Hungarian parliament building

Hungarian parliament building

Hungarian Parliament Building. Aerial filming. Budapest, Kossuth tér, Hungary The Parliament building, a magnificent example of Neo-Gothic architecture (although displaying Renaissance and Baroque characters too), is just over 100 years old. In the 1880's an open tender was held for the design of the Parliament building. Construction based on the winning plan began in 1885 and the building was inaugurated on the 1000th anniversary of Hungary in 1896, and fully completed in 1902. Both runner-up designs were also built facing the Parliament building. One is the Museum of Ethnography and the other is the Ministry of Agriculture. The Budapest Parliament building is the third largest Parliament building in the world. It has 691 rooms, 20 kilometers (12,5 miles) of stairs and at 96 meters (315 feet) it is the same height as the St. Stephen's Basilica. During the Communist era a large red star was added to the central tower above the dome of the building, but after its downfall, the star was removed. Unfortunately, modern air pollution constantly attacks the porous limestone walls, requiring frequent restoration. This also means that there is a good chance that you will see some scaffolding around the building.The square where the Hungarian Parliament stands was named after Lajos Kossuth, a Hungarian lawyer, journalist, politician and Governor-President of Hungary in 1849. He was widely honored during his lifetime, including in the United States, as a freedom fighter and a bellwether of democracy in Europe. His memorial, as well as a memorial for the 1956 Hungarian Revolution can be seen in front of the Parliament building.During World War II all of Budapest's bridges were destroyed and as a temporary solution a bridge was built between Kossuth Square and Batthyány Square. The bridge, named after Lajos Kossuth, was in use until 1960. A memorial next to the Parliament building marks the site on the Pest side.Hungary, officially the Republic of Hungary, is a parliamentary republic. Its legislature is the unicameral National Assembly, which has 386 representatives, elected for a four-year term. The election system is said to be one of the most complicated in Europe. Half of the representatives are elected in single-seat constituencies, half of them on party lists. The Prime Minister is elected by a majority of votes of the members of parliament. The President of the Republic, elected for a five-year term, has more of a ceremonial role. Technically he is the Commander in Chief of the armed forces and he nominates the Prime Minister. visitbudapest.travel