Parliament of Budapest

The construction of the 268-meter-long building was finished in 1904. It is worth taking a guided tour or have a look at the Parliament Library, which opens from the Danube side. The unanimous opinion of art historians and thousands of visitors alike is that the Parliament designed by Imre Steindl is one of the happy exceptions of historical eclecticism.

The style of the exterior recalls Gothic Revival, which developed in England in the 1830's. A foremost example of this style is Ch. Barry's and A.W. Pugin's masterpiece, the Parliament in London. Steindl too was unafraid to introduce new elements where the functionality of the building required. For instance, he introduced a form almost unknown in gothic, the dome, and placed it at the core of his monumental work. Similarly, when organizing the internal spaces he utilized principles borrowed from renaissance and baroque the greatest example being the main staircase which leads to the dome. „I didn't want to create a new architectural style for the Parliament, he confessed upon accepting his academic chair, „because I couldn't balance a building that has to stand for hundreds of years with ephemeral details. I have tried modestly and carefully, as is required by art, to bring a national and unique spirit to this magnificent medieval style. On 12 October 1885 ground was broken on the quay at Tömő square in the Lipót district. With an average of 1000 workers laboring at any one time, the building took 17 years to complete. It was the greatest investment of the time. Because the builders strove to use whenever possible Hungarian materials, Hungarian techniques, and Hungarian master craftsmen, entire industries flourished. The total cost ballooned from 18.5 million to 38 million gold crowns. Around 176,000 cubicmeters of earth was moved and 40 million bricks were used. In addition, more than half a million ornamental stones were carved for the wall decorations. (Unfortunately, the soft limestone employed quickly began to corrode and is now being constantly replaced by harder stone.) The building is 268 m long, 123 m wide across the center, has a dome 96 m high and covers 18,000 square meters of surface area and 473,000 cubic meters of space. The building stands on a 2-5 m thick gigantic concrete foundation. 90 statues and the coats-of-arms of various cities and counties adorn the exterior while on the inner walls can be found 152 statues and motives of national fauna. Nearly 40 kg of 22-23 karat gold was used for decorations.

The building has 27 gates, 29 interior staircases and 13 personal and service elevators. Around 50 five story apartment buildings could fit into the Parliament which gives the vistor a notion of its size. Aesthetically the main facade faces the Danube, but the offical main entrances lies on Kossuth square. The building with its symmetrical structure conforms to the functions of a bicameral parliament. Just like the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., the northern and southern wings of the building each serves one house of the legislature. They are connected by an enormous dome hall, which was once the site of unified sessions. Since the end of World War II the building has also been the host of the executive branch. The northern wing houses the offices of the Prime Minister, while the southern wing contains those of the Pesident of the Republic. And in the corner rooms of the northern wing the Speaker of the Parliament has his offices.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Parlament
• Parliament
• Budapest
• Hungary
• House of People
• Országház

[CroMarduk]

Budapest is just strikingly beautiful

[rahotep101]

Magnificent building. Gothic revival needs reviving...