The Hungarian Parliament Building ( hu, Országház , which translates to "House of the Country" or "House of the Nation"), also known as the Parliament of Budapest after its location, is the seat of the

National Assembly of Hungary The National Assembly ( hu, Országgyűlés, lit=Country Assembly) is the parliament of Hungary. The unicameral body consists of 199 (386 between 1990 and 2014) members elected to 4-year terms. Election of members is done using a semi-proporti ...

, a notable

landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or f ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

, and a popular tourist destination in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

. It is situated on

Kossuth Square Kossuth Lajos Square ( hu, Kossuth Lajos tér), also known as Kossuth Square (), is a city square situated in the Lipótváros neighbourhood of Budapest, Hungary, on the bank of the Danube. Its most notable landmark is the Hungarian Parliame ...

in the Pest side of the city, on the eastern bank of the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

. It was designed by Hungarian architect

Imre Steindl Imre Ferenc Károly Steindl (29 October 1839 – 31 August 1902) was a Hungarian architect. Steindl (sometimes called in German ''Emerich Steindl'' or ''Emmerich Steindl'') was the designer of the Hungarian Parliament Building, an associate pr ...

neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style and opened in 1902. It has been the largest building in Hungary since its completion.

History

was united from three cities in 1873, namely

Buda Buda (; german: Ofen, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Budim, Будим, Czech and sk, Budín, tr, Budin) was the historic capital of the Kingdom of Hungary and since 1873 has been the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest, on the ...

Óbuda Óbuda was a town in Hungary that was merged with Buda and Pest on 17 November 1873; it now forms part of District III-Óbuda-Békásmegyer of Budapest. The name means ''Old Buda'' in Hungarian (in German, ''Alt-Ofen''). The name in Bosnian ...

, and Pest. Seven years later the

Diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

resolved to establish a new, representative parliament building, expressing the sovereignty of the nation. The building was planned to face the Danube River. An international competition was held, and

emerged as the victor; the plans of two other competitors were later also realized in the form of the

Ethnographic Museum Ethnographic museums conserve, display and contextualize items relevant to the field of ethnography, the systematic study of people and cultures. Such museums include: List by country/region Albania * Ethnographic Museum of Kavajë, * Gjirokast� ...

and the Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture, both facing the Parliament Building. Construction from the winning plan was started in 1885, and the building was inaugurated on the presumed 1,000th anniversary of the country in 1896. The keys to the building being handed over in 1902, however, It was not fully completed until 1904. The architect of the building first went blind and then later, died before its completion. About 100,000 people were involved in its construction, during which 40 million

brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

s, half a million

precious stone Precious may refer to: Music * Precious (group), a British female pop group Albums * Precious (Chanté Moore album), ''Precious'' (Chanté Moore album), 1992 * Precious (Cubic U album), ''Precious'' (Cubic U album), 1998 * Precious (Ours albu ...

s and of

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

were used. Since

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the legislature became

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multic ...

, and today the government uses only a small portion of the building. During the

People's Republic of Hungary The Hungarian People's Republic ( hu, Magyar Népköztársaság) was a one-party socialist state from 20 August 1949 to 23 October 1989. It was governed by the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party, which was under the influence of the Soviet Uni ...

a red star perched on the top of the dome, but it was removed in 1990 after the

fall of communism The Revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, was a revolutionary wave that resulted in the end of most communist states in the world. Sometimes this revolutionary wave is also called the Fall of Nations or the Autumn of Natio ...

Mátyás Szűrös Mátyás Szűrös (; born 11 September 1933 in Püspökladány) is a Hungarian politician. He served as provisional president of the Republic from 23 October 1989 to 2 May 1990. His presidency occurred during Hungary's transition from Communis ...

declared the Hungarian Republic from the balcony facing

Kossuth Lajos Square Kossuth Lajos Square ( hu, Kossuth Lajos tér), also known as Kossuth Square (), is a city square situated in the Lipótváros neighbourhood of Budapest, Hungary, on the bank of the Danube. Its most notable landmark is the Hungarian Parliame ...

on 23 October 1989.

Features

The Parliament Building is built in the

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style; it has a symmetrical façade and a central dome. The dome is

Renaissance Revival architecture Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range o ...

. The parliament is also largely symmetrical from the inside, with two identical parliament halls on the opposing sides of the building. One of the two halls is still in use today for sessions of the

Hungarian National Assembly The National Assembly ( hu, Országgyűlés, lit=Country Assembly) is the parliament of Hungary. The unicameral body consists of 199 (386 between 1990 and 2014) members elected to 4-year terms. Election of members is done using a semi-proporti ...

, the other for ceremonies, conferences, and guided tours. It is long and wide. Its interior includes 10 courtyards, 13 passenger and freight

elevator An elevator or lift is a wire rope, cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or deck (building), decks of a building, watercraft, ...

s, 27 gates, 29

staircases Stairs are a structure designed to bridge a large vertical distance between lower and higher levels by dividing it into smaller vertical distances. This is achieved as a diagonal series of horizontal platforms called steps which enable passage ...

and 691 rooms (which includes more than 200 offices). With its height of , it used to be one of the two tallest buildings in Budapest, along with

Saint Stephen's Basilica St. Stephen's Basilica ( hu, Szent István-bazilika ) is a Roman Catholic basilica in Budapest, Hungary. It is named in honour of Stephen, the first King of Hungary (c 975–1038), whose right hand is housed in the reliquary. It was the sixth l ...

, until the

MOL Campus MOL Campus is a neomodern skyscraper and the headquarters of MOL Group, currently built in Budapest, Hungary, designed by Foster and Partners. The tower is the tallest building in Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most popu ...

topped out in 2021. The number 96 refers to the nation's millennium, 1896, and the conquest of the later

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

in 896. It is free to enter before 8 am. The main façade overlooks the

River Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

, but the official main entrance is from the square on the east side of the building. Inside and outside, there are altogether 242 sculptures on the walls. The façade displays statues of Hungarian rulers, Transylvanian leaders, and famous military figures. The

coats of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its wh ...

of kings and dukes are depicted over the windows. The eastern staircase is flanked by two lions. When entering the Parliament, visitors can walk up great ornamental stairs, see

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

es on the ceiling, and pass by the bust of the architect, Imre Steindl, in a wall niche. Other statues include those of

Árpád Árpád (; 845 – 907) was the head of the confederation of the Magyar tribes at the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries. He might have been either the sacred ruler or ''kende'' of the Hungarians, or their military leader or '' gy ...

, Stephen I and

John Hunyadi John Hunyadi (, , , ; 1406 – 11 August 1456) was a leading Hungarian military and political figure in Central and Southeastern Europe during the 15th century. According to most contemporary sources, he was the member of a noble family of ...

. The building features

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

and glass mosaics by

Miksa Róth Miksa Róth (26 December 1865 – 14 June 1944) was a Hungarian mosaicist and stained glass artist responsible for making mosaic and stained glass prominent art forms in Hungarian art. In part, Róth was inspired by the work of Pre-Raphaelit ...

. One of the famous parts of the building is the hexadecagonal (sixteen-sided) central hall, with huge chambers adjoining it: the Lower House and the Upper House. The modern

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

and meets in the Lower House, while the Upper House is used as a conference and meeting room. The

Holy Crown of Hungary The Holy Crown of Hungary ( hu, Szent Korona; sh, Kruna svetoga Stjepana; la, Sacra Corona; sk, Svätoštefanská koruna , la, Sacra Corona), also known as the Crown of Saint Stephen, named in honour of Saint Stephen I of Hungary, was the c ...

, which is also depicted in the coat of arms of Hungary, has been displayed in the central hall since 2000. Due to its extensive surface and detailed handiwork, the building is almost always under renovation.

Accessibility and neighbourhood

The Parliament is accessible with Line 2 of the

Budapest Metro The Budapest Metro ( hu, Budapesti metró) is the rapid transit system in the Hungarian capital Budapest. It is the world's oldest electrified underground railway system, and the second oldest underground railway system with multiple stations, ...

and with tram line 2, from the Kossuth Lajos Square station. At the east front of the building is a memorial to the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, as well as the imposing Kossuth Memorial and the equestrian statue of

Francis II Rákóczi Francis II Rákóczi ( hu, II. Rákóczi Ferenc, ; 27 March 1676 – 8 April 1735) was a Hungarian nobleman and leader of Rákóczi's War of Independence against the Habsburgs in 1703–11 as the prince ( hu, fejedelem) of the Estates Confeder ...

. A seated statue of Attila József as described in his poem ''By the Danube'' occupies a site on the south lawn. Martyrs' Square ''(Vértanúk tere)'' is immediately adjacent to Kossuth Square, with a statue of

Imre Nagy Imre Nagy (; 7 June 1896 – 16 June 1958) was a Hungarian communist politician who served as Chairman of the Council of Ministers (''de facto'' Prime Minister) of the Hungarian People's Republic from 1953 to 1955. In 1956 Nagy became leader ...

Postage stamps

The building features on more than 50 postage stamps issued by Hungary during 1917–1921. Some of them are: In 1917, 1919, 15 April 1920, and 1921.

Gallery

Interior

File:Budapest parlament interior 9.jpg, Interior of one of the rooms in the building File:Hungarian Parliament Building Upper House 2015.JPG, Assembly hall of the National Assembly of Hungary File:Parliament Building, Budapest, inside.jpg, The main staircase of the parliament building File:Hungarian Parliament Building 2015 13.JPG, Another view of the main staircase File:Crown, Sword and Globus Cruciger of Hungary2.jpg, The

can be found in the central hall Olvasoterem ogyk.jpg, Legislative library File:Парламент в разрезе.jpg, Model found inside the building

Exterior

File:Exterior view - daytime.jpg, Exterior view in daytime, from a Danube River cruise File:2 Budapest Parliament Blue Hour 7R303385-2560.jpg, Exterior view in the blue hour File:Parlamenti színek.jpg, View of the main façade in the evening File:Hungarian Parlament.jpg, View of the rear façade File:East façade of the Hungarian Parliament Building (Országház) at night.jpg, East façade at night File:Zgrada mađarskog parlamenta.JPG, Rear entrance doors File:Az Országház Pest felől légi fotón.jpg, Aerial of the rear façade File:Az Országház a Duna felől, fentről fényképezve.jpg, Aerial of the main façade File:Hungary-02382 - Statue of Andrassy Gyla (31801365733).jpg, Statue of

Gyula Andrássy Count Gyula Andrássy de Csíkszentkirály et Krasznahorka (8 March 1823 – 18 February 1890) was a Hungarian statesman, who served as Prime Minister of Hungary (1867–1871) and subsequently as Foreign Minister of Austria-Hungary (1871–1 ...

near the south side of the building

Stamps

File:1918 Balaton Ederics 75filler.jpg, A 1918 stamp with the parliament building File:1918 Györ 2korona.jpg, A 1918 stamp with the parliament building

References

Parliament site
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20140502190838/http://budapesttimes.hu/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Parlament_New_Old.jpg Assembly hall for 199 and formerly 386 Members of Parliament

External links

Parliament site
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20140502190838/http://budapesttimes.hu/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Parlament_New_Old.jpg Assembly hall for 199 and formerly 386 Members of Parliament {{Authority control

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

Buildings and structures completed in 1904 Seats of national legislatures Landmarks in Hungary Government buildings with domes