Budapest I

Buda Castle

entrance to Buda Castle

Budapest is a very beautiful city but on second thought I can say that I prefer Buda the upper part of the city. This whole part of the city is beautiful, and the view of Pest from Buda is perfect.
Buda is kinda intimate. Everything is available, no traffic crowds, there're old buildings, castle, beautiful Matthias church, Fisherman's Bastion, everything is so good adapted to this area, I really have no need to go anywhere else while I am in Budapest. I could recommend several places that I enjoyed in and which I consider to be the most valuable; St. Matthias Church, Fishermans bastion and, you won't believe, in my opinion very valuable funicular which connects upper and lower parts of the city.

Buda castle

There is the imposing Buda Castle as well overlooks the city from its elevated position atop Castle Hill, rising forty eight meters above the Danube. The castle has had a tumultuous history that reflects the ups and downs of Hungary's fortunes.
But almost all castles are the same in a way, I need a break from them :).

The Matthias Church

The Matthias Church

The Matthias Church

The Matthias Church is one of Budapest's most important churches. Many of Hungary's kings were crowned here and the church there're important tombs and ecclesiastical treasures. Officially known as The Church of Our Lady Budapest's Matthias Church, like many of the city's ecclesiastical structures, has a long and complicated history.
Church was built in 1255 century along Trinity Square, in the heart of the Castle District, and was Buda's first parish church. However, the original church structure changed many times as it was constantly being renovated and refashioned in the popular architectural style of each era. The church takes its more common name from King Matthias, who ruled from 1458-90, well-known as a patron of the arts and enlightenment and revered for reconstructing the Hungarian state after years upon years of feudal anarchy.

In 1541, when the Turks captured Buda, The Church of Our Lady became a mosque.
The church was ravaged during the liberation of Budapest from the Turks in 1686. The story goes that during the bombardment of Budapest by a European alliance, a wall of the church collapsed, revealing a sculpture of the Madonna to the praying Turks. The new occupants, the Jesuits, made attempts to restore the church in the popular Baroque style of the era. Most consider the attempts a failure. Architect Schulek is credited with largely restoring St. Matthias Church to its original splendor in the late nineteenth century. Schulek, who also built the nearby Fisherman's Bastion, adhered to the original thirteenth-century plans for the church and also uncovered a number of original Gothic elements lost for centuries. He added magnificent diamond patterned roof tiles and gargoyles, which visitors can still admire today.
The reconstruction was completed in 1896.

Fisherman's Bastion

Fisherman's Bastion

Fisherman's Bastion

Fisherman's Bastion was built in 1905, mainly for decorative purposes. The bastion is located right behind the Matthias Church in the Castle District. It is one of the city's biggest tourist draws and functions as some sort of ornate viewing platform. The Fisherman's Bastion was built at the site of an old rampart that, during the Middle Ages, was defended by the guild of fishermen, who lived nearby in Vízívaros, at the foot of the hill. An old fish market also sat at this location during medieval times. The Bastion was designed by architect Frigyes Schulek and built between 1899 and 1905. The bastion is made up of seven towers - each one symbolizing one of the seven Magyar tribes that in 896 settled in the area now known as Hungary.
View from Fisherman's Bastion is one of the best in the city, a splendid view of the Danube river and over.

Castle Hill Funicular

entrance to funicular from Pest

funicular

Siklo is a funicular with wooden carriages with a history that goes back to the nineteenth century.
Construction started in 1868 and officially opened in early March, 1870. At that time it was  the second funicular in Europe. Steam engines powered the wooden carriages more than fifty meters up the hill. In World War II, a bombardment destroyed the stations and carriages. For a long time it looked like that was the end of Budapest's funicular. Fortunately the Sikló was restored in the 1980. and  reopened in June 1986.

view from funicular

The original carriages have been replaced by beautiful replicas and modern glass stations were built at the foot and top of the funicular, now powered by an electric winch. There are two different tracks leading up the hill and back.
Wonderful!

entrance to funicular from Buda

To be continued.....