The Hungarian Parliament Building ( hu, Országház , which translates to "House of the Country" or "House of the Nation"), also known as the Parliament of Budapest after its location, is the seat of the National Assembly of Hungary, a notable landmark of

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

, and a popular tourist destination in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...

. It is situated on

Kossuth Square Kossuth Lajos Square ( hu, Kossuth Lajos tér), also known as Kossuth Square (), is a city square situated in the Lipótváros neighbourhood of Budapest, Hungary, on the bank of the Danube. Its most notable landmark is the Hungarian Parliamen ...

in the Pest side of the city, on the eastern bank of the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

. It was designed by Hungarian architect Imre Steindl in neo-Gothic style and opened in 1902. It has been the largest building in Hungary since its completion.

History

was united from three cities in 1873, namely Buda,

Óbuda Óbuda was a town in Hungary that was merged with Buda and Pest on 17 November 1873; it now forms part of District III-Óbuda-Békásmegyer of Budapest. The name means ''Old Buda'' in Hungarian (in German, ''Alt-Ofen''). The name in Bosnian, ...

, and Pest. Seven years later the Diet resolved to establish a new, representative parliament building, expressing the sovereignty of the nation. The building was planned to face the Danube River. An international competition was held, and Imre Steindl emerged as the victor; the plans of two other competitors were later also realized in the form of the

Ethnographic Museum Ethnographic museums conserve, display and contextualize items relevant to the field of ethnography, the systematic study of people and cultures. Such museums include: List by country/region Albania * Ethnographic Museum of Kavajë, * Gjirokastë ...

and the Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture, both facing the Parliament Building. Construction from the winning plan was started in 1885, and the building was inaugurated on the presumed 1,000th anniversary of the country in 1896. The keys to the building being handed over in 1902, however, It was not fully completed until 1904. The architect of the building first went blind and then later, died before its completion. About 100,000 people were involved in its construction, during which 40 million bricks, half a million precious stones and of

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

were used. Since

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

the legislature became

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multi ...

, and today the government uses only a small portion of the building. During the People's Republic of Hungary a red star perched on the top of the dome, but it was removed in 1990 after the fall of communism. Mátyás Szűrös declared the Hungarian Republic from the balcony facing Kossuth Lajos Square on 23 October 1989.

Features

The Parliament Building is built in the

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style; it has a symmetrical façade and a central dome. The dome is

Renaissance Revival architecture Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range ...

. The parliament is also largely symmetrical from the inside, with two identical parliament halls on the opposing sides of the building. One of the two halls is still in use today for sessions of the Hungarian National Assembly, the other for ceremonies, conferences, and guided tours. It is long and wide. Its interior includes 10 courtyards, 13 passenger and freight

elevator An elevator or lift is a cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or decks of a building, vessel, or other structure. They ...

s, 27 gates, 29 staircases and 691 rooms (which includes more than 200 offices). With its height of , it used to be one of the two tallest buildings in Budapest, along with

Saint Stephen's Basilica St. Stephen's Basilica ( hu, Szent István-bazilika ) is a Roman Catholic basilica in Budapest, Hungary. It is named in honour of Stephen, the first King of Hungary (c 975–1038), whose right hand is housed in the reliquary. It was the sixth la ...

, until the MOL Campus topped out in 2021. The number 96 refers to the nation's millennium, 1896, and the conquest of the later

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coronation of the Hungarian monarch, c ...

in 896. It is free to enter before 8 am. The main façade overlooks the River Danube, but the official main entrance is from the square on the east side of the building. Inside and outside, there are altogether 242 sculptures on the walls. The façade displays statues of Hungarian rulers, Transylvanian leaders, and famous military figures. The

coats of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in i ...

of kings and dukes are depicted over the windows. The eastern staircase is flanked by two lions. When entering the Parliament, visitors can walk up great ornamental stairs, see

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plast ...

es on the ceiling, and pass by the bust of the architect, Imre Steindl, in a wall niche. Other statues include those of Árpád, Stephen I and John Hunyadi. The building features stained glass and glass mosaics by

Miksa Róth Miksa Róth (26 December 1865 – 14 June 1944) was a Hungarian mosaicist and stained glass artist responsible for making mosaic and stained glass prominent art forms in Hungarian art. In part, Róth was inspired by the work of Pre-Raphaelit ...

. One of the famous parts of the building is the hexadecagonal (sixteen-sided) central hall, with huge chambers adjoining it: the Lower House and the Upper House. The modern

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the r ...

and meets in the Lower House, while the Upper House is used as a conference and meeting room. The Holy Crown of Hungary, which is also depicted in the

coat of arms of Hungary The coat of arms of Hungary ( hu, Magyarország címere) was adopted on 3 July 1990, after the end of communist rule. The arms have been used before, both with and without the Holy Crown of Hungary, sometimes as part of a larger, more comp ...

, has been displayed in the central hall since 2000. Due to its extensive surface and detailed handiwork, the building is almost always under renovation.

Accessibility and neighbourhood

The Parliament is accessible with Line 2 of the Budapest Metro and with tram line 2, from the Kossuth Lajos Square station. At the east front of the building is a memorial to the

1956 Hungarian Revolution The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hung ...

, as well as the imposing Kossuth Memorial and the equestrian statue of

Francis II Rákóczi Francis II Rákóczi ( hu, II. Rákóczi Ferenc, ; 27 March 1676 – 8 April 1735) was a Hungarian nobleman and leader of Rákóczi's War of Independence against the Habsburgs in 1703–11 as the prince ( hu, fejedelem) of the Estates Confedera ...

. A seated statue of Attila József as described in his poem ''By the Danube'' occupies a site on the south lawn. Martyrs' Square ''(Vértanúk tere)'' is immediately adjacent to Kossuth Square, with a statue of

Imre Nagy Imre Nagy (; 7 June 1896 – 16 June 1958) was a Hungarian communist politician who served as Chairman of the Council of Ministers (''de facto'' Prime Minister) of the Hungarian People's Republic from 1953 to 1955. In 1956 Nagy became leader ...

Postage stamps

The building features on more than 50 postage stamps issued by Hungary during 1917–1921. Some of them are: In 1917, 1919, 15 April 1920, and 1921.

Gallery

Interior

File:Budapest parlament interior 9.jpg, Interior of one of the rooms in the building File:Hungarian Parliament Building Upper House 2015.JPG, Assembly hall of the National Assembly of Hungary File:Parliament Building, Budapest, inside.jpg, The main staircase of the parliament building File:Hungarian Parliament Building 2015 13.JPG, Another view of the main staircase File:Crown, Sword and Globus Cruciger of Hungary2.jpg, The Holy Crown of Hungary can be found in the central hall Olvasoterem ogyk.jpg, Legislative library File:Парламент в разрезе.jpg, Model found inside the building

Exterior

File:Exterior view - daytime.jpg, Exterior view in daytime, from a Danube River cruise File:2 Budapest Parliament Blue Hour 7R303385-2560.jpg, Exterior view in the blue hour File:Parlamenti színek.jpg, View of the main façade in the evening File:Hungarian Parlament.jpg, View of the rear façade File:East façade of the Hungarian Parliament Building (Országház) at night.jpg, East façade at night File:Zgrada mađarskog parlamenta.JPG, Rear entrance doors File:Az Országház Pest felől légi fotón.jpg, Aerial of the rear façade File:Az Országház a Duna felől, fentről fényképezve.jpg, Aerial of the main façade File:Hungary-02382 - Statue of Andrassy Gyla (31801365733).jpg, Statue of Gyula Andrássy near the south side of the building

Stamps

File:1918 Balaton Ederics 75filler.jpg, A 1918 stamp with the parliament building File:1918 Györ 2korona.jpg, A 1918 stamp with the parliament building

References

Parliament site
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20140502190838/http://budapesttimes.hu/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Parlament_New_Old.jpg Assembly hall for 199 and formerly 386 Members of Parliament

External links

Parliament site
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20140502190838/http://budapesttimes.hu/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Parlament_New_Old.jpg Assembly hall for 199 and formerly 386 Members of Parliament {{Authority control

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

Buildings and structures completed in 1904 Seats of national legislatures Landmarks in Hungary Government buildings with domes