Margaret Island (also Margitsziget, Margit-sziget; occasionally Margit Island) is a 2.5 km long island (0.965 km² in area) in the middle of the Danube in central Budapest, between the two city parts, Buda and Pest. The island mostly consists of a park and is a popular recreational area for tourists as well as for local people. The island lies between bridges Margaret Bridge (south) and Árpád Bridge (north).
Its major points are the Centennial Memorial (pictured, remembering the hundredth anniversary of the city's unification), the Palatinus water park (the largest open-air swimming complex in Budapest) and Alfréd Hajós swimming pool (where the European LC Championships 2006 will take place), a tennis stadion and an athletics centre, a small Japanese Garden, an open-air theatre accommodating an audience of 3500, a little zoo, a fountain which provides music (like that of Strauss) accompanied with water show in summer, the Musical Fountain (in fact, a tower, renovated in 1936) and an octagonal Water Tower of 57 m (built in Art Nouveau style in 1911, today functioning as a lookout tower and an exhibition hall, pictured), of which the latter two were declared protected by UNESCO.
Water Tower
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Water Tower
Two hotels provide accommodation: the turn-of-the-century Grand Hotel Margitsziget, and the modern Thermal Hotel Margitsziget with thermal spa and various medical services.
The ground in the middle of the river was probably first civilized by the Knights of St. John in the XII century. Among the present historical monuments of the island are the XIII-century ruins of a Franciscan church and the ruins of a Dominican church and convent from the same century, as well as a Premonstratensian church from the XII century. Members of the Augustinian order also lived on this island.
The island used to be called Rabbit Island (Nyulak szigete), and it received its current name after Saint Margaret (1242–1270), the daughter of Béla IV of Hungary. The island was dominated by nunneries, churches and cloisters until the XVIII century, when it was chosen to be the resort of palatines. It was declared a public garden in 1908.
It is forbidden to enter the island with vehicles; only one bus, taxis and cycle-cars (called bringóhintó) are let in. This latter is a four-person, roofed vehicle special to the island, available for hiring.
2006-08-24 03:04:21
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answer #1
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answered by Anonymous
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Never been but there is a link to a tourist site in the source box.
2006-08-23 04:50:49
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answer #2
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answered by berlingoffer 5
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