Budapest can be confidently called one of the museum capitals of Europe. There are more than 200 such establishments in this beautiful city, so tourists visiting Budapest will always find something new for themselves. All museums in Budapest can be conditionally divided into "mandatory" to visit and thematic. In our article we will talk about the most popular and most interesting places in the capital.
Museum of Fine Arts
The Museum of Fine Arts (Budapest) is widely known throughout the world. And the reason for this is the amazing collection of Spanish art, which is considered the second largest outside of Spain itself. The museum is located on Heroes' Square. The building was built in neoclassical style. Visitors to the establishment can see all kinds of works of art from ancient times to the present.
The museum has an ancient Egyptian collection, which is considered one of the richest in all of Europe, as well as a collection of ancient works, sections of sculpture and graphics.
The museum was founded in 1896, but it began to receive visitors only ten years later. Its exposition consists of sixbranches:
- The ancient Egyptian branch was created on the basis of the personal writings of the Hungarian Egyptologist Eduard Mahler.
- But the collection of the famous Munich artist Paul Arndt entered the exposition of ancient art.
- The department of ancient sculpture collected samples of wooden sculptures from Germany and Austria. The attention of tourists is invariably attracted by a bronze sculpture (sixteenth century), made according to sketches by Leonardo Da Vinci.
- In the department of graphics and engravings, you can admire two sketches by Leonardo for the Battle of Anghiari, 15 drawings by Rembrandt and 200 works by Goya.
- The museum also has a gallery of new masters, which presents the work of romantics and impressionists such as Cezanne, Manet, Monet, Rodin, Delacroix.
- But the department of old masters is strongly the works of a unique portrait genre. The basis of the collection is seven hundred paintings by old artists from the personal collection of the princes Esterhazy. At the time of the creation of the museum, paintings from the estates of the Zichy count family and from the Buddha Castle were added to these works. Of particular interest are the unique works of the very mysterious Master M. from the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Among the exhibits of this section, the unusual genre work "Chess Players", painted by the Dutch artist Cornelis da Man, stands out. The canvas was purchased by the museum in 1871.
The most famous artists and their works of the museum
The Museum of Fine Arts (Budapest) provides an opportunity for all visitors to plunge into the beautiful world of artdifferent eras. The institution's exposition includes paintings by Titian, Raphael, Giorgione, several famous works by Bronzino, as well as Piotr Brueghel's "Sermon of John the Baptist", paintings by Lucas Cranach and Hans Holbein. Of great interest is the collection of unique Spanish masters Goya, Murillo, Zurbaran, Velazquez and El Greco. The museum presents art after 1800 in a rather diverse way.
Here there are works of the famous French school from post-impressionism to romanticism, as well as canvases of German symbolism, modernism of the twentieth century and works that reflect the main trends in the art of the middle of the last century. Of the most interesting works, it is worth recalling the painting by Eugene Delacroix "Moroccan saddling a horse", Camille Corot "Memoirs of Coubron", Manet "Lady with a fan", Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec "In the dining room of a brothel", Arnold Becklin "Kiss of the Sphinx" and " Spring evening. The Museum of Art (Budapest) is the place to visit in the Hungarian capital.
Ethnographic Museum
Considering the most popular and famous museums in Budapest, it is worth recommending tourists to visit the ethnographic museum. It presents wonderful exhibits that help to better understand the culture and life of the Hungarians. The Ethnographic Museum (Budapest) has been located in the building of the Palace of Justice since 1973. Its exposition is dedicated to the culture of the Hungarian people, as well as other communities. It is one of the largest such institutions in Europe. Museums in Budapest havethe richest expositions, but it is in the ethnographic one that allows you to know the life and culture of people over the entire period of human existence. The exhibits of the museum cover time periods from primitive society to the present. The entire exposition of the institution is divided into topics: fishing, beekeeping, hunting, shepherd's work, animal husbandry, customs, agriculture, musical instruments and games.
Museum exhibits
The Ethnographic Museum is perhaps the most unusual of all the museums in Budapest. Its exposition includes more than 200 exhibits. The museum's collection includes household items, art, a collection of jewelry, clothing, photographs from different eras. Its halls are rather similar to the apartments of old Hungarian houses.
All kinds of items are collected here: from embroidered curtains and shirts to chests, wooden furniture and musical instruments. The museum is in a state of constant development, currently on its territory you can see 247 buildings, but in the near future it is planned to increase their number to 400.
Features of the Ethnographic Museum
The complex is interesting because on its territory you can not only see the buildings of past years, but also plunge into the atmosphere of those times, see the traditional way of Hungarian villages. You can go into each house, look at ancient dishes and furniture, or you can visit outbuildings: cellars, stables, sheds. There are even real vineyards and vegetable gardens, as well as all sorts of pets.
Various workshopson the territory of the museum, they will let you know how soap was made, pottery or winemaking in the old days. But in the buildings of village schools you can see student supplies and furniture.
Features of the Ethnographic Museum
Not all museums in Budapest are as interesting for visitors as the ethnographic one. Skansen is not just a place with strict rules about not touching the exhibits. In fact, this is a real village, at the entrance to each house you will certainly be met by a guide who shows and tells everything. All sorts of holidays with national traditions are even held on the territory of the museum.
Skansen covers a total area of about 60 hectares. It is simply impossible to get around the museum on foot in a day, so a special railway operates here, along which a train built back in 1932 runs. The route consists of six stops. The journey takes about twenty minutes. Visitors pay for a ticket that is valid for the whole day. You can travel by rail as much as you need. The museum is so impressive to all guests that they certainly recommend visiting it to all tourists.
Museum of marzipan in Budapest: description
What is marzipan? This is a sweetened almond confection. It is not known exactly where this delicacy was invented, but in Hungary this sweet is adored, that's for sure. The Marzipan Museum in Budapest is perhaps the most unusual. This confectionery product is so lovedpeople that there are five such establishments throughout the country.
All exhibits in the museum are made of marzipan. Here are paintings from this sweetness, figurines, copies of famous paintings, bas-reliefs, consisting of the smallest details. These are real works of art. The museum works in a cafe where you can try and buy all kinds of marzipan products. An excursion to such an unusual place will appeal to all sweet tooth, young and old.
Museum of Applied Arts (Budapest)
Budapest, as the capital of Hungary, certainly has a rich historical and cultural heritage, which is stored in numerous museums. One of them is the Museum of Applied Arts. It was opened in 1896 (the millennium of the country was celebrated that year). The institution has a huge number of exhibits that can tell about many interesting facts from the history and culture of Hungary. It has several permanent exhibitions, in addition, temporary thematic exhibitions are held quite regularly in the museum. Each of its exhibits has a great historical and cultural value. One of the most interesting expositions of the institution can be considered the Hall of Oriental Art, where you can see a unique collection of unique luxurious oriental tapestries and carpets.
Exhibits of the Museum of Applied Arts
Deserves attention and exposition of decorative and applied European art. Here you can see stunning samples of textiles, furniture,amazing glass and ceramic products. The museum contains exhibits such as Esterhazy family treasures and cutlery, music and jewelry, most of which date back to the fourteenth century.
However, it is fair to say that the museum's rich collection is not all of its pride. Its building itself is of no less value from a cultural and historical point of view. It is stunningly beautiful and made in modern style. Architects at one time made a lot of efforts to turn it into a unique architectural masterpiece. A stunning green mosaic roof, elements of Hungarian ceramics, Hindu and Islamic motifs make the building incredibly beautiful and stand out from other buildings in the capital.
National Museum of Budapest
The National Museum in Budapest is another interesting place in the capital that is definitely worth a visit. It was founded in 1802 and housed in a building designed by M. Pollack. The main part of the exposition is a collection of coins, manuscripts and books of Count Franz Szechenyi. The museum's exhibits are devoted to the art and history of Hungary, and the museum's collection covers a fairly large period: from the moment the state was formed to the nineties of the last century. The musical collection includes Marie Antoinette's harp, Esterhazy's baritone, Liszt's and Beethoven's pianos, Mozart's clavichord, while the portrait gallery contains portraits of the kings of the Arpad dynasty. In the museum you can see a collection of stones from the Roman period and manyother archaeological finds. But the era of the Turkish invasion of the country is represented by medieval household items, jewelry, a collection of weapons. A separate room of the museum is dedicated to the royal mantle, in which the founder of Hungary, King Stephen, was crowned. It is sewn of Byzantine silk and decorated with gold embroidery and pearls. This mantle was presented by the king as a gift to the church in 1031.
The Hungarian National Museum in Budapest currently has over a million different exhibits in its vaults, among which you can see a lot of amazing things.
Instead of afterword
Hungary is an amazing country with a rich and interesting history. There are a large number of museums in Budapest, many of which are worthy of close attention from tourists. If you are planning a trip to the Hungarian capital, be sure to make time to visit at least one or two of them. This will help to plunge into the history of the country, its customs and mores in more detail.
