The story of Hungarian Parliament Building

The largest building in Hungary rises from the Danube like a Gothic cathedral of politics. After Buda, Óbuda and Pest were united in 1873, the Diet decided to build a parliament that would express the nation's sovereignty.

Imre Steindl won the competition, partly because his Neo-Gothic design recalled the Palace of Westminster in London, a nod to Britain as a political model. Building began in 1885, and it was inaugurated in 1896 for the thousandth anniversary of the country, though it was only completed in 1904; Steindl went blind and died before it was finished.

It took 40 million bricks, half a million precious stones and 40 kilograms of gold. The building is 268 metres long and has 691 rooms, and its dome reaches 96 metres, an allusion to the millennium of 896. Take a guided tour: you climb the ornamental grand staircase to the sixteen-sided central hall, where the Holy Crown of Hungary has been displayed since 2000. From the balcony facing the square, the Hungarian Republic was proclaimed on 23 October 1989.