Thursday, May 6, 2010

Hungarian Parliament

Országház, the parliament building, is the seat of Hungary's National Assembly and one of the oldest legislative buildings in Europe. The main façade faces the Danube River on the Pest side, but the main entrance is from Lajos Kossuth Square in front of the building.

After the Austro-Hungarian Compromise in 1867, a dual monarchy was created, Hungary began planning its parliament building. It was built between 1885 - 1902 in Gothic Revival style.

This thing is huge! It has 691 rooms, 10 courtyards, 27 gates, 29 staircases and over 12.5 miles of corridors. It is the second largest Parliament in Europe (3rd largest in the world). I didn't have time to take the inside tour but I definitly will next time.
The building is in the middle of a huge renovation project. They can't just pressure wash it because it destroys the stone. The back side of the building, facing the river, has been completed which is why the building looks white. The front side has not been completed yet which is why the stone is so much darker.

1 comment:

  1. I wonder why they made it so big when there are only five million of them? What do they do with all those rooms? You'll have to tell us next time.

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