The City Park (, ; ) is a public park close to the centre of Budapest, Hungary. It contains many attractions, including buildings from the 19th century, such as Széchenyi thermal bath and Budapest Zoo, as well as museums built in the early 2020s, including the Museum of Ethnography.

History

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 planned 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.

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.

The park hosted motorsport events in the 1950s.

The project, an urban-cultural development project, was begun in 2019

Description and location

City Park in Budapest, known locally as Városliget, is a rectangle, with an area of , 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.

<gallery class="center" widths="250" heights="250">

File:HUN-2015-Budapest-Heroes’ Square.jpg|Heroes' Square

File:Hosok Tere Budapest - Arpad Front.jpg|Statues of the Seven Chieftains on the Heroes' Square

File:Budapest Fine Arts Museum R01.jpg|Museum of Fine Arts

File:Vajdahunyad vára (16291. számú műemlék) 10.jpg|Vajdahunyad Castle

File:Vajdahunyad vára Budapest September 2013.jpg|Vajdahunyad Castle

File:Vajdahunyad vára (16291. számú műemlék) 14.jpg|Vajdahunyad Castle

File:Mujegpalya Ice Rink.jpg|City Park Ice Rink, with Vajdahunyad Castle in the background

File:Budapest Széchenyi Baths R02.jpg|Széchenyi thermal bath

File:Budapest Széchenyi Baths R01.jpg|Széchenyi thermal bath

File:Anonymus szobra a Városligetben - 1.jpg|Anonymus statue in Vajdahunyad Castle

File:Vajdahunyad vára (16291. számú műemlék) 20.jpg|Vajdahunyad Castle

File:Budapest 2006-11-04 052.jpg|Vajdahunyad Castle

File:Vajdahunyad vára (16291. számú műemlék) 3.jpg|Chapel in Vajdahunyad Castle

File:03 2019 photo Paolo Villa - F0197835 bis - Budapest - Castello Vajdahunyad - Museum of Hungarian Agriculture.jpg|Museum of Hungarian Agriculture

File:Korcsolyacsarnok (17787. számú műemlék) 15.jpg|City Park Ice Rink

File:Naprajzi Museum Budapest.jpg|Museum of Ethnography

File:Budapest Zoo Entry (17547645119).jpg|Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden

File:ElefanthazBpZoo.jpg|Elephant House, Budapest Zoo

</gallery>

Map

Map of the park as of 2022:

{| border="0"

|valign="top"|400px|left

|valign="top"|

  1. – Gundel Restaurant
  2. – Municipal Zoological and Botanical Garden
  3. – Municipal Grand Circus
  4. – Former Amusement Park
  5. – Széchenyi Medicinal Baths and Swimming Pool
  6. – Vajdahunyad Castle
  7. – Former Petőfi Hall
  8. – Former Transport Museum of Budapest
  9. – Heroes' Square
  10. – Museum of Fine Arts
  11. – Palace of Art

|}

Attractions

The statue of Anonymus, the unknown chronicler at the court of King Béla III (r 1172–96), known as Anonymous, is in the courtyard of Vajdahunyad Castle, within the park.

The House of Music Hungary, part of Liget Budapest, designed by Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto, opened in January 2022, and the Museum of Ethnography opened on 23 May 2022.

City Park also includes:

  • Széchenyi thermal bath
  • Budapest Zoo, opened in 1866

See also

  • People's Park (Népliget)
  • Margaret Island (Margitsziget)

References

  • Budapest Page on Városliget