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Around Town – Around Parliament<br />
76<br />
Miklós Izsó sculptures, Academy of Sciences<br />
Roosevelt Square<br />
This square has been known<br />
by various names since it was<br />
built at the head of the Chain<br />
Bridge on the Danube’s eastern<br />
bank. First called Unloading<br />
Square, its name was changed<br />
to Franz József Square, to commemorate<br />
the coronation of<br />
Emperor Franz József. It was<br />
finally named after the American<br />
president Franklin D Roosevelt in<br />
1947. Today, it features several<br />
fine hotels, including the<br />
Gresham Palace to its east.<br />
d Map K3 • Roosevelt tér<br />
Academy of Sciences<br />
Inaugurated in 1864, the<br />
Academy of Sciences is a classic<br />
piece of Neo-Renaissance architecture<br />
designed by Friedrich<br />
Stüler. The statues on the façade,<br />
including those of Isaac<br />
Newton and René<br />
Descartes, are by<br />
Miklós Izsó and<br />
Emil Wolff, while<br />
the interior has<br />
more statues by<br />
Izsó. d Map J2<br />
• Roosevelt tér 9<br />
• 411 61 00 • Open<br />
10am–4pm Mon–Fri Ironwork gates of Gresham Palace<br />
Gresham Palace<br />
Commissioned by the<br />
London-based Gresham Life<br />
Assurance Company and designed<br />
by Zsigmond Quittner and the<br />
brothers József and László Vágó<br />
in 1907, Gresham Palace enjoys<br />
one of Budapest’s best locations<br />
opposite the Chain Bridge. It is<br />
an imposing edifice with several<br />
Secessionist characteristics, from<br />
its stained-glass windows (including<br />
one featuring a portrait of the<br />
patriot Lajos Kossuth), to the high<br />
atrium and chandelier. It was restored<br />
between 2002 and 2004,<br />
and opened soon after as a Four<br />
Seasons hotel (see p113). The<br />
entrance to the shopping arcade<br />
features a splendid wrought-iron<br />
gate with peacock motifs. d Map<br />
K3 • V, Roosevelt tér 5–7 • 268 60 00<br />
St Stephen’s Basilica<br />
Visible from all over the city,<br />
the dome of St Stephen’s Basilica<br />
is exactly the same height as the<br />
Parliament’s own dome. The<br />
church was built on the site of<br />
Prank Theatre, where bears and<br />
wolves tore each other to shreds<br />
in front of crowds in the 18th century.<br />
Today, it is one of the city’s<br />
most sacred sites, as it houses<br />
the mummified right hand of St<br />
Stephen (István), after whom the<br />
church is named (see pp12–13).<br />
Liberty Square<br />
Laid out in 1886 on the site<br />
of the barracks that housed the<br />
Austrian army, Liberty<br />
Square has long been<br />
synonymous with<br />
Hungary’s freedom<br />
struggle.<br />
The first prime<br />
minister of<br />
independent<br />
Hungary, Count<br />
Lajos Batthyány,<br />
was executed in
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