Walk in the City

Gödöllő is a friendly and quiet little town only less than an hour away from the capital where
You will find

• the royal pomp of the emperors together with the simplicity and liveliness of the market with the peasant women offering their fresh produce
• the famous woods the venue for royal hunts together with parks and meadows offering refreshment for the visitor
• the legend of Queen Elisabeth of the Hungarians, Sisi, whose charm has prevailed for 150 years and the success of a World Scout Jamboree organised in Gödöllő 80 years before.
• the squares that commemorate the common symbols of humanity: the Tree of Life, the World Peace Gong
• pilgrimage sites for visitors seeking a personal spiritual refuge will find it visiting the Statue of the Virgin Mary in Máriabesnyő.
  

Gödöllő used to be inhabited by:

• the richest noblemen and the poorest monks,
• writers, poets and artists who believed in the purifying and innovative power of the arts,
• the bourgeoisie from the capital seeking a nice rest at the royal residence and the agricultural workers serving them.
  

It is really worth getting to know Gödöllő trough a nice and easy stroll around the town as you will find precious artistic and historic values:
 Its 70 notable places of interest: famous buildings, museal collections, gardens, parks, meadows, statues and memorials will offer the visitor a really exciting discovery.
 Four itineraries with a start from the Royal Castle Gödöllő will show you the most important sights of Gödöllő.

Parts of the Royal Castle complex:
The Royal Castle Museum Gödöllő, the Royal Castle Park (Felsőpark, upper park), Baroque Theatre Gödöllő, Pavilion on Királydomb and the Castle Church

1. walk

Royal Castle Gödöllő - Elisabeth Park with the Statue of Sisi, Queen Elisabeth, Sziklahalom (a rack of stones from the former counties of Hungary) and the Calvary – Park for National Integration - GIM House and its garden - Liberty Square with the former Town House, the Reformed Church and the World Peace Gong - Petőfi Square with the Evangelic Church, Statue of Petőfi and the Commemorative Plaque of Petőfi - the Statue of Ignác Török

2. walk

Royal Castle Gödöllő - Royal Guards' Barracks - Alsó park (lower park) with the Tree of Life – Scouts’ Statue - Statue of Aladár Körösfői Kriesch - Town Museum Gödöllő - Hamvay Mansion with the Town Market and the Pelican Well - Town Library and Information Centre Gödöllő - Church of the Holy Trinity Catholic Church with the series of carpets showing the members canonized and beautified of Árpád House.

3. walk

Royal Castle Gödöllő - Szent István University with the Museum of Agricultural Machinery, the former Premonstrant Secondary School, the University Hall and the “Apotheosis of the Nucleus” and the statue of Duke Coloman on his horse - the Premonstrant Church with its stained glass picture of the Hungarian ancestors baring foot on the motherland - the Premonstrant cemetery with the Fadrusz crucifix - the Arboretum - Apaiarian Collection.

4. walk

Royal Castle Gödöllő - Máriabesnyő - guided tour: Basilica Minor for Our Lady the Holy Virgin, lower church, Crypt of the Grassalkovich Family, upper church - Holy Mary Museum - Máriabesnyő Cemetery passing by the graves of Pál Teleki, Gyula Hegedűs, Kálmán Kalocsay, Imre Ivánka.

Visitors arriving by the suburban train can see the beautiful statues of Gödöllő around Liberty Square (Szabadság tér):

Statue for the Holy Virgin
Statue of Saint Emeric (Szent Imre)
Statue of SaintJohn Nepomuki
I. Memorial for World War I

Visitors arriving with a train can see the Royal Waiting Room (now under reconstruction) at the railway station.

For a detailed description of the places of interest please visit our "Sights" page

Gödöllő's surroundings offer numerous sites for excursions. Visiting the 12 villages of Gödöllő Micro-region is also a rich experience.

The “Hidden Treasures of Budapest” brochure for the micro-region invites visitors arriving in their cars for a nice drive to get to know the sights and the most important annual venues.

Have a nice walk, a nice time and a warm welcome in Gödöllő.

Town Council Gödöllő

Over the past Gödöllő has been enriched by famous peolple and their deeds: Antal Grassalkovich I. made it a place often visited by royal guests. Queen Elisabeth, Sisi, found the spiritual refuge she was so often seeking.  an art colony was brought about by those who believed in the powers of art, Endre Ady's (an important Hungarian poet) love, Leda found her home in Gödöllő. This is where the 1933 World Scout Conference (Jamboree) was held, where Hungary's biggest baroque castle can be found. Gödöllő is home to the world's second biggest collection of agricultural machinery and the only European World Peace Gong. Máriabesnyő is home to the smallest Virgin Mary statue of Hungary, the only museum about the Holy Virgin. Pilgrims can also visit the pilgrimage site at the Basilica Minor of Máriabesnyő.

András Mayerhoffer (1690-1770), a talented baroque architect made the plans for the Royal Castle Gödöllő on orders by Antal Grassalkovich I. Grassalkovich, Mary Therese's confidant, used to be a rich and influential nobleman of the time.  The castle was built between 1694-1771 in baroque style and was so elaborate that it came to be copied by architects. The castle later became the summer residence of Franz Joseph and his family. This is when its name was changed form Grassalkovich Castle to Royal Castle. Changes were made to the building and between 1848 and 1916 the new castle was populated by Franz Joseph I. of Austria, Emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and his wife, Elisabeth of Bavaria, Queen of the Hungarians. Now the first floor of the castle is transformed into a museum where the visitor can see all the royal suits including the one designed for Mary Therese upon her visit to the Grassalkovich Castle. There is a separate exhibition on Queen Elishabeth, Sisi, who used the castle as a refuge a lot of times. Here the visitor can learn about Sisi's complex character as well as her life in the castle. A Sisi cult has been developed following her tragic death in 1898 which worships the queen much beloved and appreciated by the Hungarians. The first full body statue of Sisi was erected in Elizabeth Park ahead of the Sziklahalom (a rack of stone gathered from the 64 counties of former Hungary and near the beautiful baroque Calvary (1775). A unique cultural and historical monument is the Baroque Theatre built up at one of the Southern wings of the "U"shaped castle. The theatre has a very special stage technique, the "behind the scenes", or baroque stage technique. At the other wing of the "U" shape a Castle Church was built in XVIII century baroque style. It   is open for the public on Sundays for a church ceremony when there is the opportunity for the visitor to see the rokoko altar. The horse stable before renovation. Today it is the venue for concerts just like the baroque assembly hall. Concerts and exhibitons are also organized in the royal castle halls on the ground hall. The castle park has been partially renovated. The Palm House that is just up the chestnut alley hosts a floricultural house. The hexagonal building in the middle of the park is the Pavilion of Királydomb (royal hill), and a unique portrait hall where the visitor will find the portraits of 54 Hungarian kings and emperors. The oldest dating building of Gödöllő, the Hamvay mansion house, has had a lot of functions all through history: it was used as a guesthouse, a chemists, a hotel and even a grammar school. Today it hosts the Town Museum which introduces the Art Colony of Gödöllő in the only seccession exhibition of Hungary. Gödöllő has a rich history. Its major events, natural values and the atmospheric  enterieurs all recall Gödöllő's famous citisens: Sándor Nagy (1869-1950) painter, Zoltán Ambrus (1861-1932) writer, Ambrus Bor (1921-95) writer, Adél Diósyné Brüll (1872-1934) a major Hungarian poet's, Endre Ady's  most important muse. You can take an adventurous trip into Gödöllő's past by watching old photographs of its past. Ferenc Ignác, a private collector, gave Gödöllő his unique collection of environmental and folcloric museal artifacts of Oceania. The traditions and spirit of the Art Colony (GIM-House, 15-17 Kőrösfői Kriesch Aladár street) is conveyed by the Handicraft Workshop by providing a possibility for the contemporary artists to introduce their work in exhibitions and other occasions. A particular esthetic experience for the visitor is the GIM-House's park with its colorful atmosphere. The Town Museum organises a seccession tour to introduce the memorables of the art colony. In the court of the Town Market there is the Pelikános Kút, Gödöllő's symbolic pelican crest. The market, with its arrangement, has a special atmosphere recalling old market days. The Peace Gong on the Szabadság (Liberty) square is the fith in the world and the forst and only European peace gong which was goven by Indonesia as a present to the town of Gödöllő. The baroque style Feromed Church (9 Szabadság square), built in 1745 with the support of Antal Grassalkovich I. is an onion dome church. (9 Szabadság square). Seccession architecture is represented by the monumental building of the former Town Hall (Járási Hivatal). After reconstruction it now hosts the recently inaugurated Queen Elisabeth Hotel (2 DózsaGyörgy street). The square in front is surrounded by a number of businesses of old gentility and the Evangelic Church on Petőfi square whith a statue of Sándor Petőfi (1822-1849), an outstanding Hungarian poet. Petőfi is linked to Gödöllő with one of his most important love relationships that is mentioned by his poems entitled "Szerelem gyöngyei" (pearls of love) the verses of which can be seen on a commemorative plaque on 16. Petőfi square. Visitors arriving with the suburban train are welcome by the beautiful statues of Gödöllő. Saint Mary Column ornamented with the statues of some saints in beautiful baroque bas-reliefs and erected by Martin Vögerl on Antal Grassalkovich's orders comes first in the eye, next is the Statue of Duke Saint Imre (Emeric) erected with public contributions by Ludvig Krausz. The park next to the railway station hosts the monument for those fighting in World War I. erected by Lőrinc Siklódy in 1931. Afront the House of Arts and Culture can be found. There the visitor will come across a large number of cultural events with famouslocal artists in every season. The Statue for the Scouts, erected by István Paál in 1994 to commemorate the World Scout Jamboree in 1933 can be found right next to it.  The Testőrlaktanya (barracks of guards) at 2 Szabadság sqare, opposite the castle in “Alsó park” (lower park of the castle) used to be a noblemen's dwelling in the XVIII century. 100 years later it became the queen’s administrative office and then it worked as the guards' barracks. Alsó park is the venue of the Hungarian Independence Day held annually at  “Világfa” (tree of life) erected by József Lajos Velekei in 2010. The Királyi Váróterem (royal railway station waiting room) designed by a major Hungarian architect, Miklós Ybl, can be found at the suburban train's terminal, and it is a place of interest in Gödöllő. Szent István University, a former Premonstrant monastery and secondary school (1924), now the agricultural scientific centre of Hungary, is a 5 minutes walk from here. There (1 Páter Károly street), among others, the visitor will come across the  famous relief made of copper, entitled A Mag Apoteózisa (the apotheosis of the nucleus), created by Amerigo Tot, a sculptor og Hungarian origin (1909-84) Árpád-Házi Kálmán Herceg (Duke Coloman of the House of Árpád) (1208-1241) helped the Premonstrant church financially a lot. His bronze statue is erected at the upper side of the park near the entrance of the university. On a territory of almost 4,000 squaremeters, The Museum of Agricultural Machinery hosts a collection of 2,000 agricultural machines that are still working, an atmospheric exhibition of Hungaricum food types and the 2.5 million year-old history of food aquisition and production. The stained glass window, a beautiful secession painting of Sándor Nagy was painted into the altar picture of the Premonstrant Church at 3 Fácán sor. The duplicate of János Fadrusz's famous Krisztus a Keresztfán (the Crucifiction of Christ) can be found in the cemetery of the Premonstrants at Menyhért Takács's tomb. Menyhért Takács (1861-1933) was the founder of the Premonstrant's Secondary Scool. At the beginning of Isaszegi street, Southern end of Gödöllő, the Arboretum, former meadows of Archduke Joseph, used to be the most important arboretum in Hungary. Today the arboretum lies on a territory of 350 hectares, the park part of which is covered by easily accessible walking paths. The visitor will find more than 700 varieties of tree species, 110 of which is Pinaceae and the rest is decidious tree species. The arboretum also hosts a number of scientific researches in forestry. Near the arboretum there is a unique museum for the Apiarian Collection. Visitors please check in before visiting. 3 km away from the centre of Gödöllő, the Virgin Mary shrine and the holy spiritual atmosphere of the place makes Máriabesnyő an attractive place for those seeking a spiritual refuge. The Basilica Minor is a two storey church built by Antal Grassalkovich I.: the lower church hosts the crypt of the Grassalkovich family (built by János Mayerhoffer) and it is one of the most beautiful mausoleums of Hungary built by János Mayerhoffer. The upper church is the Basilica Minor for the Blessed Virgin Mary (Nagyboldogasszony) with two altars, two outstanding Virgin Mary Statues, an oratorium and a refectorium and the adjacent monastery (1763). The exhibition room behind the basilica hosts the only Virgin Mary Museum of Hungary. In its realistic presentation, the Passion on Palm Sunday organised in the basilica recalls Jesus Christ's suffering.  The cemetery of Máriabesnyő is home to Count Pál Teleki's grave. Teleki is a major personality in Gödöllő's history. A place of distinuished interest is that of Babat where there is a unique Stable Castle (Istállókastély) in the world built by Antal Grassalkovich I. for his daughter who suffered from an acute pneumonia. She was to cure her illness there. Near this castle there is the Open Garden Foundation for producing and delivery of organic produce. The lake system around is made up of 11 fishing lakes with a horse stable and a traditional village garden with heritage varieties of cattle, sheep and others.  The grammar school in the centre bears the name of Ignác Török (1795-1849), a general (in defence) who later became a martyr in Arad. The Holy Trinity Church in 15 Szent Imre street is a church that was ordained in 2007, is a simple yet exciting architectural phenomenon housing Erzsébet Szekeres' unique work of art: a series carpets showing the members of the Árpád House who were canonized and beautified. 10 of these Hungarians lived their lives away from Hungary yet stayed in touch with their native country thourgh weaving an invisible web with it by their holy insistance with the Catholic church something that is so characteristic of Hungarians. Another example of this coexistence is the Nemzeti Együvé Tartozás Park (Park for National Integration) in Mihály Táncsics road, where 64 counties of of the former Hungary have contributed their handful of soil to express their national feelings. Gödöllő's culture is one that, at present just as through history, is home to exciting venues year by year. For information about current programs please visit www.godollo.hu .