BP_booklet_text_EN

GELLÉRT HILL
Legend has it that this hill used to be a
gathering place of witches, but today it
is simply a place with a beautiful view of the
city. The name of the hill is closely connected
to another legend that tells the story of a
bishop. His name was Gellért, and in 1046
he visited the pagan Hungarians to convert
them to Christianity, but they resisted, and
the bishop was stuffed in a barrel equipped
with inward pointing nails and rolled down
a hill. Later, the converted Hungarians
named the hill after Gellért and erected a
statue depicting him. A university observatory
was built atop the hill in 1815, but it did
not last long. At the time of the war of independence
in 1849, soldiers of the Hungarian
army set up their artillery guns nearby and
fired on Buda Castle from here. As a result
of answering fire from the Austrian artillery,
the Observatory was destroyed.
The Citadel was raised on the site by the Habsburg
dynasty in 1854. At 220 metres long with walls 12-16
metres thick, this stronghold was built primarily for the
purpose of intimidating the rebellious people of Pest, At
the foot of the fortress wall overlooking the city, stands
the Freedom Statue, which is the work of Zsigmond
Strobl Kisfaludi. Today a hotel and restaurant are in
operation within the thick walls. In 1987, UNESCO
declared Gellért Hill as a world heritage site.
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