Fisherman Bastion - Halaszbastya, Budapest

Istvan was King of the Hungarians from 1000-1038. He established Christianity in Hungary and is generally recognized as the first king of Hungary. During his reign towns and cities were expected to build churches, foreign priests were invited to help with Christianizing. He further consolidated Hungarian (Magyar) rule over the Carpathian Basin. By means of war and adroit diplomacy, Istvan extended Hungarian influence significantly.

His feast day (since he is a Saint) is August 20, which is a national holiday in Hungary.

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Fisherman's Bastion is understandably one of the most popular sights in Budapest. It is the large terrace complex right below the Matyas Church on the Buda side of the Danube.

Supposedly it was built to honor the contributions of the Fisherman's Guild in defending the city. Another story I heard was that it was named because there had been a large fish market nearby. Others argue that the naming had little do with any of these. It was built in neo-romanesque/neo-Gothic style in 1895.

The views from Fisherman's Bastion are some of the finest views in the city. It is usually mobbed with tourists but its well worth a visit. Great pictures from here of the city and especially of the Parliament.

note- there is no disabled access.

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The Fisherman’s Bastion(Halászbástya) is a castle like structure that was built in 1905 in neo-gothic and Romanesque style for decorated purposed by Frigyes Schulek, the architecture that reconstructed Matthyas church. There are many parapets, climbing stairways and numerous turrets that will give you lots of great pictures if you manage to avoid other tourists :)

There are seven different towers symbolizing the seven Magyar tribes but the most interesting thing here is the view over the city. The name seems weird in this Disney like structure but this was where the fish market was taking place during medieval times.

There’s an entrance fee to climb up the stairs (free later in the evening)

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Fishermen's bastion is one of Budapest's most picturesque sites and quite possibly one of the best places to go if you're looking for that one spot where to take pictures from. It offers some of the best views of the city and its seven Neo-Romanesque towers create a faily tale-like atmosphere. It was designed as a monument to the Guild of Fishermen and built over the old defensive walls of Buda in 1895 by Frigyes Schulek, shortly before he began his restoration work on Matthias Church. In the old days, Budapest's fishermen would walk up to the Castle District from their residence in nearby Vizivaros to sell their catch in the church's square. There's a walking path that connects all the towers and a lovely cafe. It's completely worth paying the admission price, but don't forget your camera!

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The Fisherman's Bastion is an interesting site in the castle district of Budapest. It dates from the late 1800s, but has undergone some restorations during the 20th century. The seven "tents" of the Fisherman's Bastion stand for the different Hungarian tribes who came there. It's a very nice place to stroll at any time of day or year. It offers amazing views of the city and the Danube and is very romantic. The nearby Stephen I statue is very ornate. This is also a great place for photos.

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The view of Pest that we have from the Bastion is the most beautiful you can imagine.
The Parlament along the Danube, the Danube itself and all the buildings giving shape to that big city was an unforgetable scene, specially at night.

This section of the rampart of the old wall faces Pest.
The Fishermen's bastion is located above the fishermen's village of olden times and a fish market was still being regularly held beside the church in the 1830s-hence the name of the bastion.
After defeating the Hungarians in the 1848/1849 War of Independence, the Government of Vienna had all the bastions on Castle Hill pulled down. The present terraced promenades were built on their old foundations in the beginning of the 19th century. With its five neo-Romanesque roofed towers and a sixth, multi-level main tower, all in white limestone, the Fishermen's Bastion is a fine vantage point.

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Despite the name this has never been used for defence and there is no fish sold here. The Fisherman's Bastion was actually built just to look nice and be a viewing platform offering great views across the Danube to Pest and the Hungarian Parliament. I performs this role wonderfully.

It all looks a bit Disneyesque to me (not in a bad way at all) but apparently the pointy, cone shaped turrets are supposed to be reminiscent of the tents of teh ancient magyars who arrived on the plains of what is now Hungary over 1000 years ago.

I'm told the name comes from the fact that this is the site of the old defensive walls of Buda and there used to be a medieval square where fish was sold here.

I think it looks best at sunset.

This beautiful site is situated in one of the cities most pleasent areas-the Castle district.
It was built between 1899-1903 by Frigyes Schulek, and it was named after the fishermans who inhabited the area in the middle ages and defend it from enemy attacks, but the actual building was never used to defensive actiones.
The Bastion is built in neo-Romanesque style, has low wall, some tunnels and 3 towers where you can get by going up on some steps or by coming from Mattheias church. there is a charmingf cafe in the area and it has a great view over Pest, especially the Parliament and St.Stephans Basilica.

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Fisherman's Bastion is a very cool look-out spot on Castle Hill. Although it looks (and feels!) really old, it just celebrated its one hundredth birthday! That's right, Fisherman's Bastion was built at the end of the nineteenth century and merely named after the medieval fishermen who once protected this stretch of the hill from marauding invaders (okay, I'm not totally sure if the invaders marauded or not...). This "belvedere" has seven towers that represent the seven tribes who originally settled on what is now Budapest. I loved arriving here early in the morning; there were nearly no other people and we were able to take in the best views, uninterrupted. During the day it can get pretty packed, so time your visit well (or just be really patient!). Outside, you will find souvenir and snack vendors, and we even saw a hawk trainer who let customers pose with the hawk for a photo!