Mayor's greeting

Dear Visitor,

Welcome to a town that preserves values in its past and is striving for an illustrious future, a town with an honorable past and a vigorous belief in its future.

Gödöllő is more than a colorful little suburb of Budapest. Its sights include some that are unique both nationwide as well as in Europe.

Hungary's biggest  baroque castle and smallest Marian column, the oldest baroque theatre, the largest portrait gallery of kings and queens, the second most important museum of agricultural instruments and machinery in the world and the first European Peace Gong can all be found here. Gödöllő is home to three unique exhibitions in Hungary: one is the only year round exhibition on secession; another is the only Holy Virgin museum and third is the National Scouting Collection.

In Gödöllő everything is there to make your sightseeing exciting. The pomp and magnitude of the monarchy suites, the elegance of the castle park in the royal castle mark the era of kings and monarchs. Interesting interiors recall Gödöllő's rich local history and its famous personages. Szent Istvan University offers a youthful bustle and the holy inspirative atmosphere in Máriabesnyő shrine offers a spiritual subsidence.

Gödöllő is the town of parks, parklands, statues and monuments. Walking the parks you will come across the statues of numerous famous people born in Gödöllő, motifs symbolising eternal human values such as the World Peace Memorial, the Tree of Life (Világfa) as well as the Park for National Integration, which symbolises the across border national integrity of Hungarians all over the world.

Gödöllő organizes a number of cultural happenings, a lot of which recall the most important historical happenings of the town. The Feast Day of Saint Anthony and the Baroque Days at the Castle commemorate Antal Grassalkovich I. who built the royal castle. The Baroque weekend in August commemorates the visit of Queen Mary Therese in Gödöllő.

The era of kings and queens and the most beloved Hungarian queen, Sisi, who spent more than 2000 days in Gödöllő, is commemorated by Violet Day (the queen's favourite flower), Coronation Weekend, Hunters' Day and the Advent Castle Days. The beautiful Assembly Hall hosts the International Harp Festival and the List Festival which have been organized with great success for the past few years. With its unique stage technique, the Baroque Theatre hosts numerous theatrical performances that are very popular with theatre and opera goers. A prestigious ceremony has been organised for twenty years to commemorate the Soviet exodus and the end of the Soviet regime in Hungary. This ceremony is held at the Tree of Life (Világfa) erected in "Alsópark" (the nether park of the castle) on the occasion of the Hungarian Independence Day.

The thematic itineraries and walking routes for sight seeing are to help the visitor discover Gödöllő's values on the whole and explore one specific topic (such as the Queen Elizabeth route).

Gödöllő is a town for lovers of art, history and literature so it is no surprise that everybody will find his/her interest: lovers of art and literature will find unique art experiences, and those interested in Queen Elizabeth's legendary life or the history of Hungarian scouting will also be offered possibilities to explore history. Pilgrims are welcome at Virgin Mary shrine to discover a special spiritual experience. The Marian Route starting from Budapest and crossing Gödöllő for a stop at Máriabesnyő's Basilica Minor is an exceptional spiritual adventure. A special event here is Passion on Palm Sunday, the ceremony organised for the reception of the Bethlehem Flame arriving to Besnyő on the first day of Advent.

The green environmental circle that surrounds Gödöllő is one that will be protected prior to everything as Gödöllő is a green town. The villages in Gödöllő's micro-region offer a wide variety of possibilities to explore nature, folk art and historical sites.

Travel to Gödöllő from Budapest only takes 30 minutes by car and 45 minutes by the suburban train. Ferihegy Airport is only a 20-25 minutes drive from Gödöllő, shorter than from Budapest, the capital of Hungary.

Gödöllő and its micro-region abound in restaurants and confectionaries that welcome the visitor both with national as well as international cuisine. For those who would like to spend more time here in Gödöllő there are accommodation facilities ranging from student hostels to hotels and private accommodations.

Have a wonderful time, enjoy your stay in Gödöllő!

Dr. György Gémesi
Mayor of Gödöllő