After a three-hour bus ride from Bratislava, Slovakia, came to me in Budapest that afternoon that the weather is quite hot. Summer enveloped Europe in June made the afternoon seem much longer, because the sun is still not willing to leave his bed until about 22:00. However, this would give me a chance and more time to explore the city split this Danube River.

My first stop in Budapest is St. Stephen’s Basilica. Neoclassical style building that is named after the first king of Hungary holds the relics of the king’s right hand in it. It is said that after his death, this hand did not participate rot. Consider this as a miracle, the hand is separated from his body and stored as a holy relic in St. Stephen’s Basilica. The church and the third highest in the country also has the biggest bells are usually rung twice a year, on St. Stephen’s Day (20 August) and New Year’s Eve.

Over the next three days in Budapest, I visited a number of other famous landmarks, like Matthias Church which is a medieval church built in the Gothic style; Fisherman’s Bastion viewing terrace on the banks of the Danube featuring a panoramic view of the river, Margaret Island, Pest and Gellért Hill from a height; and the River Danube while watching the grandeur of the city is on board.

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Vatican Hungarian version

Although now Budapest is the capital of Hungary, in the past, Esztergom who opened a new chapter of the history of this Magyar nation. Also the city where the first king of Hungary, Stephen I, was crowned as the first Christian king for the Magyars.

From Budapest, who drove my car heading north via Route 11 before turning left towards Szentendre. Small village located in the foothills of the Pilis is only a half hour drive from Budapest, so it is usually used as a daytrip tour for tourists and weekend destination for local residents. Because time is limited, I was just a quick stop here to admire the beauty of the village filled with museums, galleries, churches and other beautiful buildings are baroque. The gift shop and boutiques here also sells unique items, ranging from accessories, kékfestés (blue cloth typical Hungarian who began rarely encountered in this country – are usually sold in sheet form, or have been processed into blouses, skirts, aprons, and tablecloths) , furniture, postcards painted, miniature typical house Szentendre, to the antique sculptures and other antiquities.

Proceed to Esztergom which is about 40 minutes drive, my first goal is Esztergom Basilica. The building that stands today occupies a land area of ​​the first cathedral built by the Hungarian István I between 1001 to 1010 and burned in the late 12th century the church was rebuilt, and even survived the Mongol invasion, but destroyed again under Turkish rule. “Painting and iconography of Jesus and the Virgin Mary here was covered with white paint by the Ottomans, but it is precisely this that keep the paintings preserved until now,” explains Endrei.

In the complex Basilica Esztergom is also a bust of Franz Liszt, the famous pianist and composer par Beethoven and Mozart who contributed a song called Gran Mass when the ordination rite of the church in 1856. In addition, on the west side of the page basilica there is also a large statue of King Stephen I, which was baptized by Pope Sylvester, as if ratify Esztergom status as the birthplace of Magyar culture and Christianity in Hungary.

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Crosses Culture

The events that happened in the past made the Esztergom has various alloys culture. Because direct border with Slovakia, Esztergom is the largest base for minority ethnic Slovaks inhabiting some settlements in Esztergom.

Location city not far from Szentendre, the largest concentration of ethnic Serb minority in Hungary, also made some refugees chose to settle in Esztergom. Serbian Orthodox churches are standing on the side of the road into evidence the existence of ethnic origin Central Europe and the Balkans in Esztergom.

While Víziváros, or in English called the Waterfront, a settlement near Esztergom Basilica that once used the Ottomans as their settlement for more than a century. No wonder that here there are many buildings and typical Turkish Islamic architecture, including mosques with large dome and minaret on all four sides. Because there are many hot springs, here also built a hammam which is still prevalent in Víziváros. It lies adjacent to the area known as the Holy Roman Empire at that time also makes the Turks build some defenses now be seen walking on the banks of the Danube.