Hungarian Parliament Building

Brief information

The Hungarian Parliament Building was placed by the Danube so that its main features could be read from all sides. It is not merely a striking piece of riverside scenery: the concept itself is tied to the building’s visibility within the city. The architect Imre Steindl won the competition as an advocate of Neo-Gothic architecture, but the parliament’s appearance brings together different models: the Palace of Westminster, Parisian Beaux-Arts, and elements of Eastern architecture.

Construction lasted from 1885 to 1904, but the central Dome Hall was opened earlier, in 1896, for the celebration of the millennium of the arrival of the Magyar tribes. That is why the dome is important here not only as the center of the composition. It became the first completed part through which the still unfinished building already functioned as a state symbol.

What to notice first

It is worth comparing the central dome with the two wings on either side. The wings contain the assembly halls: this arrangement recalls the former bicameral parliament, while the dome links the two symmetrical parts into a single composition. The scale is reinforced by the 88 columns around the building, but their importance lies not in the number itself, but in the way they turn the facades into a rhythmic shell around the entire volume.

On the facade, notice the statues of the rulers of Hungary and Transylvania: political history is brought outside as part of the decoration. Inside, the same principle continues in mosaic panels, stained glass, gilding, and 16 statues of kings and rulers in the Dome Hall, where the coronation regalia are kept. One separate detail changes the reading of the spire: during the socialist period it was crowned with a red star, which was removed in 1990.