Budapest Museums

The museum of Hungarian Agriculture is the biggest museum of agriculture in Europe. It is located at the Castle Vajdahunyad which can be found at the truly breathtaking City Park in Budapest, Hungary. The Castle was designed by architect Ignac Alpar who used different architectural styles from various eras for the different buildings encompassing the castle. These styles include Renaissance and Baroque, Gothic and Romanesque. Furthermore, the architecture was also designed to mirror several landmark building of the Kingdom of HUngary. Construction began in 1896 using cardboard and wood to build the original structure. Since the Castle enjoyed huge popularity with the locals and tourists alike the city decided to make it a more permanent structure and reconstruction on the buildings began in 1904 and was completed in 1908. The Hungarian Royal Agriculture Museum was opened in 1907 and is one of the must see sights of the Vajdahunyad castle today. The museum has a truly extravagant design with beautifully painted walls, carved pillars, marble staircases, enormous crystal chandeliers and…

The Vajdahunyad Castle is a definite must see tourist attraction located in the City Park of Budapest, Hungary. The construction on the castle began in 1896, originally made of wood and cardboard and was a huge success and a very popular site with both the locals and tourists. It was built as part of the Millennial Exhibition celebrating the thousand years of Hungary since the Hungarian Conquest of the Carpathian Basin in 896. Due to its massive popularity with residents and tourists alike, the city decided to make it a permanent structure. The reconstruction of the castle began in 1904 using stone and brick and closely following the original architecture and was completed in 1908. The architecture of the castle has special importance as it was designed ,by Ignac Alpar, to portray several landmark buildings of the Kingdom of Hungary especially the Hunyad Castle in Transylvania. Furthermore, the architecture also contains parts of buildings from various time periods and as a result displays different architectural styles such as Renaissance and…

The Mesemuzeum (pronounced Mesheh-museum)is an interactive, indoor adventure space for young children to run, play, and explore the basic elements of fairy tales. There is a reception area designed specifically for children that provides a space for workshops, art projects, movie screenings, shadow-puppet shows, and even includes a stage for spontaneous performances. In the entrance, kids encounter a mythic fountain and a climbing tree, while magic mirrors decorate one wall. There is a permanent “exhibit,” or rather play-space, called The Hungarian Fairytale World that demonstrates the Hungarian fairy tale archetypes: A mountain crossing, tests to complete, and obstacles to overcome. The dark and magical forest takes skill and daring to cross, and there are various costumes to help! If the adventurers succeed, they will ascend to the royal throne. Although the museum is primarily in Hungarian, the staff all speak English and are very welcoming and eager to show everyone around. There is hidden reading material for the kids to discover inside, currently only in Hungarian, but the staff are…

A very fascinating part of Hungarian history is located just beneath the Buda Castle Hill called the Hospital in the Rocks. This hospital was built during WWII, when Castle District was part of the Government Quarter. It was largely used when Budapest was under siege from July 1945 and then during the 1956 Revolution to treat wounded civilians and soldiers. Between 1958 and 1962 it was expanded to withstand potential chemical and nuclear attacks during the Cold War In 1941, a section of the 6 mile stretch of interconnected caves and tunnels, was converted into a military hospital staffed from the civilian Szent János hospital. It was then reconstructed and fortified and used as an air raid shelter after the Red Army broke through the Attila Line and encircled Budapest in December 1944. It was upgraded and extended to a nuclear bunker in the early ’60s because of the Cold War. Nowadays it is an exhibition displaying the life in the hospital with wax figures as well as the history…

The Palace of Arts (Művészetek Palotája) is located next to the National Theater found in Ferencváros a district of Budapest next to Lágymányosi Rákóczi bridge and consist of a truly magnificent conglomerate of cultural venues. The spectacular building is part of the new millennium city centre complex which is found along the Danube waterfront as is also referred to by many as the Hungarian cultural centre. The compound consists of the Bela Bartok National Concert Hall, The Ludwig Museum and the Festival Theater and is thought by many to be a new European cultural hub. The three institutions were all built in parallel over a period of just over two years. Due to this coordination the compound has a beautiful look with truly unique architecture which have helped it win numerous prestigious awards such as the FIABCI Prix d’Execellence in 2006 and the FIABCI audience award in 2007 to name a few.The compound was created by the Trigranit Development Corporation and was designed by Demeter and Partners Architectural Office. The…

If you can’t get enough of Unicum – the dark brown, bittersweet liqueur distilled from 40 herbs and nearly 42% alcohol – then be sure to visit the Zwack Unicum Museum to get a real taste of Hungarian culture. The Museum follows the story of a drink and a family that spans six generations following simultaneous struggles of the country and family. The Zwack family arose from the middle-European mix of the Austro-Hungarian empire. They found their obsession with Unicum in 1970. The founder, Jozef Zwack, over saw all the production of Unicum up until his death at the age of 94. By the time of his death, Zwack firm was producing about 220 liqueurs and brandies that were exported all over the world, such as, Vilmos, Kalinka, Baileys and Jonny walker. The company flourished until World War II, when the factory was bombed to dust. After the war, they re-built the factory and in 1948 the Communist government confiscated everything the family possessed, which seemed like “the end” to…

Budapest is a city which contains many impressive museums including the Budapest History Museum. Located at the beautiful Buda Castle it can be found in Building Wing E on Szent Gyorgy ter 2. It contains exhibits which show Budapest’s Turbulent history looking at two thousand years of the city spread out throughout three floors. The museum contains exhibits of the history of Hungary from ancient times to the end of the Soviet occupation. The Budapest History Museum was founded in 1887 on its original location, in 1967 it found a permanent home in the newly renovated Buda castle. The Museum contains both temporary and permanent exhibitions with the theme of the exhibitions following Hungarian history. The permanent exhibits include Ancient peoples, antique cultures, Budapest in the Middle Ages, Budapest in the Modern Ages, The tapestry with the Hungarian-Angevin coat-of-arms, the Gothic Sculptures from the Royal Palace of Buda, and more. For information on the temporary exhibits please refer to the website provided below as the temporary exhibits are changed with…

The Postal and Telecommunications Museum Foundation was established in 1990 by the Hungarian Post Company, the Hungarian Telecommunications Company and the Hungarian Program Broadcasting Company. The Post museum specifically can be found in Budapest, Nagyvazsony, Balatonszemes, opusztaszer, Koszeg and Holloko. The Post Museum in Budapest is currently closed as it is being relocated to a new location and will be open in October of 2012. The Post Museum in Hollokő, a village on the World Heritage List, was opened in may of 1990 in the protected center of the village. The exhibition is dedicated to showing the development of the postal network of the Paloc ethnic group which lived in a number of countries. It also displays postal relics relating to the Paloc people. The Post Museum in Nagyvazsony has been on display since 1968 and it contains a permanent exhibition termed the “relics of communication in the Northern region of Lake Balaton”. The exhibit displays documents and objects from the history of post and telecommunications in the Northern Region…

Budapest is a city of many breathtaking museums; the Ethnography Museum is one of the oldest Hungarian institutions and is a definite must see for museum lovers. Hungarian culture is truly unique and Hungary is a country which contains a very rich history. In order to learn more about that history and to better understand the Hungarian culture the Ethnography Museum is a great start. It is a national museum which was founded in 1872 originally as the Ethnographic wing of the Hungarian National Museum. In 1947 it formally separated from the Hungarian National Museum and in 1973 it was moved to its current location in the Kossuth Square opposite the Parliament building. Today the museum is located in the Grandiose Neo-Renaissance Palace that was built between 1893 and 1896. The museum boasts a magnificent staircase, some breathtaking ceiling-art and very well decorated walls. It contains both permanent and temporary exhibitions; the first entire collection that was displayed at the museum was the East Asian Collection of Janos Xantus. The…

The Ludwig Museum is a museum of contemporary art located in Budapest Hungary and was the first museum in Hungary which focused on international contemporary art. It was established by Irene and Peter Ludwig in 1989 when the couple donated 70 pieces of contemporary art to the museum. in 1991 the first independent exhibition of the new museum was opened in Building A of the Royal Palace. Today the museum is located at the Palace of Arts, Muvészetek Palotája, which overlooks the Danube after it was moved from its original location in 2005. The Palace of Arts is located at Komor Marcell u. 1 and can be found near the Lágymányosi Bridge & The National Theatre. THe museum houses both permanent and temporary exhibitions which are definite must sees and have been delighting art lovers for many years. The permanent collection is vast and represents an overview of universal and contemporary Hungarian art pieces and even contains three significant late Picasso paintings. It also contains significant works of hyper-realism such…

The Hungarian National Museum in Budapest or as the locals call it, the Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum was founded in 1802 and is the national museum of Hungary. Located at 1088 Budapest, Múzeum krt. 14-16, the main building was built in classical style by the architect Mihaly Pollack. This magnificent building which houses the Hungarian National Museum was constructed from 1837 to 1847 in a neo-classical style and had many additions in the form of statues and paintings by other artists since then. The museum contains both permanent and temporary exhibitions which delight art lovers on a daily basis and special guided tours are offered everyday which help bring the art to life. The permanent exhibitions include the history of Hungary from the foundation of the state to 1990 Middle ages, Modern and contemporary history, Hungarian scholars, history of the people of the Hungarian lands from 400,000 BC to 804 AD, the coronation mantle, medieval and early modern lapidary and roman lapidary. In addition to the permanent exhibits there are also…

The House of Terror is a museum containing exhibits related to the communist and fascist dictatorial regimes in the 20th century Hungary and is designed to commemorate this bloody part of Hungarian history. It is located at Andrássy út 60 in Budapest Hungary and it is one of the most popular sites on the famous Andrássy Boulevard. It is a member organization of the Platform of European Memory and Conscience and it serves as a memorial to the victims of the dictatorial regimes which ruled Hungary for many years. The building where the museum stands today was purchased in December of 2000 by the Public Foundation for the Research of Central and East European History and Society and the House of Terror museum was opened on February 24th 2002. The design of the museum was a collaboration between architects Attila F. Kovács (who designed the final look of the museums exhibition hall and the external facade), János Sándor and Kálmán Újszászy who designed the reconstruction of the exterior of the…

The Museum of Applied Arts or as the locals call it, Magyar Iparművészeti Múzeum, is one of the many prominent landmarks in Budapest and a definite must see for art lovers. It was established in 1872 as only the third of its kind in Europe following London and Vienna. The architectural design of the museum makes it a truly magnificent structure to visit on the outside while on the inside the museum displays many pieces of various genres of applied arts. Although the museum has a vast collection of truly unforgettable pieces, including over twenty thousand objects and a library that has over twenty-two thousand volumes, the architecture alone makes it an absolute must see. The Museum has stunning Zsolany tiles on the outside which gives it a colourful look while the centrally-protruding tower houses the main entrance. The Art Nouveau building was opened by Emperor Franz Josheph in 1986 to mark the Millennium Celebrations with construction beginning in 1983. Between World War I and World War II the museum…

Once in Budapest the Hungarian National Gallery is truly a must see, with it’s vast collection of art pieces, its beautiful architecture and panoramic views of budapest which can be seen from its garden. The Magyar Nemzeti Galeria, as it is called by the locals is the largest collection of exhibitions on the history and development of Hungarian art. It was moved to its current location at the Royal Palace of Budapest in 1975 but has been operated independently since 1957. The museum can be found in buildings A, B, C and D in the Budapest Castle District and is just one of the many must see sights located at the Budapest Castle which also houses the Budapest History Museum. The Hungarian National gallery contains both permanent and temporary collections of art which together represent the past five hundred years of art in Hungary, including altarpieces and wood sculptures. In 1957, the collection included approximately six thousand paintings, around two thousand sculptures, three thousand medals, eleven thousand drawings and some…

The museum of Fine Arts is one of the many magnificent museums found in Budapest and is definitely a favorite tourist attraction amongst art lovers. In Hungarian it is called the Szépművészeti Múzeum and is located in Heroes’ Square facing the Palace of Art. The building was built between 1900 and 1906 in an electric-neoclassical style based on the plans of Albert Schickedanz and Fulop Herzog. The museum is dedicated to international art and contains more than 100 000 pieces including all periods of European art. The collection is made up of six main departments which include Egyptian, Antique, Old painter gallery, Modern collection, Graphics collection and Old sculpture gallery. These galleries were put together mainly from older additions such as those from Buda castle, the Esterhazy and Zicky estates as well as from donations from individual collectors. The Ancient Egyptian art gallery holds the second largest collection of Egyptian art in central Europe. The Classical antiquities includes works from Ancient Greece and Rome. The old sculpture collection is devoted…

After the communistic era Hungary (1946 to 1988) also got rid of their statues that the city was covered with. Marx and Stalin and other symbolic statues from all over the city where collected and built up again in a separate area which is now know as the Memento park, a statue park far outside the city center in the district Budafok in Southern Budapest. For easy access there is a bus starting at 11 a.m. from Deák tér (in July and August also at 3 p.m.) to Memento Park which including the ticket costs 4.500 HUF, regular entrance fee costs 1.500 HUF (1.000 HUF for students and Budapest Card holders). There are cheaper alternatives by Budapest public transport, details you can find here. Of course the easiest and most comfortable way to access memento Park in Budapest is by car. This outdoor museum with massive statues is a great activity for warm summer days but also enjoyable in the winter times and it is open from 10 a.m. till…