Pics & Info from Sightseeing Day in Budapest (July 29)

Parliament Building

St. Gellért Monument
Looking down on Elizabeth Bridge (Erzsébet híd) from Gellért Hill is the St Gellért monument, an Italian missionary invited to Hungary by King Stephen to convert the natives. The monument marks the spot from where the bishop was hurled to his death in a spiked barrel in 1046 by pagan Hungarians resisting the new faith.

 Independence Monument - the lady with the palm frond proclaiming freedom throughout the city from atop Gellért Hill was erected in 1947 in tribute to the Soviet soldiers who died liberating Budapest in 1945.

Heroes' Square
The Millenary Monument, which is a complex of statues and sculptures on the square, was originally planned as part of the Millenium celebrations held in 1896 to commemorate 1000 years of Hungarian history since the Conquest of the Carpathian Basin by Magyar (Hungarian) tribes. The occasion was a glorification of the Dual Monarchy, and the Millenary Monument was to reflect royal continuity and pride.

In the centre rises a 36m stone column with the Archangel Gabriel at the top and equestrian statues of the seven conquering Magyar chiefs at the base. Gabriel is depicted standing on a globe holding aloft the Hungarian crown and an Apostolic cross, representing the unity of the Hungarian state and Christian culture. Legend has it that the archangel once appeared to Stephen, Hungary's first monarch, charging him to convert the then pagan Magyars to Christianity.

The stone block on the ground in front of the column is the Heroes' Monument, the traditional spot for wreath-laying ceremonies. The inscription recalls those who have given their lives for Hungarian freedom and independence.

 Behind the column is a two-part colonnade. The four groups of symbolic figures on the top represent Work, Wealth, War, Peace, and Knowledge and Glory. Between the columns of the colonnade are statues of Hungarian rulers and princes.

Trinity Square - the three circles on the buildings represent the trinity

Zoltán Kodály (16 December 1882 – 6 March 1967) was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, pedagogue, linguist and philosopher. He is best known internationally as the creator of the Kodály Method of teaching music.