Budapest Orientation
One of the best places to orient oneself with Budapest is the Citadel in the city's Buda district. Here, once inside the Citadel, walk as far as you can to the north wall. On the left side of the Danube is Buda, and in the far distance, Óbuda. To your left and to the north are the Buda Hills. In the far distance on your left are the Pilis mountains. Closer to home in the same direction, you will see below you the Castle District, marked by the spires of St. Matthias Cathedral and the grand Hapsburg Palace, and from this direction the medieval guard towers on the southern flank stand out visibly. Closer in, the green area between Gellert Hill and the foot of the Castle District is the Tabán. Looking north the closest bridge, just below and just to the right at the foot of Gellérthegy, is Erzsébet híd (Elizabeth Bridge). It is the newest bridge in the city center. Looking north, the next bridge is the famous Lánchíd (Chain Bridge), the first bridge to unite Buda and Pest, and a historical landmark. Farther north, the bridges are, in order, Margaret Bridge (it runs across the southern tip of Margit Island), Árpád Bridge, and the Northern Railway Bridge. On the Pest side of the river, from this vantage, Parliament’s Gothic spires are plainly visible on the eastern bank of the Danube, in the distance. The Statue of Liberty rises high above, just across the south wall, within throwing distance. You can get to the foot of it by walking out of the Citadel and around to the base of the statue, which is another lookout point. In the evening it is dramatically flooded with lights. It’s a female figure 132 feet high, holding the palm of victory. She was once adorned with the communist red star, and had soldiers at her base; they were removed when the Russian occupation ended. Stripped of its communist markings, the Statue of Liberty has become a symbol of Hungarian defiance and freedom.
On the south side, hidden below, are the Gellert Hotel and baths. Unseen against the hill, the grotto church constructed by the Paulines in 1932 is evidence of their resurgence after Joseph II dissolved their order in 1786. Beyond, the Buda shoreline stretches to include the campus of Budapest University of Technology and, beyond, the housing districts of the Lágymányos and the Kelenföld, then the smokestacks from the Csepel Works, Hungary’s largest factory.
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