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Note: You can click on each image below to view a larger version.
I've put Vienna and Budapest on a single page for two reasons. One is that I didn't get many good photos from those
trips. The other is that the history of the two cities is closely linked, as the liberation of Budapest from Turkish
occupation in 1686 resulted in it coming under the rule of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty, who had reigned in Vienna since
the 13th century. In the 19th century the Hungarians attempted to assert their independence, and although the uprising of
1848 was brutally suppressed the Habsburgs eventually realised that they had to compromise in order to maintain their rule,
so in 1867 the Austrian Empire became the Austro-Hungarian Empire, with a "Dual Monarchy" ruling both kingdoms. This
arrangement survived until 1918, when the Empire collapsed as a result of the First World War and the separate nations
of Austria and Hungary emerged.
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ABOVE: Typical street scenes in Budapest (left) and Vienna.
The look of the two cities is quite similar, but Budapest felt rather like a backwater in comparison to Vienna.
The latter is a typical modern European city, but very clean and orderly - the fact that it was possible to get down
to the platforms on the underground railway without passing through any sort of control barrier to prove you had a
ticket shows how much they assume that everybody will just obey the rules. Budapest was quieter, had fewer tourists, and
was somewhat shabbier. There were plenty of small details to remind the visitor that this place had until recently been
part of the Eastern Bloc, such as the styles of clothing people wore, the shabby old cars on the roads, and the
brutal Soviet-era concrete tower blocks on the edge of the city. It was very much a city in transition.
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| RIGHT: The Hungarian Parliament building in Budapest. Built in
1884-1902, it was based on the Houses of Parliament in London. |
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| ABOVE: The main staircase in the Parliament building (left)
and the National Assembly Hall (right). |
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LEFT: The Mátyás Church in Budapest, which was originally built as the
parish church of Our Lady Mary between the 13th and 15th centuries and then greatly enlarged by King Mátyás
Corvinus (1458-90), after whom it is now named. |
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ABOVE LEFT: Michaelerkirche in Vienna, which is notable for once
being the parish church of the royal court and for having the well-preserved remains of various 17th and 18th century notables on
display in the crypt.
ABOVE CENTRE: Minoritenkirche in Vienna, which dates from 1339. The tower was originally a steeple, and gained
its current shape when the top was sliced off by cannon fire during the Turkish siege of Vienna in 1529.
ABOVE RIGHT: The 17th century baroque tower of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Budapest. The rest of the building is in ruins.
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| RIGHT: Karlskirche, commissioned by Emperor Karl VI in 1714 to
celebrate Vienna's deliverance from the plague epidemic of the previous year. The towers are based on Trajan's column
in Rome. |
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LEFT: The main entrance to the Stephansdom, the great
cathedral of Vienna. The two towers are known as the Heathen Towers because the site is said to have once been a
pagan shrine. |
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| RIGHT: Looking along the River Danube in Budapest, with the Parliament
building at top-left and the 19th century Chain Bridge in the centre. |
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All the city's major bridges had to be
reconstructed after World War II, when they were blown up by the retreating Nazis, and it is one of the notable
features of Budapest that many of its historical buildings have had to be rebuilt - sometimes several times -
after various wars. It poses some interesting questions of historical authenticity when you are looking at a
post-war reconstruction of a medieval building that was also substantially rebuilt after being destroyed for the first time
during (for example) the 17th century wars against the Turks.
You may also notice that the river is virtually
empty, as when I visited in 2000 the Danube was still largely closed to shipping due to the destruction of bridges
in Serbia during the NATO intervention in Kosovo. |
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LEFT: Lords' Street in the picturesque Old Town area of Budapest, which
also required significant reconstruction after WWII. |
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| RIGHT: Another view over Budapest. |
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ABOVE LEFT: Gloriette, a neo-classical arcade at the
top of the hill behind the Schönbrunn Palace, the huge summer residence of the Habsburgs, located near Vienna. There
is an excellent view of the palace and the city from the roof.
ABOVE RIGHT: The Neptune Fountain, built in 1780 in the extensive gardens of the Schönbrunn Palace. |
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LEFT: Close to the Karlskirche in Vienna, the twin Karlsplatz Pavilions
were built in 1898-9 as entrances to the underground railway. |
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| ABOVE: The Roman amphitheatre in the Óbuda
district of Budapest,
which with its grim concrete drabness had a very Soviet feel to it. The amphitheatre was built in the second century
AD for the local Roman garrison, and would have seated 14,000 people. The two pictures above were taken from
opposite sides of the amphitheatre. |
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