Many tourists, after walking around Budapest and seeing all the interesting sights, often wonder how to end the weekend in this city in order to remember everything even better.
I have an answer! Set aside a few hours and visit the observation tower, which offers stunning views of the suburbs and the city itself. And on bright sunny days from here, you can see the snow-capped mountains of the High Tatras, which are only 70 kilometres from the capital of Hungary.
And now I will tell a little about the history of this tower. Let me start with the fact that this is the highest point in the city of Budapest, which is 527 meters above sea level. And it is located on the top of the Janos mountain.
Construction of the site began in the spring of 1908 and lasted two years. It would seem that the building is not so big and it could be built faster, but the placement of the future tower became a difficulty. So, a special cable car was built to deliver construction materials, and water was brought there through a special water pipe.
By the way, the tower was named in honour of Duchess Amalia Eugenia Elizaveta of Bavaria, who climbed Mount Janos in 1882. The tower was officially opened on September 8, 1910, and in its first years, it performed not only the function of an observation deck but also served as a meteorological station and a fire station, which aimed to protect the forest from fire.
The architect of the tower was Fridjes Sulek, who performed the work in the style of neo-romanticism. The height of the building is 23.5 meters, and the perimeter of the lower walls is 53 meters, which decreases towards the top. In total, the tower has 6 levels, two of which are hidden underground, and the sixth is an observation deck, which can be visited any day absolutely free of charge.
How to get there
Address: Erzsébet-kilátó, Budapest 1121
Website: hegyvidek.hu
RER train: Jánoshegy
Tram: Hűvösvölgy
Working hours: 8:00-20:00
Coordinates: 47.51835, 18.95942