"96 is a special number in Hungary"

22.07.2015

There is a bylaw in the Budapest building code that prevents a building being over 96 metres high. There are only two buildings that reach that height in Budapest. One is the dome of Saint Stephens' Basilica, and the other is the dome of Parliament. When Parliament was built it was built to the same height as Saint Stephens' to show that in the country of Hungary the Church and the State hold equal power in the lives of it's citizens. The number 96 is special because it represents the year 896 when the seven Magyar Chieftains established the principality of Hungary. It also represents the year 1896 when Hungary celebrated 1000 years of statehood, and built lasting reminders that the country was at the height of its wealth and power in European affairs. The Basilica, the Houses of Parliament, Heroes's square and other beautiful but extravagant public buildings and works were completed in those 'Glory Years' before World War 1. Our walking tour guide put it succinctly when he said "We Hungarians have leaders that suck at picking winning sides in wars". The first World War in which Hungary (as part of the Habsburg Austrian Hungarian empire sided with Germany, ended in a complete military loss to Hungary. When the war was over The Treaty of Trianon punished Hungary severely by establishing new borders. New countries like Czechoslovakia and Poland were formed around the new borders and these took away 2/3 of the original land area known as Hungary. When the leaders of Hungary sided with Germany again during the second World War, they again lost and were taken over by the USSR, with further eradication of their wealth and status. I cannot put myself in the shoes of someone born here, who has read the history books, and has had to live with the consequences of those two disastrous decisions, even to the present day It must be so damaging to the psyche of the country and its people to have lost so much. I'm not sure how they cope, and I'm not sure how I would feel in the same circumstances. Europe is a very complex place. However they still have those wonderful remnants of their Glory Years, and I went to visit two of them. The Basilica of Saint Stephan is grand and lovely to see in all it's Roman Catholic splendour. It is one of a kind, unlike but just as wonderful as other major churches I have seen. Being inside it has the ability to make you feel insignificant in the grand scheme of things, tempered with the knowledge that people have created such visions of beauty, of angels, of saints, and of a better life to come. I know that a simple person could regain their faith by listening to a choir or organ playing in such surroundings. Ah, but there aren't that many simple peasants left in this complicated world we live in. Parliament too, is grand and lovely to see, but the power is much more apparent here with the uniformed and armed soldiers barring entry to all but tourist areas. The best room in the Houses of Parliament is the sixteen sided central Hall (under the central dome). Here is kept the 1000 year old Holy Crown Of Hungary together with the ceremonial Sword, Sceptre and Orb. It is forbidden to take a photo in that room and three armed guards stand around the room to remove anyone who tries to. No, they are there to protect the Crown jewels made of gold and precious stones ( they were given to America for safekeeping before the second World War, and were stored in Fort Knox until they were returned to the Government of Hungary in 1978). Parliament was built with two identical wings because in 1900 they had the house of Lords and the house of Commons, just like in Westminster. This means now that thousands of tourists a week can be taken around the unused house of Lords section, without imposing on the running of the country in the other section. My thoughts on the Houses of Parliament are that parts of the complex showed elegance and taste, although the use of gold leaf in the debating chamber was way over the top Liberace. My final words are about the Memorial in the forecourt of the Houses of Parliament. I was eight in 1956, and my life growing up in England in those years gave me no concrete indication of the evils and the misery in the world . I have read reports on the Massacre of Civilians on October the 25th 1956, which give figures of between 76 and 820 men, women, and children, who went to a public meeting in the square in front of Parliament and never returned. There are strong indications that because the new Government of Hungary was being supported by the people to take measures to leave the Communist Bloc, and the Warsaw Pact, the hardliners in the USSR took a decision to show the world that they would not stand for such rebellion. A massacre of unarmed innocent people was the result. As I said before Europe is a complicated place, and somewhere in Europe it is still going on.....

St Stephan's Basilica