POWER AND ART

/GOODBYE BUDAPEST - APRIL 2006


"PARLIAMENT - After the Austro-Hungarian Compromise in 1867, in which a dual monarchy was created, Hungary wrote its own constitution. The Parliament was built between 1895 and 1902 and it is said that it was at the time the largest parliamentary building in the world (268 meters long and 123 meters wide). The Seat of Democracy is hosted in a building that is one of the most impressive in Budapest, and surely my favourite!"



"MAIN STAIRCASE - The Parliament building includes more than 20 km of staircases. The main staircase is absolutely stunning"


"DOME - The elegant dome has a height of 96 meters. Actually, 96 seems to be a very important figure in this building; it's said to be related to the millennium commemorations of 1896"


"GOLD - The decorations needed about 40 kg 22-23 karat gold"


"CROWN - When Stephen became King of Hungary on Christmas Day in the year 1000, Pope Sylvester II made him the gift of a crown. During World War II, the crown was taken out of Hungary and was later transferred to the United States Gold Reserve at Ft. Knox, Kentucky. In 1978 President Jimmy Carter decided to return the Crown and so the original Holy Crown is now at the Parliament building, together with the orb, the sceptre and a Renaissance sword"


"LIGHTS AND VITRALS"



"SESSION HALL - An incredibly beautiful gilded room"


"ART DECO - The night club Parisiana (1908-1909) by Béla Lajta has an incredible history. Its name was changed to Crystal Pallace in 1910, Dance Pallace in 1912, Variety Theatre in 1919, Blaha Lujza Theatre in 1921, Studio of the National Theatre in 1925, and later Studio Theatre and Andrássy Theatre. The façade was refurbished in the early 1950s, and the name was changed to Jókai Theatre. In 1962 the façade frieze was demolished and the building was named Thalia Theatre, Bartók Theatre in 1971, Budapest Children's Theatre in 1974, Arany János Theatre from the eighties. The reconstruction of the building was made by the mid-eighties and its greatest achievement is that the old face of the Béla Lajta building was resurrected. It's now the New Theatre"


"THE OPERA HOUSE was designed by Miklós Ybl (1878-1884) in Renaissance style and Ferenc Erkel conducted the inaugural concert in 1884"


"MAIN STAIRCASE - The Opera House was reopened after reconstruction in 1984, the year of its centenary"



"LIGHTS"


"OPERA ROOM - The ceiling of the horseshoe-shaped three storey auditorium is decorated with the paintings of Károly Lotz"


"OUR BOX, next to the Presidential..."


"BALLET"

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Alice and Marie were kind enough to give me the "You make my day" award. It’s even kinder, as it’s known that my intervention in blogosphere is not daily. Thank you both for the award!



It seems that the award rules say: "Give the award to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel happy about blogland. Let them know by posting a comment on their blog so they can pass it on. Beware you may get the award several times."
So I'll pass the "You make my day" to:

Ash, Backpakker, Celine, Chris, Irina, Isabella, Ming, Peter, Shionge, Sally and to all others that make my day, whenever I manage to have a blog-visiting day...