Heroes’ Square in Budapest

- a plaza with lost of historic statues and monuments

If you’ll be in Budapest at the end of May do include this event in your programe. Entry is free of charge. In case you’re not really interested in horse racing it’s still worth dropping by Andrássy Avenue where tents introducing regions of Hungary will be set up.

Matthias Corvinus was inspired by Renaissance flourishing in Italy, thus he invited artists, scientists, scholars (Galeotto Marzio, Bonfini) to help establish the roots of Renaissance culture in Hungary. His second wife Beatrice was also from Naples, Italy. King Matthias developed the court in Buda into a stunning royal residence that attracted visitors from foreign countries.

Side of Matthias Church (Church of Our Lady) in Castle District in Buda

A series of cultural events, art exhibitions, gastronomic programs will be organised throughout Hungary including the capital, Budapest.

Four museums in Budapest the History Museum, the Museum of Applied Arts,

the National Gallery, and the National Széchenyi Library (Buda Castle, F wing) launched a joint project titled “4 times about Renaissance”. 4 temporary exhibitions introduce

the Renaissance era in Hungary and the heritage of King Matthias through four different angles.

Matthias Corvinus, the King

Tradition and renewal in the Hungariain royal court 1458-1490

besides Hungarian collections art works from Austrian, Czech, German and Slovakian will be on display introducing the figure of Matthias Corvinus and the life in his royal court.

Date: 20th March-30th June, 2008

Venue: Budapest History Museum

Address: Buda Castle, E building , Szt György tér 2.

Admission: 1600 HUF/adult, 1800/students, seniors free for children under 6 and seniors above the age of 70.

Website: www.btm.hu

The Heritage of King Matthias Corvinus from Gothic to Baroque Art

Renaissance Art in Hungary in 16th-17th centuries

Date: 28th March-27th July 2008, Tue-Mon: 10.00-18.00

Venue: Hungarian National Gallery A building, 1st floor,

Address: Buda Castle Dísz tér 17.,

Admission: 1600 HUF, 50% discount for EU citizens between the ages 6-26, and 62-70, free for children under 6 and seniors above the age of 70.

Website: www.mng.hu

The Dowry of Beatrice

The art of Italian majolica and the Court of King Matthias Corvinus

Date: 26th March-30th June, 2008

Venue: Museum of Applied Arts

Address: Üllői út 33-37, M3 (blue metro), trams 4-6 Ferenc körút station

Website: www.imm.hu

Star in the Shadow of a Raven (Csillag a Holló Árnyékában)

Archbishop János Vitéz and the Beginning of Humanism in Hungary

Around 100 works of art (Corvina codexes, paintings, emgravings, sculptures) will be on display including some rarities like the book first printed in Hungary the Cronica Hungarorum

Date: 14th March-15th June, 2008, Tue-Sat: 10.00-20.00

Venue: Széchényi Library, Buda Castle, F building

Admission: 100 HUF/adult, 500 HUF/studnts, pensioners

Website: www.oszk.hu

A romantic cruise on the Danube is the most romantic way of seeing the sights of Budapest

and the captivating cityscape on the riverbanks.

Find more information and book your

place for the Easter on the Millennium Boat cruise.

What’s more, musical and other performances provide festive atmosphere on the Millennium boat. Kodály’s and the Rajkó Orchestra ’s music will add a nice musical background to the boat tour.

You’ll be introduced to the skills of traditional egg painting and you can paint your own easter egg.

Among other specilaities traditional Easter dishes will be offered at the three-course buffet dinner like ham with horseraddish and mustard, stuffed chicken, leg of roast lamb, various garnishes and vegetarian meals and a selection of desserts and fresh fruits.

Find out more details about the Easter on the Millennium Boat crusie and book your place.

Mangalica is a pig with curly hair indigenouous to Hungary and its breeding has been revived in recent years.
Though mangalica meat is sligthly fatter than that of ordinary pig’s its fat contains higher portion of unsaturated fats than saturated fats which is good news for the health-conscious ones.

Apart from that mangalica meat is healthier it’s much more tasty, too. Nowadays more and more retailers recognise the marketing potential of mangalica products’ health benefits and consequently mangalica sausage, salami and other meat stuff cost much more than products made from ordinary pork meat, even though breeding of mangalica cost less due to its undemanding nature.

So visit the Mangalica Festival to have a taste of fried sausages, black pudding, pickles, Hungarian wines and pálinka, homemade jams and honey.

Sausage stuffing competition, cooking contest, craft fair and folk music are a few selections from the two-day program.

Admission is free. Find more info on the organiser’s website (though it’s only in Hungarian but the photos will surely whet your appetite).

Before only the temporary exhibitions weren’t free. Larger museums however are going to offer certain discounts to keep up the enthusiasm of museum visitors experienced in the previous couple of years.

For example entry to the Museum of Fine Arts costs 1200 HUF but on every 3rd Saturday visitors under 26 and those who accompany someone under 18 can visit the museum for free.

Another good news is that by buying a ticket to one of the temporary exhibitions you’re entitled to see the permanent exhibitions of the museum.

Admission to other Budapest Museums:

• Hungarian National Gallery: 800 HUF and the museum offers the same discounts as the Museum of Fine Arts

• Hungarian National Museum: 1000 HUF

• Museum of Applied Arts: 800 HUF

Further discounts to museums: those between the age of 62 and 70 pay half of the entry fee, above the age of 70 admission is free

Admission is also free for children up to the age of 6, for the disabled and their escorts.

New Year’s Eve Party on the Vénhajó (Kossuth Museum Ship).

No doubt the most romantic way of New Years celebration is on a ship on the Danube.

A 3 course dinner offering mouthwatering selection of Hungarian culinary delights by candlelight, unlimited consumption of drinks (beer, wines, soft drinks, tea and coffee) and a spectacular music and dance show guarantee a memorable New Year’s Eve party in Budapest.

Though the places in the main room (restaurant) have already been sold out there are a limited number of places left in the pub and the saloon, where after watching the performaces in the restaurant you can have just as wonderful time as you would have in the main room (by the way if you prefer less crowd then these two rooms are perfect for you to celebrate New Year’s Eve).

Click to read more about New Year’s Eve Party on the Vénhajó (Kossuth Museum Ship).

Program: starts at 19.00 at the Kossuth Museum Ship on Belgrád rakpart.

Welcome drinks warm up the guests.

Then at 20.00 starts the New Year’s Eve Gala Dinner.

At midnight champagne is served and you can enjoy more delicious food from the buffet.

Live Music Show, folklore program, and belly dancing provide for entertainment.

Price: 26 500 HUF/person

Book your New Year’s Eve Party on the Vénhajó here.

The delay was because the cleaning of the mall wasn’t finished in time.
Despite the expectations only a couple of hundreds people attended the long-awaited opening ceremony. And they were certainly disappointed beacuse most of the shops didn’t open or were busy filling up the shelves with their products.

The rain-soaked and cold mass couldn’t warm up inside the huge building because the heating system didn’t work properly not to mention the closed toilettes.

Hopefully the giant plaza will operate more smoothly than it did on its first day.

Many famous brands have shop in the Arena:

• Tommy Hillfiger,
• Ralph Lauren,
• Boss, Lacoste,
• H&M etc.

Some other trendy brands include: Zara, Pull and Bear, the Okaidi Children’s Clothes.

A handful of cafes and restaurants cater for the hungray shoppers.

Haagen Dazs known for its spremium ice creams has its first shop in Hungary here.

Also Tchibo opened its first specilaity coffee and retail shop offering new product range every 2 weeks.

The festival has a very varied programme so that everyone will be able to find an interesting and exciting performance.

The aim of the festival is to bring art closer to people and the many different venues include the streets and squares of Budapest.

An intriguing programe for architecture and history lovers will be two guided city walks, both taking visitors to two hidden and lesser known spots within the capital:

1. the Kőbánya Brewery (13th Oct, 11.00, and 13.00)
2. Control room of the Kelenföld Power Plant (20th Oct, 11.00, and 13.00)

The two places cannot be visited by average tourists so this is a good opportunity to learn about these two industrial monuments’ history and the role they play in the life of the capital.

Other programs I selected include a whole day devoted to the legendary musician, Frank Zappa (100% Zappa, Millenáris Theatre 13th Oct), Russian Film Days (in Toldi and the Cirko-gejzír cinemas).

Various dance performances, music concerts, and exhibitions make Budapest Autumn Festival one of the cultural highlights of Europe during the 10 days.

On the first weekend of October not only the aromatic fruity Hungarian spirits will be in the limelight but another Hungaricum, the sausage.

Famous salami and sausage brands such as Pick, Csabai sausage will offer a taste of their products in Buda Castle.

You can wash down the delicious snacks with a shot of fiery pálinka, a strong Hungarian spirit that contains all the aromas and essence of juicy fruits, apricot, plum, pear produced in the fertile Hungarian countryside.
Address: Castle District, Royal Palace, Savoya Terrace

Opening Hours: Fri: 12.00-02.00, Sat-Sun: 12.00-24.00

Admission: 1500 HUF, in which a tasting coupon of 500 HUF and a tasting glass are included