Gellért Hill (aka Gellérthegy) is one of the most characteristic attraction of the capital and the decisive element of the capital’s city landscape. The only 235-ft high hill offers many historical and natural attractions. The steep rocky wall that starts suddenly from the bank of the Danube looks much higher than its true height, actually it would take you 25-30 minutes to get up there from Rudas Baths. Saint Gellért had a prominent role in the dissemination of Christianity in Hungary and this caused his destiny, pagans throw him down in an angular barrel from the mountain and killed him in 1046. The cave of the hill were inhabited before the city was even officially settled, however the healing thermal spring waters attracted more and more visitors and the hill created a natural point of defense. Starting point: Rudas Baths, you can get there by bus 7, 7/A, 8, 78, 86, 112, by tram: 18, 19 You’ll finish at: University of Technology Difficulty: 1 mile / 1.6 kms – around 2.5 – 3 hours with sights What to bring: comfy shoes, water (!), local transport tickets/Travelcard, hat and sunglasses THE SIGHTS 1. Rudas Baths: was built in the 1500’s under Ottoman rule, the Rudas Baths is still a traditional Turkish Bath House. Rudas has a series of pools with different temperatures fed by mineral rich springs that you rotate between to get the full bath house experience, including 6 thermal pools ranging from 16-42°C. The Rudas Thermal Bath has six steam pools and a swimming pool. The swimming pool has 278 square meters of water surface and 29C water temperature. In the steam pool section the largest pool offers 96.5 square meters of water surface and 36 °C water temperature, there are four 9 square meter large pools with 28-30-33 and 42 °C water temperature, and the smallest pool is 4.5 square meters, with 16 °C water temperature. The central part includes an octagonal pool covered by a 10 meter diameter dome. At the end of the 19th century, a therapeutic swimming facility and a sauna was added. The bath also has a complex physiotherapeutic section, as well as a drinking hall, offering drinking cures from three water springs: Hungária, Attila and Juventus. In the recent years a spa has been established with the benefits of Juventus pool, immersion pool, two hot water pools and an outdoor whirlpool on the rooftop, where you can just lay back and enjoy the Danube’s sight. Opening times & prices: http://www.rudasbaths.com 2. Saint Gellért Monument: This amazing sight consist of an artificial waterfall and the statue of Bishop Gellért holding a cross. He came to Hungary from Italy to convert Hungarians to Christianity, but the local tribesmen who were already settled in the area resisted the conversion and rolled Bishop Gellért down the hill in a barrel to his death. Shortly after his death, Stephen I became the first King of Hungary and made Christianity the national religion. The Bishop as a martyr and gave him Sainthood as Saint Gellért. You can walk along all three levels of the monument, you can see across the Danube River from the Gellért Monument to the twin towers of the Inner City Parish which was built over the grave of Saint Gellért in 1046 A.D. As you walk further up Gellért Hill, you’ll bump into the Philosopher’s Garden with a collection of statues honouring Plato, Jesus, Gandhi, Daruma, Saint Francisco de Assisi, Lao-ce, Ekhnaton, Abraham making it a very spiritual moment. 3. The Red Castle: the headquarters for BPartner Property Management is actually not a historical sight, but is mesmerising, you can even find Jack Sparrow written on one of the doorbells and sometimes there is a pirate’s flag in the tower. Legends are really alive! 4. The Citadel aka Citadella was built by the Habsburg dynasty in 1854 after the War of Independence when many Hungarians tried to kick the Habsburgs out. The fortress may look like it was built to defend the people, but instead was to demonstrate the Habsburgs’ control over the Hungarians. The best thing to take in at the Citadel today are of course the view of Budapest, outdoor exhibits of both Saint Gellért and actual Soviet Artillery Guns, and the he Citadel Museum complete with 3 levels of bunkers, a prison yard, and a 1944 wax museum. Expect some mesmerising sights, have your camera ready! 5. Liberation Monument (Szabadság Szobor): the 46 foot tall Liberation Statue stands on a 84 foot tall pedestal while lifting a palm leaf toward the city as a symbol of peace. The monument was built in 1947 in remembrance of the Soviet liberation of Hungary from Nazi forces during World War II. Originally the Monument was surrounded by a bunch of Soviet themed statues including a 10 foot tall Soviet solider holding planting his flag and a 20 foot tall Soviet solider holding machine guns. When Communism in Hungary fell in 1989, these Soviet solider statues a long with most other Soviet statues in Budapest were removed from the city and moved South to Monument Park (Szoborpark). 6. Mansion Villas: Out of the wooden area springs a series of beautiful mansion villas. It’s said that during WWII a couple of they served as safe houses harboring Jews who were avoiding the Nazis. Historical photos at the Citadel, make it appear that the mansions were built on what was once Jubilee Park. 7. Cave Church (Sziklatemplom): By the Southeastern tip of Gellért Hill you’ll notice a large stone cross, which has been there since 2001 as a beckon of faith. This new stone cross marks the spot where a prior wooden cross stood for ages marking the entrance to the Cave Church which sits directly below you. From the cross, a short switchback path will bring you to the South-facing entrance of the main attraction, the historic Cave Church. It’s said that the cave itself has been used since people started settling in the area before the year 1000. With Pest being the Slavic word for cave, the hill was first called Pest Hill, which lead to the village across the river being called Pest as well. A newly formed Pauline order of Monks decided to renovate the St. Ivan’s Cave into and actual Chapel. The Monks were fresh off of a 1924 pilgrimage to another famous cave church Lourdes and decided to remodel St. Ivan’s Cave in Lourdes image including widening the main entrance, renovating the tunnels and adding a monastery. The Pauline Monks were left to themselves until Easter Monday, 1951 when the then Communist Government arrested all of the Monks and charge them with treason for not conforming. The Monk leader was killed and the others were sent to labor camps for 10 years. If that wasn’t enough the Government also sealed the entrance to the Cave Church with an 8 foot thick wall of concrete. Finally when the Communist Government fell in 1989, the concrete wall was torn down, the Chapel was fixed up, and it opened back up to the Monks and the public again. Today the Cave Church and Monastery is home to a few Monks and you can see lots of this Soviet concrete wall framing the gated entrance. 8. Gellért Baths: Sprouting out of the thermal waters of Gellért Hill, the Gellért Baths have been refreshing visitors since 1918. prior to the Baths being opened, the waters had first been utilized to heal the sick in the 1400’s by St Ivan, who lived in the Cave Church. The Ottman’s were the first to develop Bath houses in Budapest when they controlled the region in the 1600’s. They Ottomans loved the warm temps of the Gellért Hill water and called these springs Mud baths (sárosfürdő) because of the fine silt that settled at the bottom of the pools. Today the Gellért Baths are enclosed by the beautiful Gellért Hotel and offer a great family friendly experience. The large outdoor wave bath has been popular with tourists since it opened in 1927, and although it’s not as famous as the one in City Park it’s bound to be less crowded. If you are looking for more traditional Turkish-style baths Gellért also has them located inside along with an adventure pool for the kids. Expect the indoor baths to always be divided by gender. 9. Liberty Bridge (Szabadság híd): The Liberty Bridge, aka the Freedom Bridge or the Green Bridge, was finished in 1896 in the image of the larger Chain Bridge just to the North. As the bridge was an important way for transportation, it was strategically bombed by the Allies in WWII. Though only the middle of the bridge was blown up, it was still unusable, however it was fixed soon and slightly remodelled into the more industrial green bridge today and renamed after their liberation from the Nazis. Look for the four large Turul falcon statues on the top of each major pillar, they mirror the one at the Buda Royal Palace and is a symbol of national pride. This Turul has been the symbol of the Hunnic Empire, led by Attila the Hun, after the fall of the Roman Empire in Italy, Attila’s empire grew to control most of Eastern Europe into Asia from 434-453, and also ran devastating raids on countries like France. 10. Pauline Monastery (Pálos Kolostor): Then the Pauline Monks took the Cave Church over in 1934 they also built themselves a Monastery facing the Danube River. The first tower you come by is the private entrance for the Monks to take into the Cave Church and the larger building with multiple towers is the Monastery itself. 11. University of Technology: Established in 1782, the Budapest University of Technology is widely considered the 3rd Technical College in the World behind one in Germany and another in Turkey which are barely older. Although founded as a University in 1782 the roots of the Tech School actually go back to 1635, causing some historians to call it the oldest official Tech School in the World. The University’s main campus centers the large palace-like building facing the Danube River. Cover photo: Pixabay, text via: Bigboy Travel