Gellért Hill

Creating the dramatic, twin-peaked skyline of Buda alongside Castle Hill, Gellért Hill is topped by the fortress of Citadella and statue of Lady Liberty, visible across most of the city. At the bottom, an iconic Art-Nouveau hotel and baths, a major tram junction, a station on green metro line 4 and the adjacent square itself also carry the name of Gellért. All of this is somewhat ironic, as Gellért, a Venetian bishop who had been blown off course on his way to the Holy Land only to wash up in Hungary, suffered a dreadful fate at the hands of his pagan Magyar hosts. In September 1046, he was thrown off these heights, brutally stabbed, spiked and beaten. Today his statue stands halfway up the hill, above a waterfall, looking out over the Rudas Baths and Elizabeth Bridge. Gellért Hill extends all the way to Liberty Bridge and the Gellért Hotel. Here you can scale steep paths up the southern side of the hill, passing the curious Cave Church opposite. Behind is the Slide Park, then further up, the Vuk Playground, themed after characters of a beloved Hungarian cartoon. On the far side, surrounded by greenery, is the Cerka-firka playground.