Page 118 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Budapest

116  BUD APEST AREA B Y AREA

Street-by-Street: Széchenyi István Square

In 1867, a cermonial mound was made of earth from all over
the country to celebrate the coronation of Franz Joseph as king
of Hungary. At the head of the Chain Bridge on the eastern
bank of the Danube, it features many of Pest’s most beautiful
buildings, such as the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and
Gresham Palace. The square was named after American
president Franklin D Roosevelt from 1947 until 2011, when
it was renamed after the 19th-century political and social
reformer István Széchenyi (1791–1860).
No. 1 Akadémia utca was
built in the Neo-Classical
style by Mátyás Zitterbarth
the younger, in 1835.
A plaque shows that in
November 1848 General
József Bem (see p105) stayed 8 . Gresham Palace
here when it was the Prince One of the most expressive
Stephen Hotel. examples of Secession archi-
tecture in Budapest, now a Four
Seasons hotel.

House designed
by József Hild
in 1836

Z R I N Y I U T C A

N Á D O R U T C A
9 . Hungarian Academy
of Sciences
The debating hall of the Hun garian A K A D É M I A U T C A
Academy of Sciences is decorated
with sculp tures by Miklós Izsó and
ceiling paintings by Károly Lotz.

The Chain Bridge S Z É C H E N Y I
I S T V Á N
T É R
(see p66) was built
between 1839–49
and was the city’s
first permanent river
crossing. It was
destroyed by the
German forces in
World War II and was
reopened in 1949,
100 years after it
was first finished.

116-117_EW_Budapest.indd 116 05/09/2014 15:37
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Starsight template “UK” LAYER
(Source v2.7)
Date 24th April 2013
Size 125mm x 217mm