Starting 6 November, the Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden’s Biodome will once again welcome a light art exhibition titled Fénydóm 2. This event will run for just over a month, concluding on 8 December.
According to the zoo’s announcement, visitors will have the chance to experience both domestic and international artists’ installations and light art pieces within the Biodome’s interior spaces.
Fénydóm 2 is a collaborative artistic project between the zoo, COLLOC Productions, and Centrum Productions. This follows the successful inaugural Fénydóm exhibition held in March. The November exhibition will feature new compositions with 30 installations from 50 creators, offering a fresh experience compared to the spring event.
The central theme of the exhibition is nature, which, like light, encompasses a broad spectrum—from the microscopic level to outer space, including human impact. Visitors can explore site-specific installations that reveal the power and fragility of nature in interactive or symbolic forms.
Fénydóm 2 will be open daily from November’s first Saturday until the second Sunday of Advent, operating between 4:30 PM and 9:30 PM.
For more details, please visit the zoo’s website, as mentioned in the announcement.
There is a charming little zoo in Budapest with mostly birds and ungulates in a hidden part of Margaret Island. The so-called Mini Zoo of Margaret Island was opened in the 1950s, evoking the medieval state of the place: a hunting ground with rich fauna in the Middle Ages. However, the animals living there had to be evacuated due to the rising Danube water level.
The Margaret Island mini zoo is a common sight for joggers running the Margaret Island track since it is close to one of its segments. The zoo was home to deer, rabbits, storks, and waterfowl before the river began to rise. Now, it is empty since the island is one of the weakest points with the neighbourhood of Batthyány Square on the Buda side. But both have been fortified successfully, PM Orbán said during a morning briefing. Even so, the furry and feathery residents of the zoo had to abandon their homes yesterday.
Sandbags in front of the mini zoo. Photo: FB/Budapest Zoo
According to zoobudapest.hu, 110 animals were placed in safety on Wednesday, just like in 2006 and 2013. Only the deer had to be put into slumber to relocate them.
Photo: FB/Budapest Zoo
If it had not been for the sandbag protection the zoo would have been underwater in 2013. Here is a short video of the evacuation then:
Budapest Zoo does not know when the animals can return
Although the peaking of the Danube will be significantly lower this time, the zoo decided to relocate all the animals for their safety. The 110 mammals and birds received a temporary shelter in the Budapest Zoo, near the Heroes’ Square and the City Park. The action was carried out in only 3 hours by 20 people. Professionals do not know when the animals can return to Margaret Island. A lot depends on how quickly the water level decreases. Based on experts, that is going to take a week.
Photo: FB/Budapest Zoo
Budapest Zoo wrote that 14 floods were above 800 cm since the start of professional measurements in the 18th century. The highest Danube level was measured in 2013 at 891 cm. The currently anticipated peaking (851 cm) is slightly above the 2002 level (848 cm).
PM Orbán inspects defence operations in Kisoroszi in Danube Bend
PM Viktor Orbán inspected the flood defence operation at Kisoroszi in the Danube Bend, in northern Hungary, on Thursday morning, accompanied by Eszter Vitályos, the government spokeswoman and MP for the region, Orbán’s press chief said. Orbán crossed the river to reach the enclosed village by boat and spoke with local residents participating in defence, Bertalan Havasi told MTI.
There are 1,032 people in Kisoroszi which is threatened by the flood, but all of them are safe thanks to effective and successful defence operations, the prime minister said.
Orban and Vitalyos then travelled on to Pócsmegyer, a village on the Szentendre Island, and inspected flood protection. Orbán was briefed by water management officials in charge of local defence operations, said Havasi.
PM Orbán in Kisoroszi. Photo: MTI
Read also:
Budapest metro station to close, flood situation is ‘serious’ – PHOTOS and details HERE
Hungarian town cut off, free calls, mobile internet and motorway: flood news round-up, photos and video in THISarticle
In 2024, The Night of Zoos will take place on 30 August. This is the time of the year when animals will be the main attraction for one evening, with guided tours, animal shows, feeding sessions, concerts, and various other activities happening in zoos and wildlife parks across the country.
The Night of Zoos is an annual tradition held every year on the last Friday of summer. This year, it falls on 30 August, when zoos and wildlife parks nationwide will offer special evening experiences, unique programs, and attractions.
Hungary is home to nearly 50 zoos, wildlife parks, bird parks, animal sanctuaries, and aquariums. Here are a few of them that will be participating in the end-of-August events.
Budapest Zoo
Opened in 1866, Budapest Zoo is one of the oldest operating zoos in Europe. It features classic buildings such as the Main Gate, Owl Castle, Magic Mountain, and the Elephant House, which is covered in Zsolnay tiles. Additionally, the Palm House and the surrounding botanical gardens make it a fascinating place to explore. Notably, the zoo’s hippos bathe in the thermal water from the Szent István spring, which also supplies some of the pools at the nearby Széchenyi Spa.
Source: zoobudapest.com
The program at the park this August includes a seal show, elephant training, shark diving, and spectacular feeding sessions for Persian leopards and lions. There will also be quizzes, various wildlife discovery activities, planetarium screenings for families, an arthropod show, educational presentations, and performances by fire jugglers, mirror animals, and musicians. For more information, visit the zoo’s website here.
Debrecen Zoo
Debrecen’s Nagyerdei Cultural Park, which houses both a zoo and a botanical garden, is also home to Hungary’s only permanent amusement park. Open in 1958, this zoo was the first of its kind to be established outside of Budapest and has since become an integral part of the city and the surrounding forest.
Photo: FB / Zoo Debrecen
Over the years, it has expanded from a small 17-hectare area to accommodate around 900 specimens from 170 species across five continents. For the 13th time, the park will host its biggest evening event of the season, the Night of Zoos, where guests can enjoy a unique summer evening program that showcases the natural and cultural diversity of Central and South America. For more information, click here.
Budakeszi Wildlife Park
Photo: FB / Budakeszi Vadaspark
The Budakeszi Wildlife Park features animals native to the Carpathian Basin. Visitors can explore the forest school, petting zoo, farmyard, event centre, and adventure park. In late summer and early autumn, guided tours offer the chance to hear deer bellowing at night. This August, the night-time program will provide a glimpse into the world of the night forest, the lives of the animals after dark, and a range of other fascinating activities. For more details, click here.
Veresegyház Bear Sanctuary
Photo: FB / Veresegyházi Medveotthon
At the 5.5-hectare Bear Sanctuary in Veresegyháza, visitors can see bears, wolves, reindeer, and many other species. One of the park’s main attractions is the opportunity to feed bears honey through the fence using giant wooden spoons.
On 30 August, the sanctuary will offer a variety of activities, feedings, and unique attractions for visitors, including introductions to bears, lions, snout bears, and raccoons, as well as astronomy-related activities. For more details, see the program’s website here.
Tropicarium and Oceanarium Budapest
Photo: www.facebook.com/tropicarium
Located in Campona, a mall in Budapest’s 22nd district, the Tropicarium houses hundreds of species of tropical, marine, freshwater, and domestic animals across its eight rooms. Optional activities include feeding monitor lizards or petting stingrays. The experience is enhanced by tropical rain that falls every 15 minutes, creating a perfect illusion of being in the tropics. On 30 August, starting at 6:00 PM, there will be presentations and feeding sessions for zebra sharks, moray eels, stingrays, and caimans, among others. Visitors will also have the opportunity to pet snakes as part of the programme, which you can check out here.
Read also:
Keleti railway station’s 140th anniversary to be celebrated with special programmes – Read here
20 August celebrations – Hungary rolls out updated St. Stephen’s Day app – Read here
Budapest is a city of adventure, with a history filled with many colorful stories of these adventures. The capital of Hungary has many stories to tell!
Budapest is a bustling city, serving as the country’s own beating heart. This heart has many memories: a lot of which are quite surprising. There are a dizzying array of stories taking place in it, and it has been like this way for a long time now. Budapest has a rich history and many colorful stories and we’re here to tell you six out of these to depict how life was going a hundred years ago in the capital.
1. Bullfighting at the zoo
Nowadays, when someone goes to the zoo hoping for an attraction, they think mostly of the feeding times and perhaps the seal show. However in 1904, the zoo had to offer something a bit more tangible. They had an arena set up and in a true Spanish fashion, where they held regular bull fighting events. They even had a toreador team at the ready in the staff. Of course, the bullfigthers took on the wild Spanish bulls and not the huge Hungarian grey cattle. Still, the tickets must have been sold in a minute!
2. Pig Slaughter on Margaret Island
When thinking of Margaret Island, the pig is not the first animal that comes to mind. If we mention an animal in relation to the island, it must be the rabbit: the place was named Rabbit Island in the past, before gaining its current name. The island’s namesake was actually Saint Margaret, the daughter of King Béla IV. She lived here on the island in the monastery, as she had vowed during the Mongol invasion, magyarorszagom.hu writes.
A couple of centuries later, another famous figure lived here between 1918 and 1930. This person was none other than Gyula Krúdy. With him, we’ve come full circle, since he was the one who held his notoriously famous pig slaughters on the island more than a hundred years ago.
3. Noon Shot Instead of Noon Bell
Everybody knows about the countrywide tradition that signals one of the most famous Hungarian victories every day: the bells tolling at exactly noon every single day. This has been done since 1456 to commemorate the victory at Nándorfehérvár, when the Hungarian army managed to hold back the Turks. The noon bell is an authentic way of remembering and honoring the past.
However, there were times, when a situation demanded something of a grand gesture. One of these occasions was the turn of the century, when the caretaker of the school, which is now known as Toldy Ferenc Gimnázium, signaled noon with gunshots. That’s a surefire way to mark the time!
4. No Standing Please
Everybody who has been to Budapest has experienced at least once the iconic morning or afternoon rush. This is the time of day, especially during the week, when it’s impossible to find breathing room, let alone a place to sit. However, this wasn’t always the way of things. After the turn of the century, in 1903, a decree simply abolished the concept of standing room on Budapest trams. This meant that only as many passengers could travel on public transportation as there were sitting places, meaning everyone had a seat.
5. Paid Benches
It’s a good thing that a sitting place was reserved for everyone on the public trasnport, because a hundred years ago, sitting on benches in public spaces required a fee. The benches in the streets of Pest were the property of Sándor Buchwald, a known and notable metal and furniture manufacturer. Employees known as “Buchwald ladies” went from bench to bench collecting the fee from everyone.
6. The cherry on top: Pestbuda
Although this is a story from before the turn of the century, it’s worth mentioning. In 1873, when the three cities of Pest, Buda, and Óbuda were merged, the newly estabilished official capital of Hungary almost became PestBuda, since that was how it was referred to before its union.
If you’ve been planning to visit the Budapest Zoo, now is the time. If you’re lucky enough, you can meet the recently born southern three-banded armadillo baby of the Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden.
Just over a month ago, a southern three-banded armadillo baby boy was born in the central hall of the Palm House in the Budapest Zoo. In the last few weeks, noone could see much of the newborn. However, he’s been venturing out more and more lately. Thus, with a bit of luck, anyone can admire him, according to a Facebook post from the Budapest Zoo.
The newborn is still in need of constant parental care: she doesn’t get very far away from Luna, the eight-year-old mother.
What to know about the southern three-banded armadillo?
The southern three-banded armadillo (Tolypeutes matacus) is an armadillo species from South America. It is found in parts of northern Argentina, southwestern Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia, at elevations from sea level to 770 m. The southern three-banded armadillo and the other member of the genus Tolypeutes, the Brazilian three-banded armadillo, are the only species of armadillos capable of rolling into a complete ball to defend themselves (volvation)
The species is threatened by habitat destruction from conversion of its native Dry Chaco to farmland, and from hunting for food and the pet trade.
The Year of the Dragon Lantern Festival (Sárkány Éve Lampion Fesztivál) opened its doors and is waiting for curious visitors until 24 February in the Biodome area of the Budapest Zoo. Hundreds of Chinese lantern artworks are on display for the public to admire. The magical world of light and spectacular compositions awaits visitors from 5 PM to 9 PM every evening until the end of February.
Year of the Dragon Lantern Festival in Budapest
Source: MTI/Hegedüs Róbert
From 16 December to 24 February, the Budapest Zoo is offering a special evening attraction for the public. During this period, with the exception of 24 December, Christmas Eve, you can admire the eye-catching lanterns of the Year of the Dragon Lantern Festival every evening between 5 and 9 PM.
The festival is not held in the Zoo’s well-known area, but in the Biodome area (we wrote about the controversial existence of the Biodome HERE). The place can be accessed through the gate at 16 Zoo Boulevard (Állatkerti körút 16), Lelépő informs.
The occasion for this year’s festival is the upcoming Year of the Dragon, which starts with the Lunar New Year on 10 February.
Spectacular lanterns
Source: MTI/Hegedüs Róbert
Hundreds of spectacular, eye-catching artistic lanterns of the Year of the Dragon Lantern Festival have been assembled into huge images, often five to eight metres tall. Among them are two giant lampion dragons. You can also admire several other lanterns representing the motifs and forms of Chinese culture. Among them are those depicting the soldier figures of the terracotta army of the first Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang, who reigned in the 3rd century BC and whose terracotta army was discovered in 1974.
As the venue for the lantern festival is the Biodome area of the zoo, it is not surprising that the lanterns include a large number of animal and plant figures. The public can see giant pandas, elephants, polar bears, a family of tigers, squirrels and flamingos, among others.
Breathtaking festival recommended for everybody
Source: MTI/Hegedüs Róbert
Open for seventy nights, the Year of the Dragon Lantern Festival is recommended not only for those with a special interest in Chinese culture, but also for anyone who would like to spend a pleasant evening admiring the extraordinary light show. Families with young children are welcome, as are couples, members of the Chinese community living in Hungary, or foreign tourists visiting Budapest.
Budapest’s Biodome is one of the most unique buildings of the Hungarian capital, but it is not yet finished. Budapest did not have enough money to finish the project, and the government froze all money taps. However, the building needs heating, which costs astronomical amounts. Therefore, the leadership of the capital decided to end the heating of the unused place, which may result in the roof’s collapse.
That is what Anett Bősz, Budapest’s DK-delegated deputy mayor, talked about to Népszava, a Hungarian daily. Mrs Bősz said the municipal local government will no longer pay the bills for the Biodome. That is because the government does not give them enough support.
Based on the data of the Budapest Zoo, between November 2022 and May 2023, maintaining the Biodome cost more than HUF 500 million (EUR 1.3 million) even though it is used for almost nothing. The income reached only HUF 36 million (EUR 93 thousand). The state started and financed the Biodome project, but they have not finished it. Completing it would cost HUF 60 billion (EUR 156 million), and Budapest does not have the money for that. This is how it should look:
Bősz added that without heating, the roof of the Biodome may collapse. That may mean the end of the hall that was designed originally to recreate the Subtropical environment of the Pannonian Sea. The number of visitors of the Budapest Zoo reached one million in 2022.
We wrote HEREthat Budapest might go bankrupt due to the unfinished building even though it WONa prestigious award in 2018.
The exterior and the interior of the Biodome:
Energy bills of 3 largest city companies up HUF 19 billion despite savings
Despite successful efforts to make savings, the energy bills of the three largest consumer companies operated by the Budapest municipality nevertheless have gone up by 19 billion forints (EUR 49m), Deputy Mayor Ambrus Kiss said on Thursday, according to the MTI.
Budapest’s transport company BKV, public lighting company BDK and the Municipal Water Works cut their gas consumption by 46 percent, central heating consumption by 28 percent and electricity consumption by 5 percent between the last quarter of 2022 and the third quarter of this year, compared with the same period a year before, Kiss told an informal roundtable discussion. The energy bills of these three companies nevertheless totalled 37 billion forints in the period, he said.
“The amount would have been much higher had we not chosen the riskier option of paying for energy at the quasi daily spot rate instead of fixed prices set in contract”, he said.
The Zoo Night, organised by the Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden, is making a comeback with a colourful array of events and activities in the Hungarian capital.
Budapest Zoo Night
The Night of Zoos , powered by the Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden, will take place on 25 August in the Hungarian capital.
The spectacular programme of the Budapest Zoo consists of seal shows, elephant rides, shark dives and Persian leopard sightings. There will also be a botanical show, a snake petting zoo, a horse-drawn sack race and a quiz game to bring the animal kingdom closer to the visitors.
The Magic Mountain will feature an arthropod show with educational presentations and planetarium projections. In the open-air area, you can discover the secrets of the sky with the help of professional stargazers.
Fire jugglers and various musical performances will entertain the audience at Main Gate Square.
Families with children should not miss the Schaftner Carousel and the Vurstli, where face and glitter painting as well as various animal craft workshops will be available. Keeping up with the latest trends, the zoo will also set up selfie and telescope booths.
The zoo will be illuminated by light shows throughout the night at several locations, according to zoobudapest.com. Moreover, the Zoo Foundation will be offering a discounted adoption service on this day, zoobudapest.com writes.
How about the prices?
The children’s ticket is valid for children between 2 and 14 years and costs HUF 4,500 (EUR 11.73). Adult tickets are available for HUF 60,00 (EUR 15.64). Tickets can be also purchased online, but day passes and season tickets are not valid for evening programmes.
During the event, the Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden can accommodate a maximum of 6,000 people at a time.
The festivities start in the early evening at 7pm.
From Thursday, 22 June, Budapest will be featuring several unique cultural programmes. From nostalgia buses, through zoo exhibitions to bullfighting, there is a wide range of activities those interested can partake in.
This weekend, the Night of Museums event will take place, for which BKK (Budapest Transport Centre) has prepared special vehicles. On Friday, the Budapest Zoo will offer its visitors various extravagant and family-friendly fun programmes to spend the night with. On Thursday, a new art exhibition is opening up featuring bullfighting motives and Cuban architecture.
Budapest will offer a glimpse into the world of bullfighting as exhibitions on Spanish and South American culture open in the Hungarian capital.
The joint exhibition by the Cervantes Institute and the Hungarian National Gallery will present the role of bullfighting in Mediterranean culture. Simultaneously, the Central Gallery will showcase Cuban architecture.
On Thursday, the Cervantes Institute will support the opening of the exhibition titled “Fighting the Beast – The Bull in Spanish and Mediterranean Culture” at the Hungarian National Gallery. The exhibition will feature twelve significant works of art, including pieces by renowned painters such as Francisco de Goya, Ignacio Zuloaga, and Fernando Botero. Visitors can admire these artworks from 22 June onwards.
At the Central Gallery, the exhibition “Cuban Architecture: the Third Space” explores the contrasting perspectives of cultural creativity through architecture in the decades before and after the Cuban Revolution.
The Budapest Public Transportation Company (BKK) is introducing museum buses on seven different routes for the Night of Museums festival. The buses will operate from 24 June, Saturday afternoon until dawn on Sunday, and there will be no extra charge for those in possession of the wristband of the event. BKK’s museum buses will provide convenient transportation to the festival venues.
The museum buses will cover the following routes: North-Pest line MU1, Buda line MU2, South-Pest line MU3, Budafok line MU4, Old Buda line MU5, Buda Castle line MU6, and Várkert Bazár line MU7.
The Museum of Transport will also run the N36 tram line on Saturday afternoon, featuring the F1A nostalgia tram numbered 1522. Itt will travel between Keleti railway station and Kápolna Street in Kőbánya.
A nostalgic trolleybus, the N7679, a ZIU-9 model will also be operating on the same day. The bus will travel between Keleti Railway Station and Jászai Mari Square, providing access to several museums. The BudapestGO app offers the exact timetable for these services.
Please note that for the N36 tram and the trolleybus N7679, a nostalgia line or day ticket is required, as the Museum Night wristband alone is not sufficient for travel on these services.
The Budapest Zoo is gearing up for Midsummer Eve with an exciting program scheduled for 23 June, Friday evening. On this special night, visitors can expect a range of activities including animal entertainment, light painting, spectacular performances, concerts, fire jugglers, and captivating displays of the starry sky.
The zoo will operate as usual but reopen at 7 PM for Midsummer Eve visitors. The programs will continue until after 11 PM, with access granted until 10:30 PM. Visitors will have the opportunity to remain on the zoo premises until midnight.
The evening’s schedule will feature various animal shows, such as a sea lion show, shark diving, and elephant trekking. Additionally, there will be light painting displays scattered throughout the garden. At the Magic Mountain, visitors can enjoy planetarium projections throughout the evening.
Other attractions include face painting, creative crafts, a bubble playground, love fortune-telling, mystery writing, a bravery test, interactive music demonstrations with boomwhackers, and eco-instrument making. Educational presentations will provide interesting insights, covering topics ranging from otter behavior to astronomy and marine life. Visitors can also experience camel rides, learn about totem animals and fruit-eating bats, and discover what bugs do on Midsummer’s Eve.
Photo: www.facebook.com/Fővárosi Állat- és Növénykert
Budapest Zoo, one of the Hungarian capital’s most famous tourist attractions, will raise entrance fees due to inflation and the worsening energy crisis. The increased revenue is aimed at improving services, Anett Bősz, the deputy mayor of Budapest, told Népszava.
24.hu summed up the interview and noted that Mrs Bősz called the ticket price increase inevitable. She added that the costs would not skyrocket just to reach the price level of the municipal zoos. However, she did not share the new prices.
Mrs Bősz revealed that Budapest would keep the Biodome, but they wait for the government to finish the project. The Biodome was the idea of Miklós Persányi, the former director of the Budapest Zoo and István Tarlós, the previous mayor of Budapest. The construction started in 2018 and should have been completed by 2021. But the project’s costs went over the roof, Persányi resigned, Tarlós lost the 2019 elections and the government closed the money taps.
As a result, the Budapest Zoo has a grande building designed to host exotic species, but the municipal government doesn’t have the money to provide necessary tempered heating. Consequently, the unfinished building began to deteriorate. The project failed due to reckless planning and political reasons. According to the leadership of Budapest, the Biodome construction needs HUF 45 billion (almost EUR 120 million) and at least 2-3 years of work to get back on track.
Here is a video of the illustrious yet unfinished building:
Budapest and its famous sights have been the subject of millions of photos, Facebook posts and blog entries, and deservedly so. One would think we know everything owing to our class trip in elementary school and we only show off the city’s great classics to our foreign friends. However, the tourist magnets still have some surprises.
Divers are searching under the city centre
Photo: Országalbum / NIKZSIG
A few hundred metres from Margaret Island, in the heart of a densely populated district, there is an underwater cave. It can only be accessed by divers with special permit. It has not been fully explored by today, although János Molnár, the apothecary after whom the cave is named, already assumed in the 1860 after analysing the water of the Buda springs, that the caverns in the side of the mountain concealed a sizeable underwater cave system.
The already explored stretch of the cave is 5.5 km long and has a depth of 80 metres below the water level. Its water is fed by both thermal water from the deep and cold karst water from Buda. The processes that form the thermal cavescan still be studied today. The cave contains the world’s largest thermal water chamber with a height (or depth?) of 20-25 metres.
The Zoo is also a nature conservation area
Budapest Zoo main gate source: zoobudapest.com
One of the main tourist attractions, the Zoo is not only one of Europe’s oldest zoos, dating back to 1866, but also a nature conservation area. The first recorded plant is a Canadian poplar from 1910 (next to the South America Run), but in total there are 60 protected plant species alongside the animals. The National Bonsai Collection is also located here. The total notional value of the zoo’s protected plant collection exceeds half a billion forints.
The construction of the Basilica even gave rise to a saying
pixabay.com
If you walk towards the Basilica from the direction of the Opera House, you may notice thatthe church has its back to Bajcsy-Zsilinszky Street. The main entrance opens onto a much less busy square, not to mention the surrounding streets where there is not enough room for tourists during the peak season. Why?
Starting from the foundation stone in 1851 to its consecration in 1905, the Basilica was built for over 50 years. This is the period when Pest-Buda became a metropolis. The population grew by leaps and bounds, palaces and boulevards mushroomed. The pace of this growth can be measured by the fact that by the time the church was finished, it was practically located in a different city, with new centres and emphases. Budapest was built that much faster than the Basilica.
Of course, it did not help that, due to structural and material defects, the half-finished building collapsed in 1868, andthree years were spent only to clean up the ruins. In any case, if a person borrowed money from someone else at the time and said, “I will pay you back when the Basilica is built”, the lender could not expect much good to come of it because by then it meant never. But finally, in 1905, the church was duly inaugurated and consecrated – although rumour has it that Franz Joseph was somewhat anxiously scanning the ceiling during the ceremony.
Some of the statues in Heroes’ Square have been replaced
pixabay.com
Not because they were blown up during the siege, according to the good Eastern European custom, but because in the meantime we have rewritten our history, according to the good Hungarian custom. It all started, of course, with the Millennium celebrations, when the decision was made that a national pantheon was needed to be created here. In comparison, the two colonnades with the statues of the kings were not completed until 1911, and at that time it was the statues of the Habsburg monarchs that completed the line instead of the Transylvanian princes.
However, the end of World War One and the Monarchy, coupled with the Soviet Republic in 1919, did a lot to damage the monarchs’ popularity. The Habsburgs were first taken down – the statue of Franz Joseph was smashed – and then put back after the two world wars, although the new Franz Joseph statue was not replaced until 1926.
During the siege, it was this section that was hit by bombs. Rákosi’s regime wanted to demolish the whole thing, but in the end they replaced the Habsburgs with the Transylvanian princes fighting against the Habsburgs as well as Lajos Kossuth. That is why today, instead of Maria Theresa of religious and educational reform, the great of the nation is Imre Thököly, who fought as an ally of the Turks against the European armies that later liberated Buda…
The names of the former workers can also be found in the dome of the Parliament
Photo by Geio Tischler on Unsplash
With its impressive dimensions and radiance – and of course the crown – the Dome Hall of the Parliament is not the place where you would ever start looking for funny details. But they are there, just very hidden. It was not until the ribbed vault was re-gilded in the 1980s that it was noticed that the royal coats of arms at the base of the points of the stars were topped with names, such as those of the painter Manó Wilhelm from 1895 or the carpenter István Varga from 1949.
And some of the workers of the late party-state era painted their own portraits on the vaulted ceiling of the circular corridor around the Dome Hall, using a photo of the BKV public transport pass from the time. The frames of the SZTK (public health care) glasses of the time look quite funny among the fairy-tale creatures and garlands – a pity that a mere mortal can never enter with their binoculars there…
Nor can the world’s tallest toilets be accessed, which also open from this corridor, with their more than 8-metre-high ceilings. They were needed because only the central part was ready for the millennium celebrations, the side wings with their standard, boring toilets were not.
The Budapest Zoo once used to be one of the first of its kind. 1866 marks the year when our Zoo first opened its gate. Back then it was quite different from the state it is in today, as most of the unique buildings were not built until the 1910s. After several years of being closed, on 20 May 1912, this famous Budapest sight reopened again.
source: zoobudapest.com
The initial years
The Budapest City Park, located in District XIV, had always been a beloved place for the residents of the capital. According to PestBuda, it was only logical, that when in the 1850s the founding fathers were looking for a location where the Budapest Zoo could be built, they opted for the Budapest City Park. It took many years of planning, and of course, the 1848-49 revolution delayed the process, but the Budapest Zoo finally opened in 1866.
The Elephant House with its own minaret, source: zoobudapest.com
The rebirth of the Budapest Zoo
After the Millenium, the 1000th year jubilee of Hungary, the Budapest Zoo experienced many hard years. It was a miracle that it did not close down permanently. Eventually, the capital brought the Zoo from a private organisation and they decided to do a revamp. Thanks to the modernisation processes, iconic buildings such as the minaret of the elephant house, the main gate and the giraffe house had been built. Interestingly enough, all the buildings follow a particular pattern:
Together they resemble the classic structure of a Hungarian town.
There is the church, the town square and other iconic architectural designs that truly make the Budapest Zoo a town inside a city. There is even a “castle ruin”, which is solely a decoration element, and the architect duo designed the bins too. The two main architects behind this impressive architectural layout design are Károly Kós and Dezső Zrumecky who both made a name for themselves with this project.
Old Map of the Zoo, source: zoobudapest.com
The Budapest Zoo has survived two world wars and its popularity remains intact across Europe. Tourists and Hungarians alike frequently pay visits to enjoy the exotic and modern Budapest Zoo. It has a very strategic location, close to such important sights as the Hero’s Square, various museums, the City Park and the Andrássy Avenue.
Read more about the story of the Budapest Zoo HERE.
Budapest Zoo has been ranked 15th on the Sheridan list of top zoos in Europe and occupies the top spot in Hungary.
The unofficial Sheridan list ranks zoos based on visitor experience, the parks’ level of services, and the professional work carried out in the zoos.
Budapest Zoo scored 207 points, putting it in 15th place on the list of Europe’s top 126 zoos.
As such, it beat the zoos in Copenhagen, Berlin, Amsterdam’s Artis Zoo, and several other major European menageries.
The ranking is compiled by British zoo expert Anthony Sheridan, who turned to reviewing Europe’s top zoos in 2007, after a successful business career in the electronics industry.
The Budapest Zoo ranked 17th out of 110 zoos on the last Sheridan list released in 2018. The institution has improved its ranking by two places in recent years, while the total number of zoos included in the evaluation has also increased.
Budapest Zoo
Budapest Zoo enables visitors to discover the wildlife of seven continents in the Hungarian capital. The wide range of animal curiosities – more than 8,000 unique animals – live in the fascinating historic zoo on a territory of 11 hectares.
Photo: www.facebook.com/allatkert/Photo: Budapest ZooPhoto: www.facebook.com/allatkert/
Among others, you can get an insight into the Australian or Madagascar wildlife, discover the America Tropicana and the Savannah Zone or get immersed in the World of Waters. The bravest ones should not miss the house of giant reptiles or the bat tent either, after which they can finish their tour in the relaxing atmosphere of the Butterfly and Botanical Gardens of Budapest Zoo.
Photo: facebook.com/allatkert
In the wintertime, the zoo is open from Monday to Sunday from 6 am to 4 pm. Tickets – adult tickets cost HUF 3,300 (€ 10), children’s tickets cost HUF 2,200 (€ 6) – can be bought online or on site.
Programme guide
This weekend, Budapest Zoo awaits its visitors with a special bear carnival.
Photo: zoobudapest.com
At the event, you can see brown bears and polar bears being fed, as well as sea lions being trained. Find more details about the programme HERE.
The entrance for children under 14 years of age in a costume or with a teddy bear is HUF 200 per person. Tickets can be purchased from 29th January at the ticket offices or online.
A Hungarian man killed a swan in Croatia by jumping off a yacht to entertain fellow passengers. Swans are protected species in Croatia.
Croatian news site ŠibenikIN reported on the case. About twenty people witnessed the death of the swan. The tragic event took place in Skradin, at 5 pm on Sunday. The man jumped on the swan from 6-7 meters high, and the animal was fatally injured. One of the witnesses called the police.
According to a witness, the man jumped right on the swan as if it was a joke. Children on the yacht were laughing, and a friend took footage of the event with a phone. The swan was fighting for its life for a few minutes after the incident, but unable to rise its head, the animal eventually died.
Some people on the yacht said that the swan is still alive, and it left. Other people, however, say that transporting a corpse with a boat can be seen on footage currently possessed by the police. Šime Pavić, a police spokesperson, told the Croatian news site that the prosecution is over.
A report was received at the Šibenik-Knin Police Station on August 8 at around 6 pm, and when officers went out to the field, they found out that a Hungarian citizen had jumped off an anchored boat and jumped on a swan. In the evening, a dead swan was found, and further investigations took place.
It was revealed that there was no intentional jump on the animal. No elements of a crime were identified, and the case is now officially deemed an accident.
Damages caused to protected animals by illegal activities result in fines. For damaging a swan (Cygnus olor), the perpetrator is fined a sum of 3600 kunas, while damaging a yellow-billed swan (Cygnus cygnus) results in a 9600 kuna penalty.
Although the incident shed a terrible light on the Hungarian tourist in the Croatian media, Hungary is a country where strict law and legislation is in place against cruelty to animals. It is forbidden to cause unjustified or avoidable pain, suffering or injury to an animal or damaging the animal in any way. The general public seriously judges cruelty against animals in Hungary, and the punishments match the crime.
In 2018 a child visited a Zoo and held a meerkat in his hands but threw the animal away when it bit him. The meerkat that was pregnant at the dime died in the incident. The event caused public uproar in Hungary, and the public severely criticised the child. The responsibility of the Zoo was also a hot topic at the time.
In 2019, Index wrote an article about a woman who killed a turtle at the Zoo with a stone. It can be seen in the footage that the woman took out the turtle from the runway and killed the animal after she noticed droppings on her hand. The turtle’s shield broke, and its organs were painfully damaged. The animal could not be saved – wrote Index. Breaking a turtle’s shield is very likely to lead to the animal’s death, as the shield has the same function as the spine and ribs for humans. Hermann’s tortoise, the species killed by the woman, is protected by EU Habitats Directive and four other international agreements, according to the European Environment Agency’s website. “ By destroying or damaging individuals of such animal species, a crime of natural damage may be committed, which is punishable by up to three years’ imprisonment.” – wrote vasarnap.hu.
In 2020 Telex reported that a man was spending some time at a lake, and his son was feeding ducks when swans came for some food as well. The man, who consumed alcohol that day and got frustrated over the idea of not being able to bathe in the lake because of the birds, went to the animals and broke a swan’s neck. The prosecutor’s office asked the court to sentence the man to imprisonment for torturing the animal.
The Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden has joined the European Commission’s Together for biodiversity international coalition set up with the goal of raising awareness of nature protection, the zoo said on Friday.
The coalition already has some 300 members including nature parks, research institutes, universities, museums, zoos, aqua parks and botanical gardens in 51 countries, it said in a statement. “Adolf Lendl, the director of the Budapest Zoo hundred years ago, already set presenting biodiversity to the public as a goal,” the statement said.
Among Hungary’s zoos, the Budapest City Park facility
shows the most types of animal species and groups and has a rich botanical garden.
With its diversity it is outstanding in international comparison, the zoo said.
Beside the Budapest Zoo, the other five Hungarian facilities that have joined the EC biodiversity coalition include the Botanical Garden of Debrecen University, the Ecological Research Centre of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the Hungarian Natural Science Museum, the Hungarian University of Agricultural and Food Sciences and the National Botanical Garden.
The international coalition will hold a major conference in China in October with the goal to take key decisions on saving the world’s wildlife.
According to the relevant rules of the newer stages of reopening, it is only possible to enter the Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden with an immunity certificate. Unfortunately, not everyone is able to accept that fact.
The elephant statue adorning the entrance of the Budapest Zoo was defaced with red paint probably on Saturday morning. Péter Urfi of 444.hu was just passing by when police officers were at the scene.
The zoo has been open since May 1 and can be visited with an immunitycertificate only. Right on the first day, there was a hassle at the entrance.
A month ago, a man and a woman objected to the requirement of the plastic card proving protection at the gates. However, the staff of the zoo did not allow them to enter under the rules currently in force, and later, the police had to be summoned to the unrest.
At the time, an argument similar to the one now scribbled on the elephant was voiced. As you can see from the borsonline.hu video, according to a visibly upset man,
“It is discriminatory in a negative way”
that only cardholders are admitted.
444.hu sent questions to the Zoo- and the BRFK press office. The Zoo’s response has since been published. Spokesperson Zoltán Hanga wrote:
“In connection with the case, I can provide the information that at dawn today, an unknown perpetrator inscribed ‘discrimination’ in red paint on one of the statue elephants at the well-known main entrance of the Zoo. Of course, we notified the police, who have been at the scene ever since, and we looked at footage from surveillance cameras that also show the perpetrator.”
The main entrance of the zoo is a listed building, built in 1912, according to the plans of Kornél Neuschloss. At the scene, one can find that visitors to the Zoo are clearly outraged by what had happened.
BRFK responded to 444.hu’s question in the following way:
“In connection with your request, we would like to inform you that the Budapest Police Headquarters received a notification on May 29, 2021, at 8:36 a.m., that in District XIV of Budapest, at Állatkerti körút 6-12, the elephant statue on the left side of the main entrance of the Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden was sprayed with paint. In connection with the case, the Budapest District XIV Police Headquarters ordered an investigation of an unknown perpetrator on the suspicion of vandalising a monument, and they conducted an on-site investigation. There have been no atrocities in this regard in recent weeks. ”
One of our readers drew our attention to the flaws in the Immunity certificate system. What would be the right solution? Is a PCR test a valid substitute? We asked different institutions about their policies.
The commenter left us the following feedback:
Last week we visited Hungary for business reasons. We booked two Hotels for three days and additional two days at another location. We provided Corona antibody test documents, translated to Hungarian by a government certified translator. We entered Hungary without any trouble. We received a call from the second Hotel that the booking has to be cancelled if we do not provide a plastic COVID immunity certificate card. Unfortunately, it was not possible to get one. Therefore, we left Hungary earlier than scheduled and could not meet some of our business partners. Additionally, the visit to a Museum was refused because we did not have the certificate card. It seems Hungary is not interested in businesses.
– they wrote in their comment.
You can pass the border currently with two negative PCR tests taken within three days or an immunity certificate from a few specific countries. But what about the different services? The legally appropriate universal protocol would be the following: The Hungarian immunity card is obviously accepted everywhere and based on a unity, these following countries’ certificates are acceptable: Serbia, Bahrain, Northern Macedonia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Turkey, Croatia and the Czech Republic.
But what does the implementation look like in practice? We were able to reach the following institutions by phone, and this was our experience.
To our question, whether only a Hungarian plastic card or a foreign immunity card is accepted, we received the answer that yes, only Hungarian card are accepted. Still, the minors they accompany may also enter. They definitely went for security.
In the Széchenyi Bath, Czech, Turkish, Slovenian, Northern Macedonian and Bahraini passes are also accepted in addition to Hungarian. In this case, a couple of countries were missing, but the trend is at least good. We didn’t ask for a specific country, and it sounded like they were reciting the countries by heart, so we have to give them that.
Here, passes from Bahrain, Montenegro, Serbia and Croatia are accepted. Again, some countries have been left out, but now different ones – which is why we assume that incomplete information is not the cause of the problem. The situation is simply chaotic and not of priority.
When asked, we were told that they had not yet received such a question. The gentleman went over to his colleague to ask what the current status was but eventually said they would accept it if the person asking for the room were on a business trip. What exactly does this mean? Good question.
Here, too, the reaction was that they had not yet received this question. The discussion was audible over the phone, and the answer was yes… What sort of countries are accepted, however, was not clear.
The assumption thus proved to be true. The situation is chaotic. It has become clear that the lack of an Immunity certificate paralyses you in the current state of thing, so without it, there is not much to do right now, not even in possession of two negative PCR tests.
It is possible that the correct information is not available easily or is simply not a priority for the institutions. One thing is for sure: a preliminary phone call will not hurt.
Spa fans flocked to Budapest’s world-famous thermal baths on Saturday as Hungary relaxed lockdown restrictions for people with government-issued vaccination cards.
A queue formed in front of the Széchenyi Baths, one of the largest thermal complexes in Europe, and there were cheers when the doors of the Neo-Renaissance building finally opened to those with vaccination cards.
“You know … some people go to church, others to the pub, while we come here regularly, this has been our way of life,”
said Endre Huszár.
Hungary is reopening more of its service economy as its vaccination program exceeds 40%. Among the businesses allowed to reopen after almost six months of lockdown to those with proof of vaccination are hotels, spas, indoor restaurants, theatres, cinemas, gyms, sports venues, swimming pools and museums.
MTI
Budapest Zoo has also reopened with a new attraction to greet visitors — a baby elephant born a week ago.
Széchenyi Baths customers were able to enter after a temperature check and are obliged to wear masks except inside the pools, steam rooms and saunas.
MTI
“It was really bad, you know, we almost had withdrawal symptoms, we were really depressed … sitting in front of the TV all the time and not moving,” said Marika Horváth, sitting in one of the pools.
MTI
The hot springs along the Danube River in Budapest date back to Roman times. In the 16th century, they developed into a spa culture during the Turkish occupation.
Hungary has recorded over 27,700 deaths linked to coronavirus which is the highest cumulative per capita toll in the world, according to worldometers.info.
MTI
However, the third wave of infections is slowly receding and this, coupled with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s massive vaccination drive, has allowed a gradual reopening of the economy.
Orbán, who faces his first tight election race in 2022 since assuming power over a decade ago, has leveraged the rapid vaccine rollout to try to shore up his support base and reopen the economy as fast as possible.
