Only in Budapest by Duncan J.D. Smith

114 District V to counteract the Royal Palace on the opposite bank. Realised pre- dominantly in the neo-Gothic style (and inspired by London’s Houses of Parliament) the work called for 40 million bricks together with half a million precious stones, and no less than 40 kilos of pure gold. Whilst the roofline positively bristles with spires and pinnacles the façade is taken up with 90 statues of Hungarian rulers, Transylvanian leaders, and famous military figures. Over the windows are royal and aristocratic coats of arms, the whole encompassing the city’s leading lights both past and present. The building was inaugurated in 1896 to mark the 1000th anniver- sary of Hungary’s founding. The nation’s millennium is permanently memorialised by the Renaissance-style great dome, which soars exactly 96 metres in height. The building’s other statistics are almost as impressive, including a length of 268 metres, and the inclusion of 691 rooms, 29 staircases, 27 gates, and 10 courtyards. The staircases alone would measure 20 kilometres if laid end-to-end! Inevitably the Parliament has witnessed numerous milestones in the story of Budapest over the last century. During the Communist era, for exam- ple, a large red star was placed on top of the dome. This was removed after President Mátyás Szűrös declared the Hungarian Republic on 23rd October in 1989, from the balcony overlooking Kossuth Lajos tér. It is from Kossuth Lajos tér that today’s visitors gain access to the Parliament – and what treasures await them! Since the Second World War the government has only occupied a small part of the building and so access for the public is extensive. Visitors can walk up the grand staircase, scrutinise the magnificent ceiling paintings by Károly Lotz, admire the glorious stained glass and mosaics by Miksa Róth, and pay homage to the architect himself, Imre Steindl, at his bust displayed in a wall niche. At the heart of the Parliament is the cavernous hexadecagonal (16- sided) Central Hall. It is here that the Hungarian Coronation Regalia is displayed, including the Holy Crown of Saint Stephen, long a sym- bol of the independent Hungarian state (see no. 40). Until 1945 the Lower and Upper Houses met here, a function fulfilled today by the National Assembly. Around the hall are ranged several smaller debat- ing chambers, their window sills fitted with numbered cigar-holders so that politicians could deposit their cigars temporarily whilst going in to vote! Other places of interest nearby: 35, 36, 37, 38, 39