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BUDAPEST:

Hero Square:

The Hero Square is as the name reveals build in honor of some of Hungary's most important leaders. The featured leaders of the Hungarians dating back to the time of the Hungarian tribes, with Árpád and Szabolcs among others. The square has been the meeting point for many political events, having a strong and patriotic effect on the people.

But the hero square is not all about architecture, heroes and political events. The statue of the column of the square is a well known meeting point where people come to hang out mainly in during the evening enjoying a drink and having a talk. It is important to underline that the square mainly attracts students and young people in general.

For the ones interested in art it is relevant to mention that you find both the Museum of Fine Arts and the Hall of Art, on each side of the Hero square.

The Hero Square is worth a visit when you are walking around in the Pest area of Budapest.

Szechenyi baths:

Just a few hundred meters away from the Hero Square you find the famous Szechenyi baths.

The Szechenyi baths are among the most famous thermal baths in the world, for it's ability to treat various types of illness such as inflammations- and orthopaedic injuries. Many people are using the baths to treat long-term, and in some cases permanent injuries while others use the baths to re-cover from a recent injury.

The baths are divided between baths outside and inside the Neo-baroque building style. The most notable of the outside baths is the ability to play chess while enjoying your bath in the bath. The vast variety of bats are to be found in the indoor baths, where you find the majority of the different types of baths. Besides the baths, there is also a huge variety of saunas and steam baths that completes the whole experience ideally.

The Neo-Baroque architecture inspires your aesthetics while enjoying the benefits of the Szechenyi baths.

The Hungarian Parliament:

Next to the Danube river on the Pest city, you find the impressive gothic-style Hungarian Parliament and was built when Budapest officially was found, which in reality happened as three cities was united to one. Once Budapest was established the need of a Parliament for the Hungarians started to become more relevant, which finally meant that the Hungarian-German architect Imre Steidl lead the project of building the Parliament. The building was finished in 1904 and was build with the help of 100,000 people who worked on the project. When visiting the Parliament building the architecture works as a great explanation on why so many people where used to construct the Hungarian Parliament.

The parliament is an impressive sight from the outside, both because of the size of the building as well as because of the size (the parliament is the biggest building in Hungary). It is possible to visit the building inside, where there are two equally identical halls, with the one open for the visitors and the other open for the Hungarian politicians. We do suggest the ones interested in architecture and history to visit the Parliament.

The Buda castle:

Built in 1265 the story of the Buda castle is a story about a castle that suffered many invasions and two major sieges that lead to two major reconstructions. During the Turkish rule of Budapest, the Turks mainly used the castle for what they found necessary, which mainly was to store weapons. The military strategic importance of the castle meant that the Christian forces that tried to recapture the castle in several efforts attacked the castle which costed fatal damage on the castle during the last siege in 1684. Once the city was in Christian hands a reconstruction of the castle started. As a result of the many eras of reconstruction the castle combined Baroque, Renaissance and Rococo architecture. The second siege of the Buda castle was as destructive as the first, but this time the Hungarians were the ones that were attacked, when they in alliance with the Germans tried to protect the castle. The Red Army didn't give the defenders any chance and launched heavy artillery on the castle causing severe damage. In the following decades the reconstruction took place, which resulted in the current impressive 300 meter long castle. The Buda castle that we can experience in our times is respecting its past and has restored the glory that the castle was supposed to gain by being placed on the castle hill. Since 1987 found the Buda Castle can be found on the Unesco world Heritage List. On the castle you do furthermore have the chance to visit Budapest history Museum and of course the impressive view to the Pest city of the city.

The Fisherman's Bastion:

Another impressive piece of architecture placed on the castle hill is the Fisherman's bastion, that every year is impressing the many visitors with its unique neo-gothic architecture. The Fisherman's bastion was finished in 1902. The trademark of the Fisherman's Bastion are the seven towers that are build in the memory of the seven Hungarian tribes that decided to settle in the region. Despite the strong European cultural aura of the modern days Hungary, the heritage of the Hungarian people is from Central Asia.

But it is not all about history at the Fisherman's Bastion. View is a key word that shouldn't be forgotten once talking about the Fisherman's Bastion. Its position on the castle hill is providing the chance to enjoy an impressive view over the Danube river and the Pest side of Budapest.

Matthias church:

Right next to the Fisherman's Bastion it is possible to see the Matthias Church, it is so close to the Bastion that the Church seems as a part of the Fisherman's Bastion. The combination of the Fisherman's Bastion and the Matthias Church can be seen as a trip through the history of the Hungarian people, from central Asian tribe to a Christian nation in central Europe.

The history of the Matthias church is dating back from the 11th century with and originally named after mother Christ. The church did suffer severe damage mainly when the Mongol tribes invades Hungary and later on when the Turks settled around Budapest. During the Mongol invasion the church was damaged, while the Turks used the church is the main mosque of the City. While the Turks were approaching to the City the Hungarians hided a statue of mother Christ within the walls of the church, in order to avoid the fact that the Turks would destroy it. This proved to be a very wise choice, since the Statue weren't discovered by the Turks. When the Christian League attacked the Turks, they decided to attack strike the Church. During their siege of the church, the hidden statue appeared in front of the Turks, which scared the Turks forcing them to flee. This event is of course legendary in the history of Budapest. All these battles resulted in severe damages of the church. The restoration of the church didn't succeed completely before the beginning of the 19th where it received it's current Baroque building style. The church received its current name as an honor to King Matthias that in the 19th century, since he was the man that demanded a major restoration of the church, which mainly including a restoration of the south tower.

PRAGUE:

The Prague castle:

Many people know the Prague castle but once you arrive at the Castle you realize that it is a part of a castle complex and it is therefore more correct to call it the Prague Castle Complex. The castle complex of Prague is the largest in the world with an estimated area of 70.000 m2, and is consisting of a variety palaces and churches. The construction of the Castle was initiated in 870 and finished in 1929, and you therefore also have the chance to see a variety of architectural styles with Mannerism and Baroque styles being the two dominating styles. You can therefore expect something more than just visiting one single castle when you visit the Prague castle.

The three main buildings on the Prague Castle are:

1) Old royal palace 2) The golden lane 3) St. Vitus Cathedral

Royal palace

The golden Lane is an area of the Castle complex where you can witness how the locals used to live in Prague with many small houses, where you among others can see weapons and other things they had at that time.

St. Vitus Cathedral is according to some the most impressive piece of architecture on the castle complex.

Once visiting the castle complex we suggest you walk the 300 steps up to the top of the St. Vitus cathedral to enjoy the view over the whole city, which in our opinion is one of the highlights while visiting the castle complex.

The Charles Bridge:

You have possibly walk on many bridges in Europe, while enjoying the views, but not many bridges come close to the Charles bridge since this is a pedestrian only bridge. Therefore you will not be walking next to cars or anything, and this makes passing the bridge an even bigger pleasure. Every year several people are passing this bridge and choosing this way to cross the Vltava river and reach to the Palace. Most people are walking on the bridge during the day, though during the evening the lights on the castle and the other surrounding buildings is simply crowning the experience.

The Charles bridge is the oldest bridge in Prague and the construction of the bridge started in 1357, and the order to build the bridge was given by King Charles IV to whom the bridge owns its name. The bridge is with its 621 meters of length the longest Gothic bridge in Europe and is connecting Mala Strana with the old town.

As a general tip it would be a good idea to visit the bridge in the morning or in the evening in case you wish to have a more calm experience while crossing the bridge. An estimated 30.000 people are crossing the bridge every day, which during busy hours makes it a bit hectic some times.