Hungarian Parliament Building

Országház is a Hungarian word meaning ‘House of the Country’, and it’s used to describe the building that houses the Hungarian National Assembly. The impressive building on the bank of the Danube was designed by Imre Steindl and opened in 1902. It originally housed the Diet of Hungary, which was the primary legislature in Hungary, even under Habsburg rule, and from 1867 it had an upper and lower house. Under Communism, the parliament was a one-party system under the Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party between 1949 and 1989. During this time the parliament was reduced to a single chamber, and since the reinstitution of democracy in 1989, the National Assembly still only has a single chamber of 199 representatives. As a result, the current parliament uses far less of the building that originally intended, with the Upper House used as a meeting room.

Tours take between 45 and 50 minutes and begin by leaving the underground Visitor Center and climbing the city-side staircase. You’ll then get to visit the old Upper House and admire its painted crests, gold-leaf decorations, and impressive oak seats, before exploring the Lounge of the Chamber of Peers. You’ll then visit the Dome Hall where you’ll see the Holy Crown of Hungary, part of the Hungarian Crown Jewels and featured on the nation’s crest. The hall itself is also extremely impressive, with a stunning vaulted ceiling featuring stained-glass windows reaching 88 feet ( 27m) above the floor. The tour finishes by the Grand Stairway to the main entrance hall.

Yes! The crown, which is also known as the Crown of St Stephen, is one of the oldest surviving coronation crowns. Parts of the crown date back to Byzantine Constantinople, with the enamels thought to have been made in the 1070s. According to tradition, the crown was first used at the coronation of King Stephen I in 1000 or 1001 CE, but analysis of the materials and construction makes it more likely that the crown was created under King Béla III, who ruled from 1172 to 1196. The crown was last used in a coronation in 1916 when it was used to crown Emperor Karl I of Austria-Hungary. The crown has been stolen or lost and then recovered several times in its long history. After the end of the Second World War, the crown was discovered in Austria by the U.S. 86th Infantry Division and was taken to Fort Knox where it was held to protect it from the Soviet Union. It was eventually returned to Hungary by President Jimmy Carter in 1978. The Holy Crown is accompanied by other pieces of coronation regalia, including a sword, a scepter, and a Globus Cruciger, also known as an orb and cross.

The building is accessible, but visitors using wheelchairs are asked to contact idegenforgalom@parlament.hu before their visit to ensure that their needs can be met. Guide dogs are permitted inside the building. Blind and partially-sighted visitors are welcome to join the regular tours. Unfortunately, there are no official sign language tours available currently.