It was at Pressburg the touching scene took place when the young Queen Maria Teresa appeared with her baby boy in her arms to appeal to the various orders of the State for their support against those neighbouring sovereigns who wished to tear it from her.
In the new constitution of 1848 the coronation place of the kings was removed to Budapest with the Houses of Parliament, and henceforth this city became the capital.
The splendid equestrian statue of Maria Teresa at Pressburg is most fittingly placed near the old Coronation Hill.
Not far below Pressburg the Danube is split by a long island called Schütt or Csallókoz, sixty miles long by thirty broad, with about a hundred villages on it. It is very fertile, and has a great future in agriculture. At the village of Csúny another arm of the Danube branches off.
When we come to Komárom (Komorn), the first stream rejoins the main river, and the current is difficult and unruly, continually changing its bed. It will be remembered that Maurus Jókai, the great Hungarian novelist, was born at Komorn. The town is partly hidden from view by Elizabeth Island, but its neighbour, Ujszöny, on the right bank, now united to it by a long iron bridge, is well seen. Here the other branch of the Danube, reinforced by the Vág, comes in again.
Before reaching Esztergom or Gran the scenery is rather flat, but thence it becomes fine, as the river once more winds round among hills, past several interesting places, one of which is Viségrad crowned by the ruins of the ancient castle, and on by another of the numerous islands to Vácz (Waitzen). Before Vácz it makes a curious right-angled turn, flowing due south to Budapest. Old Buda is the part of the town first reached, and we see the shipbuilding yards of the Steam Navigation Company, and also Margaret Island, with its beautiful grounds, before landing at the wharf.
Budapest is one of the most wonderful cities in Europe, and the third in point of size, ranking after London and Vienna. It is formed from the combination of three towns, O-Buda, Buda, and Pest, which were united under the present name in 1873. The first of these is the oldest.
Its magnificent situation on the Danube gives it a majesty which could be attained in no other way. The best approach is by steamer, when outlined against the sky the Castle Hill, Mt. Gellért, and the Royal Palace on the heights can be seen on one side and the domes and pinnacles of the Houses of Parliament, the gables and roofs of all the remaining fine buildings on the other. If the first view of it is in the evening, then the whole city seems alive with points of fire, and jewels and diadems of lights are flung along the Esplanade and the outlines of the principal streets.
The river varies greatly in breadth, being 700 yards wide a little above the town and less than half that distance opposite Mt. Gellért. It is now spanned by five bridges. The oldest of these is the chain bridge, built in 1849 by Count Stephen Széchenyi, one of the national heroes, to replace an ancient bridge of boats. The others include the Francis Joseph and the Elizabeth Bridges, named out of compliment to the present ruler and his late consort. The highest point on the Buda side is St. John’s Mount, about 1300 feet, but most noticeable are the bare and craggy outlines of Mt. Gellért, rather more than half as high. There are innumerable ferry-boats, steamers, and barges of all kinds on the water, which presents a lively scene. On the Buda side are the oldest remains and the quaintest street vistas. Here is the Church of St. Matthias, which, though so much restored as to be practically rebuilt, dates from the thirteenth century. It is here the kings of Hungary are crowned.
In Buda also is the Royal Palace, used far too seldom by the king, according to Hungarian ideas, for the people would rejoice to have their sovereign among them more frequently. There is nothing old about it, for it was ruthlessly razed to the ground during the Turkish occupation. The Throne Room, St. Stephen’s Room, the Hapsburg Room, and the Chapel Royal are all worth seeing. In the last is the embalmed hand of St. Stephen, one of the nation’s greatest treasures. It must be remembered that the State religion is Roman Catholic; the reigning monarch must adhere to that faith, and the people in the capital of Hungary are almost overwhelmingly of the same creed. The coronation insignia, strongly guarded, are also in the Royal Palace. There are several very fine groups of sculpture in the vicinity of the building. What will interest visitors most, however, are the splendid hanging gardens overlooking the river.