City Park (Budapest)

The City Park Ice Rink with Vajdahunyad Castle in the background

The City Park (Hungarian: Városliget; German: Stadtwäldchen) is a public park close to the centre of Budapest, Hungary. It is a 0.9-by-0.6-mile (1,400 by 970 m) rectangle, with an area of 302 acres (1.2 km²),^[1]^[2] located in District XIV of Budapest, between Hungária körút, Ajtósi Dürer sor, Vágány utca and Dózsa György út. Its main entrance is at Heroes' Square (Hősök tere), one of Hungary's World Heritage sites.

Map[]

– Gundel Restaurant
– Municipal Zoological and Botanical Garden
– Municipal Grand Circus
– Former Amusement Park
– Széchenyi Medicinal Baths and Swimming Pool
– Vajdahunyad Castle
– Former Petőfi Hall
– Former Transport Museum of Budapest
– Heroes' Square
– Museum of Fine Arts
– Palace of Art

Name[]

The area was formerly called Ökör-dűlő, meaning "Oxmeadow". The first mention of the name comes from 1241 in the archaic form, Ukurföld. In the 18th century, the area was called Ochsenried in German. Around 1800 the official name was changed to Batthyány-erdő (Batthyány Forest) after its tenants, the Batthyány family. The first trees and planified walkways were established in 1751 and after the public park was created in the first decades of the 19th century the present-day name, Városliget (and its German version, Stadtwäldchen, lit.: "little city forest") was accepted and it became one of the first public parks in the world.^{[citation needed]}

History[]

The City Park was the main venue of the 1896 millennium celebrations of Hungary, by which time Andrássy Avenue, Millennium Underground and the Grand Boulevard had been built.

Sports[]

The park hosted motorsport events in the 1950s.^{[citation needed]}

Main sights[]

City Park includes the following sights:^[3]

Vajdahunyad Castle, opened in 1896
Széchenyi thermal bath
Budapest Zoo, including the Elephant House
Municipal Circus, opened in 1891
Gundel Restaurant, opened in 1894
Budapest Circus Building^[4]^[5]^[6]

References[]

^ "City Park, Budapest". aviewoncities.com. Archived from the original on 13 February 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
^ MapDevelopers.com (the area is displayed after clicking the inside of the selected polygon)
^ "City Park". Budapest.com. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
^ "Budapest Circus". Youtube. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
^ Youtube, Budapest Circus Lion Act
^ budapestagent.com, Budapest Circus