Fisherman's Bastion, Budapest, Hungary

Fisherman's Bastion is a terrace in neo-Gothic and neo-Romanesque style situated on the Buda bank of the Danube, on the Castle hill in Budapest, around Matthias Church. It was designed and built between 1895 and 1902 on the plans of Frigyes Schulek. Construction of the bastion destabilised the foundations of the neighbouring 13th century Dominican Church which had to be pulled down. Between 1947–48, the son of Frigyes Schulek, János Schulek, conducted the other restoration project after its near destruction during World War II.

From the towers and the terrace a panoramic view exists of Danube, Margaret Island, Pest to the east and the Gellért Hill.

Its seven towers represent the seven Magyar tribes that settled in the Carpathian Basin in 896.

The Bastion takes its name from the guild of fishermen that was responsible for defending this stretch of the city walls in the Middle Ages. It is a viewing terrace, with many stairs and walking paths.

A bronze statue of Stephen I of Hungary mounted on a horse, erected in 1906, can be seen between the Bastion and the Matthias Church. The pedestal was made by Alajos Stróbl, based on the plans of Frigyes Schulek, in Neo-Romanesque style, with episodes illustrating the King's life.

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User Reviews

Adriel Merino (13 months ago)
Best views from Pest. I’ve been blessed as it was full moon. This place is breathtaking and admirable. I love it. I could spend the evening in here seeing the sunrise the next time I came back because I loved it.

marco pracucci (13 months ago)
Maybe the best place in Budapest... awesome view. Great history and a really good place to spend some time with family, in couple or alone as well. The square in front of the Church of S.Mathius is really clean and a quiet place despite of plenty of people going around there

Sharon Hayre (13 months ago)
One of the most beautiful places to visit in Budapest. Travelled during the snow so was made especially magical. Very distinct and clean architecture. The church inside the grounds is a must see too. Cafes are located next to the bastion. Great views from the top!

raghav chawla (14 months ago)
A perfect place for a perfect view of the city, to see the Budapest parliament, the river, the skyline and much more. It's just the perfect spot. There are lots of eating options, restaurants and Talley really available. Buses run every 10 minutes and you can also hike and reach here. It's open thought-out the day but the morning and evening are just great

Noja M (2 years ago)
Having a three course lunch here in early July was like a dream. Breathtaking view all around. Good value for money. I didn't mind paying to go up to take photos. It's the best idea so the place doesn't get trashed. It doesn't become too busy either. It was clean and well kept. The downstairs 3D cinema was amazing! A very fantastic way to tell Hungary's history. It gave me goosebumps.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Frans.Sellies

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Kromeriz Castle and Gardens

Kroměříž stands on the site of an earlier ford across the River Morava. The gardens and castle of Kroměříž are an exceptionally complete and well-preserved example of a European Baroque princely residence and its gardens and described as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The first residence on the site was founded by bishop Stanislas Thurzo in 1497. The building was in a Late Gothic style, with a modicum of Renaissance detail. During the Thirty Years' War, the castle was sacked by the Swedish army (1643).

It was not until 1664 that a bishop from the powerful Liechtenstein family charged architect Filiberto Lucchese with renovating the palace in a Baroque style. The chief monument of Lucchese's work in Kroměříž is the Pleasure Garden in front of the castle. Upon Lucchese's death in 1666, Giovanni Pietro Tencalla completed his work on the formal garden and had the palace rebuilt in a style reminiscent of the Turinese school to which he belonged.

After the castle was gutted by a major fire in March 1752, Bishop Hamilton commissioned two leading imperial artists, Franz Anton Maulbertsch and Josef Stern, arrived at the residence in order to decorate the halls of the palace with their works. In addition to their paintings, the palace still houses an art collection, generally considered the second finest in the country, which includes Titian's last mythological painting, The Flaying of Marsyas. The largest part of the collection was acquired by Bishop Karel in Cologne in 1673. The palace also contains an outstanding musical archive and a library of 33,000 volumes.

UNESCO lists the palace and garden among the World Heritage Sites. As the nomination dossier explains, 'the castle is a good but not outstanding example of a type of aristocratic or princely residence that has survived widely in Europe. The Pleasure Garden, by contrast, is a very rare and largely intact example of a Baroque garden'. Apart from the formal parterres there is also a less formal nineteenth-century English garden, which sustained damage during floods in 1997.

Interiors of the palace were extensively used by Miloš Forman as a stand-in for Vienna's Hofburg Imperial Palace during filming of Amadeus (1984), based on the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who actually never visited Kroměříž. The main audience chamber was also used in the film Immortal Beloved (1994), in the piano concerto scene.

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