging out in Budapest!

Hey again everyone! Over the weekend I travelled to Budapest, Hungary to visit the city. From Rome to Budapest, the flight is only an hour and twenty minutes, so it’s a very short travel time, and it would even be possible to go for a day trip. I spent Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in Budapest and I had such a good time exploring the city! There’s a lot to see, do, and learn in Budapest – here are just a few cool things I got to see, do, and learn!

Széchenyi Thermal Bath

One of the most famous things to do in Budapest is to go to the thermal baths there. I visited the Széchenyi thermal baths located in the City Park, and it was absolutely amazing! The official opening of this spa was in 1913, so the baths are over 100 years old! After an expansion in 1927, this spa hosts 3 large outdoor and 15 indoor pools, with both swimming and thermal section pools. This is one of the biggest spas in the world!

There are many health aspects to visiting the thermal baths. I was told by my home host that along with the large daily influx of locals and tourists that visit the baths, some people also receive doctor’s notes to visit the baths when they need the heated water for medical reasons. When I visited the baths, there was a very diverse mass of people attending the amenities of the spas: the saunas, thermal baths, steam-rooms, and regular pools were all full of people. The water of the thermal baths are supplied by natural thermal springs, and there are many beneficial minerals in the water, as well as the heated temperature, that aid health and help relaxation.  

Vajdahunyad Castle

Vajdahunyad Castle, in Hungarian, Vajdahunyad Vára, is a beautiful castle located in the City Park, right near the Széchenyi Spa, so I was able to see it immediately after visiting the baths. Architecturally, this castle is a mix of a variety of styles, including Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque, because of how parts of the castle were built and rebuilt during various time periods throughout history. Today it is the home of the Museum of Hungarian Agriculture. 

 

The castle was originally built in 1896, and designed by Ignác Alpár, who was attempting to feature the architecture of several important buildings from different areas within the Kingdom of Hungary, and most specifically especially the Hunyad Castle in Transylvania (which is in Romania). The commission of the construction of this castle is in regards to the Millennial Exhibition which celebrated 1000 years of Hungary since the Hungarian Conquest of the Carpathian Basin in 895. The writer of the 1897 Gothic novel Dracula, Bram Stoker, pictured his story of Dracula to be set in either the Vajdahunyad Castle, or in a castle in Transylvania. 

Heroes’ Square 

In the Hungarian language, Heroes’ Square is Hósök Tere. This square, or what in Italy would be referred to as a piazza, is the largest square in the city of Budapest. The square is home to a massive, symmetrical monument with statues representing historical figures. 

Located near City Park, I was able to see Heroes’ Square after visiting the baths and the Vajdahunyad Castle. Originally, the massive monument in this square was in commemoration of the rulers of the Habsburg dynasty, however these rulers were replaced by figures commemorating Hungarian freedom fighters during a rebuilding of the square after World War II. 

Today there is also a gathering of world flags in the middle of the square and a large sign that reads “Emberek a Békéért” which means “People for Peace”.

Art Installation: Shoes on the Danube Bank

       Along a short stretch of the Danube Riverbank, there is a memorial art installation in memory of the murders of the Jewish people who were killed with arrows by fascist Arrow Cross militiamen along the east of the Danube River during World War II in 1944.

This art installation was developed by film director Can Togay and installed in 2005. The art installation is made up of a good amount of shoes (statues) of both women and men. The story is that the militiamen ordered the Jewish people to take off their shoes and line up on the bank of the river, and then they were shot with arrows in order for the bodies to fall into the river. 

The shoe statues represent the real people’s shoes that were left on the bank of the river after the murders. Seeing the shoe statues was a very surreal, visceral experience. 

       What cities in the world do you want to visit? Would you want to go to the thermal spa baths? What are your favorite public art installations you've seen? 

Also, what kinds of things would you all be interested in having me ask a local middle schooler in Italy? Let me know! See you soon!