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Monday, September 19, 2016

Budapest - Castle Hill

Castle Hill is one of those places you could spend a day and barely scratch the surface. This is Matyas (named for King Matthias) Catholic Church - the original was built in the 11th century, but this structure in the late 1300s:




Just look at this fabulous tile roof!

The interior's not too shabby, either:









The church became a mosque in 1541 and you can still see the Moorish influence in the paintwork:












The King's name was Matthias Corvinus. The Corvidae family includes ravens, and the legend is that a raven flew away with a ring Matthias had taken off, so he pursued the raven and killed it to retrieve the ring, so he took the image for his signet sign. Nice story, but his ancestors were using this coat of arms long before he was born.

Outside the church is a column with the raven & ring:

And, of course, a statue of St. Stephen, too:


Fishermen's Bastion edges the hill where Matyas Church is, a terrace of neo-Gothic and neo-Romanesque (with a touch of Disney) buildings built between 1895 and 1902 and restored after World War II, in which it was all but destroyed:









You get wonderful views of the Danube and nearby buildings from atop the Bastion, including the famous Chain Bridge:

  
                    I believe this is a Capuchin church:


The Hungarian National Gallery adorns the hilltop as well. It's a wonderful building with some amazing artwork - naturally I was taken by this fountain with its dogs:


Masked Ballroom by Janos Vaszary

Mrs. Mikos Schiffer with Her Daughters by Josef Rippl-Ronal

Portrait by an unknown artist

Portrait of Iren Bilcz

Still Life with Covered Jar by Dezco Czigany

View from the Tower by Lajos Tihanyi

painting by Cvok Istvan

In Front of a Villa by Josef Rippl-Ronal


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