Budapest - Hungarian National Museum Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum
The name of the Széchenyi family is one that occurs again and again in the history of Budapest in the 19th C, and it was Count Ferenc Széchenyi who founded the National Museum in 1802. However, it was 1847 before the building, designed by M. Pollack, was finally completed. Its major exhibits include the Royal Regalia.
The museum is housed in a large classical building surrounding two courtyards.
The massive portico is very impressive. In front of the museum stands a monument to the famous Hungarian poet János Arany (1817--82), which was created by A. Stróbl in 1893.
In the park-like museum garden can be seen other busts and monuments of famous people.
The exhibits on the ground floor cover Hungary's pre- and early history from the Old Stone Age through Roman times to the early Middle Ages. Notable among the items displayed in the Department of Pre- and Early History are finds from Vértesszolos and Sümeg.
The outstanding item of the Bronze Age collection is the Pécel cart. Among the Roman finds note the various grave-reliefs and, above all, the 3rd C B.C. floor mosaic which was found in Baláca near Veszprém and is on display in the Round Hall. Visitors can also admire some valuable items from the time of the migration of the peoples, including jewelry belonging to the Huns, as well as a Carolingian sword and utensils used by Slav tribes.
A room in the left wing of the ground floor houses the Coronation Regalia which was taken out of the country by Hungarian Fascists in 1945. American troops found it in Austria and took the priceless items to the USA where they were carefully guarded in Fort Knox before being returned to Hungary in 1978. The Crown of St Stephen is decorated with precious stones and pearls and embossed with enameled figures of saints. The characteristically lopsided cross above the intersection of the two crossed bands is also very beautiful. Near the crown lie a sceptre, imperial orb and sword. The Coronation Robe is of Byzantine silk embroidered in gold and decorated with pearls.
A magnificent staircase painted with allegorical frescoes by K. Lotz and M. Than takes visitors up to the first floor and thence to the round domed room which, like the large room beyond it, is used for temporary exhibitions. In the adjoining rooms of the north wing, which will remain closed until the World Exhibition of 1996, Hungary's history from the tribal invasion of 896 until the revolutionary years of 1848/9 is examined in detail, with special attention being paid to the various struggles for independence. The exhibits include the Renaissance choirstall from Nyirbátor, Hungarian and Turkish weapons, mementos of the freedom struggles of Prince Ferenc Rákóczi in the 18th C and works of art from the Baroque age. There are also documents and material relating to the 18th C peasant uprisings, the Hungarian Jacobin movement and the Revolution of 1848/9. Beethoven's grand piano, which later belonged to Franz Liszt, can be seen here.
The south wing of the first floor houses the Natural History Department.
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