Page 115 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Hungary

FUR THER AFIELD  113

. Japanese Garden VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
One of three landscaped
parks on Margaret Island, Practical Information
the Japanese Garden features Margitsziget, Budapest.
a wide range of flora as well Map 2 D1. Danubius Grand Hotel
as ponds and waterfalls, rock Margit sziget: Tel (1) 889 47 00.
gardens and playgrounds. Palatinus Strand Baths: Tel (820)
212 98 73. Open May–Aug:
9am–7pm; Sep: 10am–6pm. &
Transport
v 4, 6. @ 26 from Nyugati
Station.

Bodor Well
This musical well, built in
1936, is a copy of the
original which stood in
Târgu Mureş (today
in Romania). On the hour,
it plays gentle music.

0 metres 150
0 yards 150

Danubius Grand Hotel Margitsziget
This plush hotel, built in Neo-Renaissance style to designs
by Miklós Ybl, was opened in 1873. For almost four decades
it was the most fashionable hotel in the city, attracting
aristocracy from all over Europe.

Princess Margit
King Béla IV (see p40) swore that if he succeeded in repel ling the
Mongol invasion of 1241, he would offer his daughter to God.
He kept his oath, sending his nine-year-old
daughter Margit (Margaret) to the St Michael’s
Church and convent, which he built on the
island. She led a pious and ascetic life, and
at the age of 29 died on the island, which
today carries her name.
The ruin of the 13th-century convent in
. Water Tower which Margit spent 20 years of her life is
This unique 57-m (187-ft) probably the most important monument
tower was built in 1911 to on the island. A marble plaque in the
provide clean water for the nave of the convent church ruins marks St Margit – stained-glass
island’s hotel. Protected by the spot where she is buried. window, Gellért Hotel
UNESCO, it offers great views
from its Lookout Gallery.

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