Tag: Budapest

Budapest

Historic Viking tour Buda and Pest by Bus

Tuesday: August 25, 2025. Budapest 2:00 pm (8:00 am EDT)

Dear Friends and Family,

Tuesday started early in Hungary for Ellen (3:00 am) as she finished the first post about the journey from Boone, NC to the first tour stop of Budapest, Hungary. Now it is still Tuesday and we find Ellen and Charlene away from the hotel on day one of Viking’s planned adventures with a bus tour of both Buda and Pest. These two towns were across the Danube River from each other and were united in 1873 into one city (combining the the names proved an easier task that finding an agreeable name for the new city).

Guide to Historical Buda

A visit to Trinity Square

The Holy Trinity Statue*

*The Holy Trinity Statue commemorates the people of Buda who died during the two outbreaks of the Black Plague (1691-1708) which saw the death 30-60% of Europe’s population. The foundation stone of thanksgiving was laid in 1700 as a spiritual safeguard to keep the plague away from Buda as divine intervention was needed to prevent another disaster. When the plague returned in 1706 the first plague pillar was moved to a suburb of Buda and a grander pillar was constructed. This present beautiful pillar was completed in 1713.

The Church of the Virgin Mary Catholic Church—(locally known as Matthias Church)

The Church of theVirgin Mary

The Church of the Virgin Mary was built during the 13th through 15th Centuries in Trinity Square on the site of a destroyed church founded by Saint Stephen, King of Hungary in 1015. During the Turkish occupation it was converted into a Turkish Mosque with the fall of Buda to the Ottoman Empire in 1526. It was restored to a Catholic Church in 1686 when the Turks were defeated and driven from Hungary.

I will give information of the tour today under each photo.

In the restoration of 1874, the roof of the church was covered with beautiful diamond shaped glass tiles. These were restored after the bombings in WWII by the Germans.
Beautiful restored roof of the church.

Church Interior

Nave of the Church
Altar and the beautiful stain glass windows!
Church Organ and Pipes. Console is on the ground floor. This organ was featured in Frank Liszt’s Coronation Mass in 1867. Notice the beautiful painted walls.
It is difficult to imagine that these beautiful painted walls were covered with white paint during the Turkish occupation when this church was a mosque. Even the beautiful stain glass windows were covered with bricks.

Ministry of Finance on Trinity Square

North West of the square is the present Ministry of Finance. Built on the site of the 1747 Jesuit Monastery. Heavily damaged in WWII, it was rebuilt by the communists and used as student housing.

Tuesday had more activities, but it will have to wait until my next post. Look for the next post, soon.

Ellen and Charlene at Trinity Square which overlooks the Danube River and community of Pest from the community of Buda.

Ellen and Charlene signing out!