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The Citadella |
Click on any image for a detailed look.
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At last -- a Hungarian place name we could understand! |
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Can you imagine playing "King of the Hill" on the hill at left here? Well, a lot of grownups did ... it happened a lot with various armies. The Citadella was a key military stronghold for more than two thousand years. Today it is a national park. Note the structure at the top left of the hill, which was the stronghold and strategic vantage point in battles. (better seen when the detailed view is clicked on.) Since it did not appear to be heavily defended during our visit, we walked across the bridge and decided to climb up the many flights of stairs, first to the monument at the center of the photo here and then on up to the Citadella itself, seen center left on the crest of the hill. More defensive works, a 17th Century fort can be seen below at right. |
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Looking at the
scenic shots we took as we climbed higher and higher, you can see why this
landmark has always been such a military prize.
In the days of spears and arrows the Citadella was an easily defended redoubt, and later, when artillery came on the scene, batteries mounted on this high ground commanded most of the city and all daytime traffic on the river. Now, however, the top of the hill is populated with souvenir stands, a place serving beer and snacks, merchants selling handcrafts, and some old field guns with Russian lettering on the controls (copies of German '88s, actually). They are there only for show. Children like to play on them. What an improvement! |
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At left is the structure near (relatively) the bottom of the hill. It's a monument to Bishop Gelleart, who helped King Stephen convert the population to Christianity. We particularly liked this view -- Bishop Gelleart wielding his cross over the city with a miserable sinner cowering at his feet. The main military fortifications were usually at the crest, 750 feet up the hill. To get there one has a choice of relatively steep switch-back stairs or very steep winding trails. The victory monument occupies the narrow point of the hill that was a favorite place for heavy gun emplacements. On our last day in Budapest, Regina scaled the hill again at 7 AM just for the exercise, encountering only a few sweaty people (probably Americans) in jogging attire. It was a great way to say goodbye to the city. |
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