Széll Kálmán tér (''Széll Kálmán Square'', formerly known as Moszkva tér or ''Moscow Square'' between 1951 and 2011) is a square in
Budapest
Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
. It is one of the city's busiest transport interchanges (comparable to
Móricz Zsigmond körtér farther south), which is served by
a station on
Metro line 2, tram lines 4, 6, 17, 56, 56A, 59, 59A, 59B, 61 and bus lines 5, 16, 16A, 21, 21A, 22, 22A, 39, 91, 102, 116, 128, 129, 139, 140, 140A, 142, 149, 155, 156, 222.
Several buses head for the popular hiking destinations of the Buda hills so this square (with the classic, old clock above it) is a common meeting place for those going on excursions. It can be considered the centre of
Buda
Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...
, because of its traffic and the several stores around it, including Mammut, a shopping mall.
Buda Castle
Buda Castle (, ), formerly also called the Royal Palace () and the Royal Castle (, ), is the historical castle and palace complex of the King of Hungary, Hungarian kings in Budapest. First completed in 1265, the Baroque architecture, Baroque pa ...
is easily accessible from here, either on foot or by bus lines 16, 16A or 116.
History
The originally anonymous area became Széll Kálmán tér (''Széll Kálmán Square'') in 1929, named after the Hungarian prime minister
Kálmán Széll. Following the Soviet occupation and the Communist takeover in the country, the square was renamed to Moszkva tér in 1951 under the
Rákosi regime. Following the fall of communist regimes in Eastern Europe, it was debated whether it should be renamed again to the original Széll Kálmán, but initially the name remained.
During the first part of the
1956 revolution Soviet troops (who at the time were stationed in the western part of the country, near
Székesfehérvár
Székesfehérvár (; ; ; ; Serbian language, Serbian: ''Стони Београд''; ), known colloquially as Fehérvár (), is a city in central Hungary, and the country's ninth-largest city. It is the Regions of Hungary, regional capital of C ...
) tried to capture the city, attacking towards this square. This first attempt was unsuccessful and the country was free until the November 1956 Soviet invasion.
On March 26, 2011, the City Council of Budapest, restored the original name of the square, ''Széll Kálmán tér''.
In 2011, a renovation of the square was planned, with a budget of three billion forints.
[BKK (Budapest Transportation Office) official websit]
Széll Kálmán tér átalakítása
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On January 21, 2015, renovations of Széll Kálmán tér began. The reconstruction work was completed in 2016 and introduced a modern design, high quality services and a greener, more integrated public space.
An amount of HUF 5.3 billion, provided from government, EU and municipal funds, is at the disposal of the Municipality of Budapest. The reconstruction work activities will last till the spring of 2016, taking place in several phases, in some cases causing occasional inconveniences related to traffic.
Gallery
File:Moszkva ter posta kozelicivertanlegi.jpg
File:Széll Kálmán tér.jpg
File:Budapest, Széll Kálmán tér, 17.jpg
File:Budapest, Széll Kálmán tér, legyező.jpg
File:Budapest, Széll Kálmán tér, legyező, 6.jpg
File:Budapest, Széll Kálmán tér, 27.jpg
File:Budapest, Széll Kálmán tér, 26.jpg
File:Budapest, Széll Kálmán tér, 23.jpg
File:Budapest, Széll Kálmán tér, 11.jpg
See also
*Moscow Square (film)
''Moscow Square'' () is a Hungarian film released in 2001. It is named after Moscow Square in Budapest
Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of citi ...
- 2001 film named for the square
References
External links
Live webcam onverlooking the squareAerial photography of the post officeMától új utcaneveket kell megszokniuk a budapestieknek
{{DEFAULTSORT:Szell Kalman Ter
Squares in Budapest