City Park (Budapest)

File:Szechenyi furdo-budapest.jpg

The Széchenyi Thermal Bath

File:Mujegpalya Ice Rink.jpg

The City Park Ice Rink with Vajdahunyad Castle in the background

The City Park (Hungarian: Városliget; German: Stadtwäldchen) is a public park close to the centre of Budapest, Hungary. It is a rectangle, with an area of , located in District XIV of Budapest. Its main entrance is at Heroes' Square (Hősök tere), one of Hungary's World Heritage sites.

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– Gundel Restaurant – Municipal Zoological and Botanical Garden – Municipal Grand Circus – Amusement Park – Széchenyi Medicinal Baths and Swimming Pool – Vajdahunyad Castle – Petőfi Hall – Transport Museum of Budapest – Heroes' Square – Museum of Fine Arts – Palace of Art

Name

The area was formerly called Ökör-dűlő, meaning "Oxmeadow". The first mention of the name comes from 1241 in the archaic form, Ukurföld. In the 18th century the area was called Ochsenried in German. Around 1800 the official name was changed to Batthyány-erdő (Batthyány Forest) after its tenants, the Batthyány family. The first trees and planified walkways were established in 1751 and after the public park was created in the first decades of the 19th century the present-day name, Városliget (and its German version, Stadtwäldchen, lit.: "little city forest") was accepted and it became one of the first public parks in the world.

History

The City Park was the main venue of the 1896 millennium celebrations of Hungary, by which time Andrássy Avenue, Millennium Underground and the Grand Boulevard were built.

Sports

The City Park has the largest artificial ice surface in Europe, the City Park Ice Rink, and it's the centre of Hungarian bandy.

The park used to host motorsport events in the 1950s. In 1985 despite the serious plans the city government decided against hosting the Hungarian Grand Prix races in the park.

Main sights

Heroes' Square is noted for the following:

• The Millennium Monument (Millenniumi Emlékmű), one of Budapest's emblematic sights (1905)
• The Museum of Fine Arts (Szépművészeti Múzeum, 1906)
• The Palace of Art (Műcsarnok, 1895)

City Park proper includes the following notable sights:

• The Vajdahunyad Castle, presenting the major art styles and housing the Agricultural Museum today (first built in 1896, in its present state finished in 1907)
• The Széchenyi Medicinal Baths and Swimming Pool (Széchenyi fürdő), one of Europe's largest bath complexes (1913)
• The Municipal Zoological and Botanical Garden (Fővárosi Állat- és Növénykert, founded in 1866, built in its present state in 1912, expanded and improved since several times)
• The Budapest Circus (Fővárosi Nagycirkusz, 1971)
• The Holnemvolt Park (Once-Upon-a-Time Park) is a new family leisure park, established in 2014 as part of the Budapest Zoo on the area of the former Amusement Park (Vidámpark). Besides being home to many exotic as well as indigenous species, it preserves and operates six historical rides, out of which the following four are declared historical monuments:
  • The roller coaster, Hullámvasút, built in 1922 after the plans of Ervin Dragon, is 17 m in height and travels 980 m in five minutes. It is one of the ten remaining side friction roller coasters in the world, and is an ACE Coaster Classic.
  • The merry-go-round, built in 1906
  • The cave railway Barlangvasút, built in 1908 (rebuilt at its current location in 1912).
  • And the Fairy-tale boat Mesecsónak, currently SBNO.
• The Gundel Restaurant, one of Hungary's most famous, founded in 1879 (residing in its present building since 1894)
• The Millennium Salon (Millennium Szalon) in Olof Palme House (1885)
• The Transport Museum of Budapest (Közlekedési Múzeum 1899)
• The Aviation Museum of Budapest
• City Park Pond (Városligeti-tó), used as an ice rink in winter, the largest outdoor skating-rink in Central Europe (1926), with a hall built in 1894. It hosted the Bandy World Championship for women 2007 and the B-group at the Bandy World Championship 2004 for men.
• The Petőfi Hall (Petőfi Csarnok), a youth leisure centre (1985)
• The Time Wheel (Időkerék, 2004)
• The Monument of the 1956 Revolution, completed in 2006 for the 50th anniversary of the historic event
• A spacious procession square (used for several purposes)
• Sports grounds, playgrounds, meadows, esplanades (e.g. one named after Olof Palme), several statues (among others, of George Washington and Winston Churchill), a memorial for Anna Lindh, a botanical garden and a transport park for children

See also

• People's Park (Népliget)
• Margaret Island (Margitsziget)

External links

• Budapest Page on Városliget