The Church of Mary Magdalene served the population in the northern part of the castle district for nearly 700 years, until a bomb hit it during the Second World War. The church was never completely restored from its ruins, only its Gothic tower was reconstructed.
From the bank of the Danube, you can get up to the Buda Castle District in just a few minutes with a very special, rope-tow railway vehicle: the funicular. Two of its cars, Gellért and Margit, are on a shuttle service: while one is being pulled up by a cable to the Sándor Palace, the other is being lowered to...
There was probably a church on the site of the Matthias Church for a thousand years. Today it is referred to as the Matthias Church, because the building won its brilliant splendor under King Matthias.
The Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden is more than 150 years old. Its first giraffe was received from King Franz Joseph I of Hungary, with the encouragement of his wife, Queen Elizabeth! Most of its ornate buildings, including the main entrance decorated with animal sculptures and covered with Zsolnay tiles, were erected about a hundred years ago.
During the Second World War, in 1945, the retreating German army, together with the other Danube bridges in Budapest, blew up the Freedom Bridge. Shortly afterwards, the Soviets began to remove the damaged parts and, as a temporary solution, added a so-called pontoon bridge to the remaining part. Restoration of the Freedom Bridge began in 1946.
The Hungarian poet, Ferenc Kölcsey, wrote the lyrics of the national anthem. It is a prayer asking God to help the Hungarian people to have a happier life. It is a soft, slow and sad melody.
