Walks · Budapest · English
6 narrated stops, 18 minutes of stories, 4.6 km on foot. Press play at each stop — no app needed — or open the walk in Avsha and let the stories keep coming as you move.
Stop 1 · 3 min
In short: The Hospital in the Rock is a secret WWII emergency hospital and Cold War nuclear bunker hidden under Buda Castle. It treated hundreds of wounded during the 1944 Siege of Budapest and remained a closely guarded secret until 2002.
↓ 1.1 km · 15 min to the next stop
Stop 2 · 3 min
In short: Vlad the Impaler was held prisoner for much of twelve years in the Labyrinth of Buda Castle. King Matthias Corvinus had him arrested for treason in 1462 and imprisoned him within the subterranean complex of limestone caves and tunnels.
↓ 800 m · 11 min to the next stop
Stop 3 · 3 min
In short: Yes, the lions have tongues carved deep into their throats, though they are invisible from the ground. Despite legends claiming sculptor János Marschalkó jumped into the Danube because they were missing, he actually lived for many years after the bridge's completion.
↓ 700 m · 10 min to the next stop
Stop 4 · 3 min
In short: This memorial honors victims, mostly Jewish citizens, executed by the Hungarian Arrow Cross Party in 1944 and 1945. They were ordered to remove their shoes because leather was a scarce, valuable commodity used by militiamen or sold on the black market.
↓ 1.0 km · 14 min to the next stop
Stop 5 · Basilica di Santo Stefano, Verona, Italy · 3 min
In short: As Verona's first cathedral, this Romanesque church features a unique three-level design built over an ancient Roman temple. Its crypt holds the remains of twenty-seven early bishops, while the interior contains fourteenth-century frescoes and the Chapel of the Innocents.
↓ 1.1 km · 15 min to the next stop
Stop 6 · 3 min
In short: The bees were the mascot of the Downtown Savings Bank, which commissioned the building. They represent industry, hard work, and the habit of saving, encouraging citizens to store their wealth just as a bee stores honey for the winter.