Fisherman’s Bastion

The Fisherman's Bastion, in Budapest

The Fisherman's Bastion is one of the most fairytale-like attractions of Budapest, a neo-Romanesque promenade with seven conical turrets, perched above the Danube. The Budapest audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this monument completed in 1902, a tribute to the seven Magyar tribes founding Hungary, whose name recalls the fishermen's guild and that offers a fairytale panorama over the city.

The seven turrets of the Magyar tribes

A true tourist attraction of Budapest, the Fisherman's Bastion fulfils more a decorative than a historical function. Completed in 1902 after seven years of works, this promenade, almost straight out of a fairy tale with its white turrets and its galleries, is a tribute to the ancestors of the Hungarian people, the Magyars. Divided into seven tribes, hence the seven conical-shaped turrets, this people arrived on the territory more than a thousand years ago to found the beginnings of Hungary. Despite the term bastion in its name, the site never played a defensive role. Its name is said to come from the fishermen's guild that, in the Middle Ages, was charged with defending this portion of the rampart located below; others advance that a fish market was formerly held in the surroundings, but this origin remains more uncertain. Built in white stone in a neo-Romanesque style, with its arcades, its staircases and its terraces, the bastion is a magnificent belvedere, much prized by newlyweds and photographers. From the top of its terraces, the gaze embraces the Danube, its bridges, the Parliament and the whole panorama of Pest, a spectacle that makes the stop particularly magical. A piece of advice: going there at nightfall allows to admire the illuminated city and to take superb photos. A fairytale promenade and a belvedere over the Danube, the Fisherman's Bastion is a fine stop of the discovery of Budapest.

What to see

Here you discover a neo-Romanesque promenade with the air of a fairy tale, completed in 1902, whose seven conical turrets pay tribute to the seven Magyar tribes founding Hungary; never defensive despite its name inherited from the fishermen's guild, the bastion offers, from its white stone terraces, a fairytale panorama over the Danube, its bridges and the Parliament. The Fisherman's Bastion is an emblematic belvedere of Budapest. It is a fine stop, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The Fisherman's Bastion lies on the castle hill, near the St. Matthias Church, in Buda, in Budapest, reachable on foot or by funicular. The lower terraces are generally in free access, some high turrets may be paying; the hours vary. It is best to go there early in the morning or at nightfall for the view and the crowds.

Why does the Fisherman's Bastion of Budapest have seven turrets?

Because its seven conical turrets pay tribute to the seven Magyar tribes that arrived on the territory more than a thousand years ago to found Hungary; completed in 1902 in a neo-Romanesque style, the bastion never had a defensive role despite its name, inherited from the fishermen's guild, and offers a fairytale panorama over the Danube and Pest.

Where is the Fisherman's Bastion in Budapest?

On the castle hill, near the St. Matthias Church, in Buda, in Budapest, in Hungary.