Today I went on a tour of the Hungarian Parliament. It is a really a beautiful and ornate building. When originally built the Hungarian government had 2 houses. Therefore it was built with 2 symmetrical sides, one side for the lower house and the other for the upper house. After changing to one party under the communists they did not go back to 2 houses. So one side is used for the parliament meetings and the other mainly for tours and events. Here are some pictures to give you an idea of the grandness of the building, inside and out.
One of the things that made me a bit sad when touring the Parliament was how little women are mentioned in history. The majority of the people they spoke about on the tour were men, from the architects to the rulers. When they did mention one Queen they made sure to tell how many children she had rather than any of her other accomplishments. This is not something that is specific to Hungary but is in most countries I’ve visited.
I noticed this while walking around the city as well. This made me think about other cites I’ve visited and they are often the same. They have many statues throughout the city but the majority of them tend to be of famous men.
For example the statue call Anonymous which I visited while walking with Kuah. He was famous for chronicling the court of King Bela III (r1172-96). It is said that if you touch the statue or his pen you will get inspiration in your writing. So if my writing suddenly improves you’ll know why.
I did come across the below statue of a female while walking on the Buda side. I googled it and found that Erzsebet Kiralyne was known as Empress Elisabeth of Austria, and Queen of Hungary in English. She was also known by the nickname Sisi. There are many museums that talk about her life in Vienna. One of the reasons they have a statue for her in Budapest is that she felt an affinity for Hungarians and they felt the same towards her.
From what I’ve read and heard on tours (including 1 with my Mom) hers is a sad story. She was loved for her beauty and her husband treasured her. She was also one of the more powerful women in the world at her time. But she hated the restrictions that came with the Austrian court and was often sad. It is said that she did like spending time in Hungary more and found the people of Hungary more interesting and intellectually stimulating to speak with.
Kuah and I were speaking about how we feel more comfortable walking around Budapest. It is very casual and people are friendly. We are definitely more of a jeans and t-shirt crowd than a ball gown crowd. That being said I have heard that going to the opera here is quite a fashion experience with everyone dressing to the nines.
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