Magyar Állami Operaház

Hungarian State Opera House (Magyar Állami Operaház) is a lavish neo-Renaissance opera house that is originally known as the Hungarian Royal Opera House. It is the second-largest opera house located on Andrássy Avenue. 

For those who are into opera performances, ongoing programs, and the history of the hose, please visit HP. Since this is a photoblog, I'd stress more on the stunning interior view.

Auditorium

In front of the building are statues of Ferenc Erkel and Franz Liszt. Liszt is the best-known Hungarian composer. Erkel composed the Hungarian national anthem, and was the first music director of the Opera House; he was also the founder of the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra.

façade

The opera house was designed by the Hungarian architect Mikós Ybl, whereas the Baroque ornamentation, sweeping marble staircases, frescoed ceilings, vast chandeliers, rich velvets, and gilded tiers of seats in the auditorium were mainly contributed by Hungarian painters, Bertalan Székely, Károly Lotz and Mór Than.

Ticket counter

Construction began in 1875, funded by the city of Budapest and by Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria-Hungary. The new house opened with great fanfare on September 27, 1884. In the 1970s the state of the building prompted the Hungarian State to order a major renovation which eventually began in 1980 and lasted till 1984. The reopening was held exactly 100 years after the original opening, on 27th September 1984.

Foyer

As soon as entering the building, you notice that, in its beauty and the quality of acoustics, the Opera House is considered to be amongst the finest opera houses in the world. The foyer is supported by nine marble columns. The vaulted ceiling is covered in murals by Bertalan Székely and Mór Than. They depict the nine Muses.

Grand staircase

A vast, sweeping staircase was an important element of the opera house as it allowed ladies to show off their new gowns. This is the meeting point where the guided tour starts.

Feszty Bar

Feszty bar (Opera Cafe) is the place to enjoy booze and light meals before, during or after the show. The bar is flanked by corridors that used to be the place for smoking in the past...

Royal staircase

The royal staircase is a private entrance from the carriage ramp in Dalszínház street leading to the parlors on the first floor. This somehow reminds me of Ceremonial Stair Hall in Hungarian National Assembly (see this entry)...

Two bronze statues and portraits are exhibited there.

Auditorium -  a view from the VIP room on the second floor

The biggest attraction of the tour is, needless to say, the horseshoe-shaped, three-floored auditorium!!! Rich in gold red colors with a stunning fresco in the ceiling, the auditorium is capable of accommodating 1261 audiences.

Boxes

Mikós Ybl’s neo-renaissance palace has remained virtually unchanged in the 130 years since and continues to attract admirers of opera and ballet alike.

Visiting tours with a mini concert (option) in several languages are available here. No need to book in advance. Be there prior to the tour.

Teatr im. Juliusza Słowackiego w Krakowie

Juliusz Słowacki Theatre in Kraków is an eye-catching beautiful baroque-style building located in Plac Św. Ducha (Holy Ghost square), close to the Kraków main station (Kraków Główny). The edifice, designed by Jan Zawiejski, is ranked among the most valuable monuments of theatre architecture in Europe. 

Later named after noted Polish poet and playwright Juliusz Słowacki, the theater was modeled after some of the most beautiful venues in Europe and was the first building in Krakow to have electric lighting in 1893!

Have a wonderful weekend.

Gellérthegyi-barlang

The Cave Church is located near the Buda end of Liberty Bridge, across from the famous Gellért Baths. It is embedded in Gellért Hill.

According to the legend in the middle age, a hermit named Istvan or Ivan lived there and was believed to have used the natural thermal water of a muddy lake next to the cave to heal the sick people. Today the water is used for the famous Gellert Bath on the other side of the road. Istvan was later canonized, and the cave was named Szent Iván-barlang (Saint Ivan's Cave).

The church was founded in the 1920s, by a group of Pauline monks after a pilgrimage to Lourdes, France. Originally, the altar was located at the entrance of the cave and the congregation was seated outdoors on the terrace. After its consecration in 1926, it served as a chapel and monastery until 1951.

During World War II, the church served as a field hospital for the army of Nazi Germany. Due to the new Communist regime after the war, father Ferenc Vezér was sentenced to death and the remaining brothers were imprisoned for upwards of ten years. In 1951, the church entrance was completely sealed with a thick concrete wall. A part of the wall can still be seen by the entrance.

As the Iron Curtain disintegrated, the chapel reopened on 27 August 1989 with the destruction of the thick concrete wall that had sealed the cave. By 1992, the Chapel had been restored and the Pauline Order had returned to the cave. 

Today, the monks continue to perform religious functions within, though the cave is also a common tourist attraction. 

A modern statue of St. Stephen holding a church is in the little square in front of the cave. 

This is also a good point to find the beauty of Liberty bridge, especially after sunset!!!

Wieliczka Salt Mine

Wieliczka Salt Mine (Polish: Kopalnia soli Wieliczka) had been one of my "must-visit" destinations until this summer in 2017, although it's not so far from where I currently live (Olomouc, Czech Republic). It is located in Wieliczka within the Kraków metropolitan area. 

The salt mine, run by the Żupy krakowskie Salt Mines company, was one of the oldest mines that history dated back to the 13th century and kept producing table salt until 2007. Commercial mining was discontinued in 1996, because of salt prices going down and also mine flooding. The mine is one of Poland's official national Historic Monuments (Pomniki historii), as designated in the first round, on 16 September 1994. About 1.2 million people visit the Wieliczka Salt Mine annually!!!

Image from Wiki

In Krakow, millions of tourist offices offer guide tours. The guide tour price varies according to the service - the more expensive tour tends to include a pick-up service in front of your hotel - No need to take public transportation, and no need to buy a tour guide when you get there. 

Chapel of Saint Kinga

Joining a guided tour means you are obliged to follow your guide as a group of around 30 visitors. You are not allowed to be alone there. In another word, being alone in the mine means you are likely to get lost in humongous underground salt world!

Rock-salt carving of Pope John Paul II

After setting up the radio headphone, the following action visitors make in the tour is to come down the everlasting stairs to a depth of 64 meters. By following a guide's voice through the radio-headphone over walking almost 3 km (which is still less than 2% of the length of the mine's passages!!!) of meandering corridors, you encounter stunning beauty of chapels, statues, and reception room that are all made of salt, as well as underground lake located at 135 meters in depth. 

Underground lake in Wiemar Chamber

If you haven't been to, I strongly recommend visiting there to indulge yourself in the crystal beauty of past industrial technologies and the faith among hardworking miners.

Casimir III the Great (left)

From time to time during the tour, you encounter well-carved statues. The bust of Casimir III the Great (1310-1370) can be found in a more than 100-meter underground corridor. Of course, he is made of salt rock carved by miners. He is called "the Great" because he was deemed a peaceful ruler, a “peasant king,” and a skilled diplomat. He reformed the Polish army and doubled the size of the kingdom. He reformed the judicial system and introduced a legal code, gaining the title "the Polish Justinian". He was the founder of the University of Kraków, the oldest Polish university. He also confirmed privileges and protections previously granted to Jews and encouraged them to settle in Poland in great numbers. 

He is portrayed in 50 Złoty.

St. John Chapel

The Chapel of St. John, a symbol of Wieliczka miners' faith and worship, is considered to be the most beautiful chapel with wooden furnishings. It is located 135 meters underground with a floor area of 153 square meters. It appears at the very end of the tour. Make sure your camera battery is still alive and still enough space in the memory card...

Chapel of Saint Kinga

There is no doubt that the Chapel of St. Kinga, located 101 meters underground with 31 x 15 m dimensions/ 465 square meters, is the biggest highlight of the tour. When you search for images of Wieliczka Salt Mine, you are very likely to find images of this chapel. Due to the tour, I could only stay around 12 min.... Way too short!

All made of salt!!!

There is a legend about Saint Kinga of Poland (1224-1292). Well, she was a Hungarian princess born in Esztergom in the Kingdom of Hungary. When She was betrothed to Bolesław V the Chaste, the Prince of Kraków in the 1200s, she persuaded her father, Béla IV of Hungary, for a lump of salt because Krakow had lots of gold but hardly any salts then.  Before Kinga headed for Kraków, her father King Béla took her to a salt mine in Máramaros county in Hungary where she threw her engagement ring given by her fiancé, Bolesław, in one of the shafts. Upon arriving in Kraków, she asked the miners to dig a deep pit until they come upon a rock. The people found a lump of salt in there and when they split it in two, discovered the princess's ring. Kinga had thus become the patron saint of salt miners in and around the Polish capital. Her discovery of a salt mine had brought Kraków 700 years of wealth through salt export.

Michalowice Chamber

Michalowice Chamber is another breathtaking timber-made structure built by mimers you encounter. jaw-dropping view!!!

Souvenir shop

I am not sure if the "embedded" souvenir shop was also made by miners... but so cool!

In 1978 it was placed on the first UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.

Czechoslovak Independence Day in 2017

It is a public holiday today in Czech Republic - supermarkets are all closed and people celebrate their Independence Day. This is my 4th time taking photos of military procession, ceremony and fireworks. For some reason I utterly forgot the day and was so unprepared to shoot. 

Due to the construction of streets downtown, the military procession route was changed, which I didn't know. I didn't take tripod with me. I got to hold camera in every possible ways you can come up with to stabilize camera. Hence I am quite reluctant to upload photos of fireworks this time but I own this photoblog, so why not.

Happy Independence Day!!!

Votivkirche

a view from the side at night

Votivkirche (The Votive Church in Vienna) is a neo-Gothic church located on the Ringstraße in Vienna, Austria.

Note a couple exhibiting affection close to the entrance...

Construction on the second-tallest church in Vienna began in 1856 as a symbol of gratitude for an unsuccessful assassination attempt on Emperor Franz Joseph by Hungarian nationalist János Libényi on 18 February 1853. Franz Joseph I reigned for 68 years as an Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, King of Bohemia, and many others. He was the longest-reigning Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, as well as the third longest-reigning monarch of any country in European history, after Louis XIV of France and Johann II of Liechtenstein.

Emperor's brother Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian I inaugurated a campaign to create a church to thank God for saving the Emperor's lifeThe Neo-Gothic church was consecrated in 1879 on the occasion of the imperial couple's silver wedding.

Main altar

The marble altar is decorated with panels with glass mosaic inlay work. and is supported by six alabaster columns.

When I visited there, the church was, in part, under construction...

St. Mary's Basilica In Kraków

St. Mary's Basilica in Kraków (also known as Church of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven; Polish Bazylika Mariacka w Krakowie) is a black gothic church located at the heart of Krakow. The history of the Church dated back to the late 13th century on the foundations of a former Romanesque church and the new temple was consecrated around 1320. The church underwent numerous reconstructions over centuries.

St. Mary's Altar

The church is particularly famous for its wooden altarpiece. The altarpiece was carved between 1477 and 1484 by German sculptor, Veit Stoss. 

Overview of St. Mary's Altar

In addition, a trumpet signal—called the St. Mary's Trumpet Call; Polish Hejnał mariacki—is played from the top of the taller of Saint Mary's two towers. It is played every hour on the hour, four times in succession in each of the four cardinal directions, by a trumpeter on the highest tower. 

Image from Wiki

When I first heard it, I thought it was played by a machine/player, programmed to play a song every hour but it is played by a real human being! The noon performance is broadcast via radio to all of Poland and the world.

The church is familiar to many English-speaking readers from the 1929 book The Trumpeter of Krakow by Eric P. Kelly.

The Baro­que altar of the Holy Cross was built in 1735 from black mar­ble incrusted with pink mar­ble. It holds a Gothic sculp­tu­ral master­pie­ce – the sto­ne cross sculp­ted by Veit Stoss in the late 15th cen­tu­ry.

The façade of St. Mary’s Basilica has two characteristic towers of various heights and architecture. The tal­ler south tower is 82 m high and is also cal­led the Bugle Call Tower or the Excu­bia­rum Watch­to­wer. The shor­ter south tower called "bell tower" where Polish Miles Davis plays every hour is 69 m high. 

Tourist information can be found here. The admission of pres­by­te­ry and its main altar costs 10 PLN. Personally, it's worth it. The ticket office is located adjacent to the church.