Page 87 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Budapest

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r András Hess the leading architect of the day.
Square It features outstand ing Baroque
Hess András Tér façades. Like many houses on
this street, it was erected on the
Map 1 B4 (9 A2). @ 16, 16A, 116.
ruins of medieval houses.
This square is named after the In 1800, Ludwig van
Italian-trained printer who Beethoven, who was then
printed the first Hungarian giving concerts in Budapest,
book, Chronica Hungarorum, in resided here for a short period.
a printing works at No. 4 in 1473. The palace now houses the
The house was rebuilt at the Museum of Musical History
end of the 17th century as an and the Béla Bartók archives. A
amalgamation of three med ieval permanent exhibition illustrates
houses, with quadruple seat musical life in Budapest from
niches, barrel-vaulted cellars the 18th to 20th centuries, and
and ornamental gates. includes the oldest surviving
The former inn at No. 3 Hungarian musical instruments.
was named the Red The Royal Mint
Hedgehog in 1696. stood on the site
This one-floor of No. 9 during the
building has sur- Middle Ages, and,
viving Gothic and in 1810, the Joseph
Baroque elements. Barracks were
The square also Hedgehog on the façade of No. 3 built here. These
Bas-relief depicting King Mátyás on the features a statue by András Hess Square were later used by
façade of the Hilton Hotel József Damkó of the Habsburgs to
Pope Innocent XI, who was im prison leaders of the 1848–9
e Hilton Hotel involved in organizing the uprising, including Mihály
Hilton Szálló armies who recaptured Buda Táncsics himself.
from the Turks. It was built to An original mural has surviv ed
Hess András tér 1–2. Map 1 B4 (9 A2). mark the 250th anniver sary of on the façade of the house at
Tel (06 1) 889 66 00. @ 16, 16A, 116.
7 ∑ hilton.com the liberation, in 1936. No. 16, which dates from around
1700. It depicts Christ and the
Built in 1976, the Hilton Hotel t Mihály Táncsics Virgin Mary surround ed by
is a rare example of modern Street saints. The bas-reliefs on the
architecture in the Old Town. gateway are, however, from a
Controversial from the outset, Táncsics Mihály Utca Venetian church.
the design by the Hungarian Map 1 B4 (9 A2). @ 16, 16A, 116. Relics of Buda’s Jewish heritage
architect Béla Pintér combines Museum of Musical History: Tel (06 1) can be found at Nos. 23 and 26.
the historic remains of the site 214 67 70. Open 10am–4pm Tue–Sun. The remains of a 15th-century
with contemporary materials ∑ zti.hu/museum synagogue stand in the garden
and methods. of the mansion at No. 23. During
From 1254 a Dominican Standing at No. 7 is Erdődy archeological excavations, tombs
church, to which a tower was Palace, built in 1750–69 for the and reli gious items were also
later added, stood on this site, Erdődy family by Mátyás Nepauer, found in the courtyard of No. 26.
followed by a late-Baroque Jesuit
monastery. The remains of both
these buildings are in corporated
into the design. For example, the
remains of the medieval church,
uncovered during excavations in
1902, form part of the Dominican
Courtyard, where concerts and
operettas are staged during the
summer season.
The main façade comprises
part of the façade of the Jesuit
monastery. To the left of the
entrance is St Nicholas’s Tower.
In 1930, a replica of the
15th-century German bas-relief
of King Mátyás, considered to
be his most authentic likeness,
was added to this tower. The Museum of Musical History on Mihály Táncsics Street

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