| The Parliament |
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 The monumental building of the Parliament is one of the biggest attractions of Budapest. Inside, you can see crown jewels, frescoes, paintaings and statues of the historical figures of Hungary
{mosgoogle center} Conceived and built for the millennium celebrations of 1896, the Imre Steindl design was only finished in 1902 (the year of his death). Inspired in part, by the Palace of Westminster, its white neo-gothic turrets and arches stretch for over 250 metres along the Danube embankment.
The building, which comprises of 691 rooms, 10 courtyards, 27 gates, 29 staircases and over 12.5 miles of corridors, has a central dome of 96-metres (precisely the same height as that of Szent István Basilica). The office of the Ministers and the Prime Minister are to be found in the parliament building. It also houses a public library with 500.000 volumes. The walls from outside are decorated by the statues (242) of the most important historical figures of Hungary. One of the famous parts of the building is the hexadecagonal central hall, with huge chambers adjoining it: the Lower House (today the National Assembly meets here) and the Upper House (until 1945). Due to its extensive surface and its minute details, it is almost constantly under renovation. However, the renovation of its central part was finished in the summer of 2005, scaffolding was removed for a few months and this part can be seen white again. Renovation was resumed in the autumn of 2005; new covering materials and methods are hoped to be more resistant to weather. Group excursions take place when Parliament is not in session, usually taking in the chamber of the former upper house The Parliament is accessible with the 2nd line of the Budapest Metro, from the Lajos Kossuth Square station. Entrance is free for those coming from EU countries and affordable for others as well.
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