City Park (Budapest)
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Városliget or City Park is a public park (302 acres or 1.2 km²; a rectangle 0.9 mile by 0.6 mile, or 1.4 km × 900 m) in Budapest, Hungary close to the city centre. It is located in Zugló, District XIV of Budapest.
City Park was the main venue of the millennium (1896) celebrations of Hungary, by which time Andrássy Avenue, Millennium Underground and the Grand Boulevard were built. Its main entrance is Heroes' Square (Hősök tere), one of Hungary's World Heritage sites.
Heroes' Square is noted for the following:
- The Millennium Monument (Millenniumi Emlékmű), one of Budapest's emblematic sights (1905)
- The Museum of Fine Arts (Szépművészeti Múzeum, 1906)
- The Palace of Art (Műcsarnok, 1895)
City Park proper includes the following notable sights:
- The Vajdahunyad Castle, presenting the major art styles and housing the Agricultural Museum today (first built in 1896, in its present state finished in 1907)
- The Széchenyi Medicinal Baths and Swimming Pool (Széchenyi fürdő), one of Europe's largest bath complexes (1913)
- The Municipal Zoological and Botanical Garden (Fővárosi Állat- és Növénykert, founded in 1866, built in its present state in 1912, expanded and improved since several times)
- The Municipal Grand Circus (Budapest) (Fővárosi Nagycirkusz, 1971)
- The Budapest Amusement Park (Vidám Park) with a separate amusement park for small children
- Its roller coaster, built in 1922 after the plans of Ervin Dragon, is 17m in height and travels 980m in five minutes. It is one of the ten remaining side friction roller coasters in the world. [1][2]
- Its merry-go-round was built in 1906 and its cave railway in 1912. Along with the roller coaster these are considered to be historic monuments.
- The Gundel Restaurant, one of Hungary's most famous, founded in 1879 (residing in its present building since 1894)
- The Millennium Salon (Millennium Szalon) in Olof Palme House (1885)
- The Transport Museum of Budapest (Közlekedési Múzeum 1899)
- The Aviation Museum of Budapest
- City Park Pond (Városligeti-tó), used as an ice rink in winter, the largest outdoor skating-rink in Central Europe (1926), with a hall built in 1894
- The Petőfi Hall (Petőfi Csarnok), a youth leisure centre (1985)
- The Time Wheel (Időkerék, 2004)
- A spacious procession square (used for several purposes)
- Sports grounds, playgrounds, meadows, esplanades (e.g. one named after Olof Palme), several statues (among others, of George Washington and Winston Churchill), a memorial for Anna Lindh, a botanical garden and a transport park for children
Next to City Park can be seen
- School for the Blind (1904)
- Balás Villa (1907)
- Institute of Germanistics of the Eötvös Loránd University
In its neighbourhood:
- The Geological Institute of Hungary, built in 1899 by Ödön Lechner (approx. 750 m away)
[edit] See also
- People's Park (Népliget)
[edit] External links
