Budapest – Fisherman’s Bastion

Fisherman's Bastion

The great, white, fanciful building known as Fisherman’s Bastion (or Halaszbastya in Hungarian) is hard to miss while in Budapest, Hungary.  Even though the word “bastion” refers to a type of defense, this building was never used for that purpose.

Fisherman’s Bastion was built on Castle Hill (on the Buda side of the Danube River) around the turn of the 20^th century by Frigyes Schulek in the neo-Gothic and neo-Romanesque style to celebrate the Hungarian millennium and is a relatively new building in terms of European architecture. 

Schulek’s son, Janos, performed the restoration of the building in 1947-48 after its near destruction in World War II.  Built of pale white stones, it is still a bright spot as time and smog have not taken its toll on the building and turned it black like so many older structures.

Built in a fanciful fairy tale castle design, it boasts seven turrets, each one representing one of the seven Magyar tribes that settled in the area in 896 AD.  The pointed turrets were designed to resemble the tents of the tribal leaders.

In medieval times, a fish market was nearby and legend says it was built on a spot where fishermen defended Castle Hill.

Today, Fisherman’s Bastion is a favorite lookout spot where visitors can look out over the Parliament, the Danube River and Pest (on the other side of the river).  The panoramic views are excellent on both the top and lower levels.

Located between Fisherman’s Bastion and Matthias Church is a mounted statue of King Stephen I, the first king of Hungary. He was declared a saint for bringing Christianity to Hungary.  He carries the apostolic cross with two crossbars – a symbol granted him by the Pope.

Fisherman’s Bastion was featured as a Pit Stop on the sixth season of The Amazing Race.

This short video Travel Hungary – Tour of Fisherman’s Bastion in Budapest (1:04) gives you a mini tour.