Starting at the Chain Bridge on the Buda side, head through the Tunnel to Krisztina tér. This the edge of Horváth Garden, where the Óbuda Theatre once stood. From Alagút utca, alongside the park, you turn onto Pauler utca, then head to the other end at right-angles to Mikó utca – and Vérmező.
A
defining terrain of any Buda parks walk, ‘Blood Meadow’ may sound ominous for historical
reasons, as it was here that the anti-royalist leader Ignác Martinovics was
executed along with his followers in 1795.
Despite this brutal heritage, the
park makes a friendly and inviting impression. Lush green, it has varied
attractions and can be both intimate and ideal for public gatherings.
Brutalist Déli station on one side of the park and the beautiful old residential houses on Attila út on the other both hone into view, along with two sculptures: Dragonfly by István Kiss and the first public sculpture of writer Mihály Babits in Budapest, by László Marton. Note also the monument dedicated to the Buda Volunteer Regiment by István Szabó.
Leaving Vérmező at the top of a street named after another executed leader, József Hajnóczy, you head to Csaba utca, on the other side of which lies another large and pleasant Buda park, Városmajor. Passing the particularly unusual Church of the Heart of Jesus, you come to Városmajor, usually full of joggers, children and dog walkers,
Look out for the statue of Tom Thumb, as it has been half-hidden on purpose. There’s also a World War I memorial created by Zsigmond Kisfaludi Stróbl in 1941, and a statue of Beethoven by János Horvay, dating back to 1932.
Városmajor then ends at the terminus of the cogwheel railway, where you can decide to head off to the Buda hills or continue your stroll along pretty Szilágyi Erzsébet fasor.
