Andrassy Avenue

The  is considered the cultural boulevard of Hungary.  Located in the capital city of Budapest, the place is home to the most interesting cultural and historic sights of the city.  It is also know as the Hungarian Champs-Elysee as it resembles the one in Paris.  The place is historic and dates back to 1872.  The place is full of arts works, exclusive shops, elegant palaces and atmospheric cafes.  The Avenue links the City Park with Elizabeth Square.  The place is full of neo-renaissance mansions and townhouses.  The UNESCO recognized Andrassy Avenue as a World Heritage Site in 2002.

The place is home to Europe’s best Opera Houses.  The birth-house of Hungary’s famous composer Franz Liszt is also here, along with the popular Budapest Soho.

Let’s have a look at the area in a little more detail.

The Andrassy consists of four main areas. They are from Erzsébet tér to Oktogon, which consists of urban structures meant for commercial purposes, from Oktogon to Kodály körönd, which consists of residential areas and universities, from Kodály körönd to Bajza utca, where one finds residential palaces fronted by small parks and from Bajza utca to Városliget, where villas and gardens are a very common sight.

Some other notable spots include Hungarian State Opera House, College of Fine Arts, Zoltán Kodály Memorial House, Oktogon, Drechsler House etc.

Some other places around the City Park one should visit are the Vajdahunyad Castle, the Zoo, the Ice-skating Rink and the Gundel Restaurants.

The postal museum possesses a small but unique and interesting collection and is a must visit place and a few meters away from the museum is one of the most magnificent buildings of Budapest, the Hungarian State Opera.

Let’s now have a look at the history of the place.  Way back in 1870, it was as per an official order, the construction of the Andrassy was set into motion.  The purpose behind the same was to spare  the nearly Kiraly Utca from the heavy traffic. Also, there was a need to connect the City Park with the inner city parts. The actual construction work kicked off in 1872 and after around four years on August 20, 1876, which is a national holiday, the avenue was inaugurated and thrown open to the general public.

The palaces of the area were built by the best architects of the time and Miklos Ybl was one such personality that played a major role here.  The projects were financed by major Hungarian and other banking houses.

By the year 1884, the projects were mostly completed.  The first people to move in were the land owners, bankers, aristocrats and royal families.  It was a year later in 1885, that the place was named after its pioneer, then Prime Minister Gyula Andrássy.

The construction of the historic Budhapest Metro followed.  The metro was first proposed in 1870 in accordance with the general publics’ view, which was always opposed to the idea of surface transport in the area.  The construction activities began in 1894 and the project was complete in 1896.  The Budhapest Metro was unique and holds the distinction of being the first underground railway line in Continental Europe.