Andrássy út, Budapest, Hungary

Andrássy út (Avenue) is a boulevard in Budapest dating back to 1872. It links Erzsébet Square with the Városliget. Lined with spectacular Neo-renaissance mansions and townhouses featuring fine facades and interiors, it was recognised as a World Heritage Site in 2002.

It was decreed to be built in 1870, to discharge the parallel Király utca from heavy traffic and to connect the inner city parts with the City Park. Its construction began in 1872 and the avenue was inaugurated on August 20 (a national holiday), 1876. Its realization was a blend of the plans proposed by the top 3 competitors Lajos Lechner, Frigyes Feszl and Klein & Fraser. Its palaces were built by the most distinguished architects (led by Miklós Ybl) of the time, financed by Hungarian and other banking houses. These were mostly finished by 1884 and mostly aristocrats, bankers, landowners and historical families moved in. It was named in 1885 after the main supporter of the plan, Prime Minister Gyula Andrássy.

The construction of the Budapest Metro, the first underground railway in Continental Europe, was proposed in 1870, since the capital had always been opposed to surface transport on this road. Construction began in 1894 and was finished in 1896, so this new metro line could facilitate the transport to Városliget, the main venue of the millennium celebrations of Hungary.

The boulevard was renamed three times in the 1950s; a testament to the rapid political changes of the period. It became Sztálin út ('Stalin Street') in 1950 during the Soviet occupation. During the 1956 uprising it was renamed to Magyar Ifjúság útja ('Avenue of Hungarian Youth'). The following year the governing communists changed the name to Népköztársaság út ('People's Republic Street'). The former name of Andrássy was restored in 1990, after the end of the communist era.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

İrem Songül Kayabaş (7 months ago)
The most beautiful street in Budapest. I loved the architacture.

Igor Radoński (9 months ago)
The most beautiful street in the city with many tenements that can't be seen anywhere else. You can't skip this place while visiting city

Orestis - (15 months ago)
ANDRASSY UT It is a straight, wide, and picturesque street, among the most central in Budapest, that leads to Heroes' Square with its impressive Millennium Monument on the southwestern side of City Park. Along the road, you'll encounter several noteworthy buildings, including the State Opera House of Hungary, and just across from it, the Drechsler Palace. Additionally, you'll find the House of Terror Museum and the Ferenc Hopp Museum of East Asian Art. For the majority of its length, the road features a bicycle lane in both directions.

Iuliia Kirianova (2 years ago)
Beautiful street to walk any time of the day

KK Baskar (3 years ago)
It’s a beautiful street filled with restaurants and many other shops that a tourist would love to hang out. You can take a stroll down the street and see beautifully lighted bridges on both the ends. It was less crowded during winter/ Xmas time. There was no lockdown during Dec 2021 when I visited!

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