Hungarian building. Parliament building in Budapest. What can you see inside

And his symbol. The article presents detailed description and a photo of the Hungarian Parliament building.

Parliament - Országház

The Parliament is a grand building on the eastern bank of the Danube in Budapest. The Hungarian Parliament building is like the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Colosseum in Rome, iconic and most famous building cities. Also this is the most large building Hungary and one of the highest in Budapest. Translated from Hungarian as “house of the nation.”

The Parliament building was built in the neo-Gothic style by the famous romanticist of this architectural movement, architect Steindl. This beautiful building was erected as a symbol of the birth of the new capital almost immediately after the unification of the three cities. Construction lasted from 1885 to 1904. The construction of this magnificent structure took 40 million bricks, 40 kg of gold and more than half a million precious stones. This construction involved 100,000 workers.

The Parliament Building has a symmetrical façade and a large central dome. The facade is decorated with statues of famous historical figures of Hungary.

Opening hours for excursions

  • April-October from 8.00 to 18.00, daily.
  • November-March from 8.00 to 16.00, daily.

Cost of visit

  • Adults (non-EU citizens) - HUF 5,400
  • Students and children from 6 to 24 years old (non-EU citizens) - 2800 forints
  • Children under 6 years old - free

Important information for tourists

  1. It is prohibited to enter Parliament with large bags. There is a search at the entrance.
  2. Photos are prohibited in the Great Dome Hall.
  3. Parliament may not accept tours during government events.
  4. When visiting Parliament, it is recommended to observe the minimum dress code and be clean and neatly dressed.
  5. It is prohibited to behave loudly, bring flags and other bright visual attributes.

Tour of Parliament

A tour of the Parliament is visited annually by 1.5 million tourists. After purchasing tickets, groups of 50 people are formed. The approximate tour time is about an hour.

The interior of the Hungarian Parliament is richly decorated, even pompous staircases and halls with beautiful furniture and decoration.

Main points of the tourist excursion:

  • The tour begins with a beautiful 17th-century staircase lined with statues, stained glass windows and rich, decorative frescoes. The staircase ends with a beautiful view of the newly renovated Kossuth Square.
  • After this, you should definitely explore the hall of the Upper Chamber - oak panels, gilded decorations, beautiful furniture and excellent acoustics. The furniture is arranged in a horseshoe shape. Behind the main figure there are beautiful frescoes.
  • Hall of the Upper House - interesting sculptures and the largest hand-woven carpet in Europe.

  • The Domed Hall is the heart of the Parliament, which houses the Hungarian royal regalia - one of the oldest in Europe. The hall is beautifully decorated with stained glass windows and sculptures of Hungarian rulers.
  • The grand staircase is the final chord of the excursion, 96 steps covered with red carpets, decorative stained glass windows and granite columns.

The Parliament Building in Budapest is the real seat of the Hungarian Parliament on the very banks of the great Danube. The architecture of the building intricately combines neo-Gothic elements, in which it is similar to the Palace of Westminster and features of the Parisian Beaux Arts, like the Hotel de Ville in Paris.
They planned to build the parliament building immediately after the unification of Buda and Pest in 1873. A competition was held for the best architect, in which the famous Hungarian neo-Gothic enthusiast Imre Steindl won the right to build a landmark building in Hungary.
The site was selected on the eastern bank of the Danube right in the middle of two bridges in Budapest - the Széchenyi and Margaret chain bridges. Construction began in 1885 and lasted until 1904. But not the entire complex was Steindl's doing. The projects of his rivals in the competition were also accepted and according to them the Ethnographic Museum and the Ministry were built next to the parliament Agriculture. Lajos Kossuth Square was allocated for them.
The completed parliament building in Budapest became the largest in Hungary and remains so to this day. It has just under 700 rooms, which can be reached via 29 staircases. There are exits to 10 courtyards.
Initially, they wanted to build the parliament building in Budapest to celebrate the 1000th anniversary of the Hungarians finding their own homeland, that is, in 1896. But, alas, by this time it was not possible to erect such a large-scale structure. At that time, only the central domed hall was ready. Its height is 27 m, and the diameter of the dome is 20 meters. On both sides of the dome in the wings there are parliament meeting rooms. There are two of them, since previously the parliament in Hungary was bicameral. Today conferences are held in one of the halls.
The facade of the Parliament building in Budapest is decorated with iconic statues of the 88 kings and leaders of Hungary and Transylvania. The interiors of the Parliament building are decorated in a medieval style, mosaic panels and stained glass windows are used throughout, and there is a lot of gilding. The spire of the building is topped with a red star, which was installed during the years of the socialist regime. In the domed hall of the parliament building there are 16 statues of kings and rulers of Hungary. Since 2000, the crown, scepter, orb and sword of St. Stephen have been kept in the parliament building.
Today, tours of the Hungarian Parliament building are held for numerous tourists from different parts of the world.

The main façade of the building faces the Danube, and the main entrance is called the “Lion Gate”, which overlooks Lajos Kossuth Square.

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The grandiose building of the Hungarian Parliament is best admired from the Buda embankment. From here, the largest building in Hungary opens up in all its glory. During the day, the Parliament seems strict and majestic, and in the evening, when the lights turn on, it turns into a magical golden palace.

The English word "parliament" comes from the French word parler - to speak. This is the name of the highest representative and legislative body in democratic states. This body is called parliament, for example, in the UK, France, Italy, Canada, Belgium, the USA and most countries Latin America it's called congress Russian Federation- the Federal Assembly, in Lithuania and Latvia - the Seimas. In Hungary it is called the “Country Assembly” (Országgyűlés), and the building in which the parliament is located is called the “Country House” (Országháza).

Until the Middle Ages, the Hungarian People's Assembly did not have a permanent building. The medieval chronicler Anonymous in his monumental work “The Acts of the Hungarians” (Gesta Hungarorum) says that the very first meeting dealing with state issues was convened by the leader of the Ugric tribes, Prince Arpad, in the Csongrad region, next to the Gyümölcsény еrdő forest.

Révay Kálmán: Prince Arpad. 1943.
Ferenc Nádasdy Ferenc Múzeum

For centuries, state assemblies were convened from time to time, at the behest of the king, most often in a huge field outside the Pest city wall, in the town of Rákos-mező. During the years of Turkish rule, there could be no talk of a national assembly, but at the beginning of the 19th century, with the advent of the era of reforms, public assemblies began to be held in Pozsony (present-day Bratislava). The first meeting in Buda took place in 1825. This historical event is commemorated on Parliament Street (Országház utca), and there is a commemorative plaque on house No. 28.

Congress hall.

At a meeting of parliament in 1830, the issue of a new building was first raised. Architect Mihai Pollak designed the building in the classicist style, but construction was postponed indefinitely, citing a lack of funds.

The unrealized project of Mihai Pollak.

August von Pettenkofen: Opening ceremony of the Hungarian Parliament, 1848

In 1861, according to the design of Miklós Ibla, a temporary palace building for meetings of members of Parliament was finally built in Pest.

After the conclusion of the Treaty of Equality between Hungary and Austria, Emperor Franz Joseph in December 1880 signed the law on the construction of a new building of the Hungarian Parliament. But building such a representative building is not a quick task!

In 1882, an international design competition was announced, to which 19 works were submitted. It is interesting to note that the Hungarians, having declared the competition international, cheated a little: the announcements were posted only in Hungarian. So the formalities were observed, and there were no foreigners.

Several projects submitted for the competition

(Ferdinand Fellner - Hermann Helmer)


(Schikedenz Albert)

(Forster Emil)


(Hauszmann Alajos)

The winner was the project of a Hungarian architect, member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, teacher at the Technical University Imre Steindl. All members of the competition committee were pleased: only two changes were proposed to the project of an impressive eclectic building with a neo-Gothic façade, a Renaissance dome, a lush Baroque interior and neo-Byzantine decorations - it was necessary to add half a floor and change the domes over the meeting rooms of the chambers.

The winning project by Imre Steindl

In his memoirs, Imre Steindl wrote that when working on his main project, he was inspired by the impressions of travel abroad, in particular, from a trip to London, where he visited with his teacher, the Viennese architect Friedrich Schmidt, where Steindl was delighted Palace of Westminster on the banks of the Thames. Steindl called another such building City Hall in Vienna.

In Steindl's workshop during the construction of the Parliament.

Construction began in October 1885. The site allocated for construction was a real dump: construction waste was brought from the rapidly under construction Pest to a field outside the city wall.

First of all, it was necessary to prepare the site for construction.

Construction begins, 1886


1890

The fact that the building is located just a stone's throw from the Danube is, of course, very beautiful, but it significantly complicated the construction. To prevent the construction site from literally sliding into the river, to prevent the huge building from tilting and settling, several thousand larch piles were first driven in, and a layer of concrete was placed on top, reaching five meters in the center of the site!


1891

1892


1894

A separate condition was the use of only Hungarian building materials. For seventeen years in a row, on average, at least a thousand Hungarian workers were employed in construction under the guidance of the most famous Hungarian specialists at that time. The construction took on a grandiose scale and became a good impetus for the development of many branches of Hungarian industry (for example, marble mining, production of electric lamps). To erect a building with total area 17,745 m², 176,000 cubic meters of earth had to be moved, 40 million bricks had to be laid. The planned construction estimate of 18,500,000 gold crowns was significantly exceeded and ultimately amounted to 37,000,000 crowns. For such an amount at that time it would have been possible to build a city for 40,000 inhabitants!

The Hungarian Parliament building is one of the most beautiful in Europe, and Hungary treasures it very much. You can get to Parliament on foot or by tram.

At the moment when the decision was made to build this architectural splendor, the stars over Budapest came together in a special way. The city, which for many years was in the shadow of pompous Vienna, instantly found itself on a par with and - the Hungarian Parliament is still considered almost the largest building in Europe. Most of all, he is famous for the fact that throughout modern history Restoration work is underway on its façade.

The reason for this is gigantic size structures. The scaffolding from its openwork facade almost does not disappear, but only smoothly moves from one end to the other.

The Hungarian Parliament is both a palace and a castle at the same time. Historical, architectural and national heritage of the state. The neo-Gothic building was built directly on the Danube embankment, between the Margaret Bridge. Geographically, the Parliament of Budapest belongs to the Pest region.

Popular excursions in Budapest

The most interesting excursions- these are the routes from local residents on Tripster. It’s always interesting to start with (see iconic places and outline routes for future walks). And then devote a day to getting to know (in 2.5 hours you will learn stories about how Masonic societies and other organizations “legacy” in Budapest).

How to get to the Hungarian Parliament

There are three ways to get to the Parliament Building:

  1. Take the metro. Nearest station Kossuth Lajos Ter is located 150 meters away. The M2 line, although the metro in Budapest is simple and intuitive. The only difficulty is the language. But if you figure out how to buy tickets at the box office, you will no longer have problems with movement.
  2. Take the city tram. You can get to the Hungarian Parliament and by land transport. Tram number 2, stop Kossuth Lajos ter M.
  3. Walking distance. From St. Stephen's Basilica - about 1 km, from the Vaci shopping street - about 1.5-2 km, from the Chain Bridge - about 1 km. That is, no more than 20 minutes from each of the central attractions of Budapest. You need to focus either on Lajos Kossuth Square, if you intend to get inside the building, or on the facade facing the Danube.

Construction history and scale

Construction began when the process of unification and actual secession from the Austro-Hungarian Empire began in Hungary.

Parliament of Budapest from the Danube embankment

In 1873, the Hungarian cities began the process of unification, but construction permission was still issued by the royal imperial authority. The construction of the parliament started in 1885 and lasted 19 years. The official commissioning of the facility took place in 1904. To select the best project for construction, an open competition was announced among architects. The victory went to Imre Steindl's project.

The parameters of the building are impressive! Such a scale was not conceived by chance: it was supposed to symbolize the greatness of the 1000-year-old Hungarian state:

  • the total length of the Parliament Building is 265 meters;
  • the width is more than 118 meters;
  • the height of the parliament is 96 meters;
  • square interior spaces- about 18,000 sq. meters;
  • the Hungarian Parliament building has several entrances; central, located on the square. Lajos Kossuth is just one of many.

Parliament of Budapest in facts and figures

  • It was spent on the construction of the building at least 40 million bricks and about 40 kg of gold. Complete finishing work was completed only in 1906, when the Hungarian Parliament began its work.
  • The building is divided into three parts: central, right and left wings. The inside of the Hungarian Parliament is spacious and no less majestic than the outside. According to various sources, there are from 500 to 700 rooms, 27 gates on different sides, 29 internal and external staircases, 13 elevators. In addition, the building has about 10 courtyards.
  • The central hall is called the domed hall. Its diameter is 21 meters. The hall is located exactly in the center of parliament. All other rooms were built strictly in symmetry from the domed hall. The building is decorated with numerous towers. All of them are located symmetrically in relation to the main dome and are made in the Gothic style.
  • In the central hall there are 16 columns supporting the dome at a height of 27 meters. At the top of the columns are sculptures of Hungarian rulers from different historical eras. The hall was painted with frescoes, decorated with sculptures, and on the walls were paintings by Hungarian artists. All are originals.
  • The dome hall is a museum where state symbols are kept: St. Stephen's crown, scepter and sword. They are guarded by statues of rulers.
  • In the decoration of absolutely all halls and offices we used gilding, mosaic, wood and marble. Corridors and passages of the Parliament buildings in Budapest are decorated with frescoes, paintings, and sculptures of considerable artistic value.
  • Along the outer perimeter of the structure there are sculptures of politicians, public figures, warriors and rulers. On the square in front of the parliament there is a monument to the leader of the national movement, Ferenc II Rakoczi. On the opposite side - Lajos Kossuth sculpture. A grand staircase leads to the eastern entrance, on both sides of which there are statues of lions.

Where is the Hungarian Parliament clearly visible?

The most impressive opportunity to do beautiful photos Parliament in Budapest is a boat trip on the Danube. Ideally, in the evening, when all the city lights are already lit. From the deck or restaurant on the ship, the Hungarian Parliament appears in full view, in the light of delightful lighting and at the closest possible distance. The beauty and grandeur of the palace takes your breath away!

You can book a walk along the Danube at a local travel agency (even easier - go to the pier and ask about the schedule and cost) or online (from your home/hotel in Budapest). A two-hour tour costs 50-60 € per person. (but with cocktails or champagne to choose from) will cost 25-30 €. The program is the same: parliament will be visible both there and there.

Observation deck of the Fisherman's Bastion

On sightseeing tour in Budapest first observation deck, from where a view of the city will open, there will be. There you will see the Hungarian Parliament Building for the first time. You can get a good view from the famous Chain Bridge: from there you can see a panorama of not only the Hungarian Parliament, but also Margaret Island, which divides the river like a giant liner. If you still wait for one of the motor ships plying along the Danube, then the composition will be completely complete.

More better view at the very beautiful building Hungary opens from the opposite side of the embankment. Just take a walk along the Danube (from the Chain Bridge, turn right and walk along the river) to take great photos.

Flight schedule from Moscow to Budapest

Direct flights to Budapest Airport. Franz Liszt flies daily with Aeroflot (2-3 flights/day) and four times a week with low-cost airline Wizz Air. Prices for - from 6500 rub. The flight is more than two and a half hours.

The exact address of the Parliament is: Kossuth Lajos tér 1-3, Budapest.

Basic moments

The need to build a new mansion for the country's parliament arose in 1873, when two cities located on opposite banks of the river decided to unite. Construction lasted for 19 years, and finishing work was completed only in 1904. Although more than a century has passed since the opening of the architectural monument, the building of the Hungarian Parliament continues to be the largest in Hungary and the largest government residence in Europe. It stretches 268 m long and 123 m wide, and the internal premises have an area of ​​17,745 m².

The huge structure has a central dome, the spire of which rises 96 m from the ground. On either side of it there are wings where there are halls for parliamentarians and conferences. The majestic mansion has 29 staircases, 13 entrances, 13 elevators, 27 gates and 10 courtyards.

The architecture of the Hungarian Parliament building is eclectic. It harmoniously combines neo-Gothic traditions and Parisian Beaux Arts - a style that emerged in the mid-19th century and continued the traditions of the French Baroque and Italian Renaissance. The facade of the architectural structure is decorated with sculptures depicting Hungarian and Transylvanian rulers. When the country followed the socialist path, the spire above the central dome was decorated with a five-pointed ruby ​​star. The mansion looks especially beautiful from the river side. In order for the huge building to fit completely into the frame, it must be shot from the opposite side of the Danube.


 Hungarian Parliament at dusk

Construction of the Hungarian Parliament building

It was decided to build the building of the Hungarian Parliament when Buda and Pest merged into a single urban agglomeration - Budapest. The land chosen for construction was on the left bank of the Danube below the Margaret Bridge. The Hungarian authorities held a competition of architectural projects, and the Hungarian specialist in gothic architecture Imre Steindl. He had great authority in the city, since the New Town Hall building had already been built according to his design for Budapest.


Construction of the Hungarian Parliament building began in 1885. Initially, they wanted to open it for the 1000th anniversary of Hungary, that is, in 1896. But the construction turned out to be so large-scale and costly that for the holiday the builders were able to erect only the main domed hall, which has a height of 27 m and a diameter of 20 m.

The grand opening took place in 1902, but the architect did not live to see this joyful moment for only five weeks. It took about two more years to finish the building without the interior, and finally, in 1904, everything was completed. According to reporting documents, forty million bricks and forty kilograms of gold were spent on the construction of the Hungarian Parliament building.

What can you see inside


The entrance to the Hungarian Parliament building is located on the side of the square named after Lajos Kossuth. Visitors enter through the Lion Gate. The offices and halls look no less luxurious than the facades. As if medieval palaces, they are decorated with colored mosaics, stained glass, stucco, carvings and gilding. There are bright carpets on the wide staircases, many rich chandeliers and elegant candle lanterns are displayed in the rooms, and the walls are decorated with paintings, tapestries and paintings. The building houses a museum telling the history of Hungarian parliamentarism.

Most Big hall decorated by sculptors of the Hungarian kings. One of the main symbols of Hungarian statehood is kept here - the ancient crown of St. Stephen. It was placed on the head of the first king of Hungary in the year 1000 and since then has been used in the accession ceremonies of all the kings who have ruled in this country. Next to the crown are other symbols of royal power - a sword, a scepter and an orb. And near the royal regalia you can see the guard of honor dressed in historical uniform.

Tourist Information


The Hungarian Parliament building is open to visitors every day. From April to October people are allowed here: on weekdays from 8.00 to 18.00 and on weekends from 8.00 to 16.00. From November to March - any day from 8.00 to 18.00. Every day from 9.45 to 16.00 there are excursions around the building of the Hungarian Parliament, which last 45-50 minutes. For Russian-speaking travelers they start at 12.30 on Sundays and at 15.15 on other days. Children under 6 years old can visit the building for free.

To avoid queuing for tickets, you can purchase them in advance online. This is very convenient, since the network always has information about the number of remaining tickets for any day. When the purchase is paid for, just print out a copy of the electronic voucher and then show it at the entrance.

How to get there

The building of the Hungarian Parliament stands in the center of the capital of Hungary, on Lajos Kossuth Square, 1-3. It is easy to reach on foot from the M2 metro station “Kossuth Lajos ter”. Trams No. 2 and DH, trolleybuses No. 70 and 78 and buses No. 15 and 115 also go here.