BUDAPEST 351Crest of Pest, Inner
City Parish ChurchThonet House, with Zsolnay tile
decoration, Váci UtcaVáci Utca w
Map D4. q Ferenciek tere.
Once two separate streets
which were joined at the
beginning of the 18th century,
the two ends of Váci utca
still have distinct characters.
Today, part of the southern
section is open to traffic, but
the northern end is pedestri-
anized and has long been a
popular commercial centre.
Most of the buildings lining
the street date from the
19th and early 20th centuries,
although new banks, modern
department stores and shopp-
ing arcades have now sprung
up along the street among the
older original buildings.
The street has a number
of famous buildings, notable
for their architecture or for
their place in local history.
Philantia, an Art-Nouveau-style
florist’s shop opened in 1905,
now occupies part of the
Neo-Classical block at No. 9,
built in 1840 by József Hild.
The same block also houses
Inner City Parish
Church e
Belvárosi Plébánia TemplomMárcius 15 tér 2. Map D4. Tel (01)
318 3108. Q Ferenciek tere.
# 9am–7pm daily. 5Built in the 11th century, this
is the oldest building in Pest.
It was first established during
the reign of St Stephen, on
the burial site of the mar tyred
St Gellért, who played a major
role in con vert ing Hungary to
Christianity. In the 12th cen-
tury it was replaced by a
Romanesque church of which
a wall frag ment remains in the
façade of the South Tower.
In the 14th century, it
became a large Gothic struc-
ture and subsequently a
mosque – a small prayer niche,
a reminder of the Ottoman
occu pation, can be seen
beside the altar.
Damaged by the
Great Fire of 1723,
the church was
partly rebuilt in the
Baroque style by
György Paur
between 1725 and- The inte rior
also contains Neo-
Classical elem ents
by János Hild, as
well as some 20th-
century works such as the
main altar, which replaced the
origi nal in 1948. The altar was
painted by Károly Antal and
Pál Molnár. On the south side
of the church is a taber nacle
bear ing the Crest of Pest.
the Pest Theatre, which
stages classic plays by Russian
playwright Anton Chekhov,
among others. The building
was once occupied by the
“Inn of the Seven Electors”
which had a large
ballroom and
con cert hall, and
it was here that
a 12-year-old
Ferenc (Franz)
Liszt per formed
in 1823.
Built by Ödön
Lechner and Gyula
Pártos, the Thonet
House, at No. 11, is
most notable for the
Zsolnay tiles from Pécs
(see pp374–5) that adorn its
façade. The oldest building
on Váci utca, No. 13, was
built in 1805. In contrast, the
Post-Modern Fontana
department store at No. 16
was constructed in 1984.
Outside there is a bronze
fountain with a figure of the
Greek god Hermes, dating
from the mid-19th century.
The Nádor Hotel once
stood at No. 20 and featured
a statue of Archduke Palatine
József. Today, the Taverna
Hotel, designed by József
Finta and opened in 1987,
stands here. It has a popular
coffee shop.
In a side street off Váci
utca, at No. 13 Régiposta
utca, stands a Modernist-
style building. An unusual
sight in the city, this striking
Bauhaus-influenced build-
ing dates from 1937 and
is by Lajos Kozma.Vigadó Square q
Vigadó tér
Map C3. v 2.
The square is dominated
by the Vigadó Concert Hall,
with its mix of eclectic forms.
Built to designs by architect
Frigyes Feszl between 1859
and 1864, it replaced an
earlier building destroyed by
fire during the uprising of
1848–9. The façade has
arched windows and includes
fea tures such as folk motifs,
dancers on columns and busts
of former monarchs, rulers
and other Hungarian per-
sonalities. An old Hungarian
coat of arms is also visible in
the centre.
The Budapest Marriott
Hotel, located on one side
of the square, was designed
by József Finta in 1969. It
was one of the first modern
hotels to be built in the city.
On the Danube promenade
is a statue of a childlike figure
on the railings, Little Princess,
by László Marton. Vigadó
Square also has craft stalls,
cafés and restaurants.
The Baroque nave of the Inner City
Parish Church