| Gellért Hill (J Loop) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 771 ft (235 m) |
| Coordinates | 47°29′11″N19°02′45″E / 47.48639°N 19.04583°E /47.48639; 19.04583 |
| Geography | |
 | |
| Location | Budapest,Hungary |
| Climbing | |
| Easiest route | Hike |
Gellért Hill (Hungarian:Gellért-hegy;German:Kelenberg, Osterberg or Blocksberg;Latin:Mons Sancti GerhardiTurkish:Gürz İlyas Bayırı) is a 235 m (771 ft) high hill overlooking theDanube inBudapest,Hungary. It is located in the1st and the11th districts. The hill was named afterSaint Gerard who was thrown to death from the hill. The famousHotel Gellért and theGellért Baths can be found inGellért Square at the foot of the hill, next toLiberty Bridge. TheGellért Hill Cave is also located on the hill, facing the hotel and theDanube.
At the top of the hill, theCitadella (English: citadel) can be found with a nice panoramic view of the city.
The first recorded names of the hill in theMiddle Ages wereKelen-hegy,Pesti-hegy (English: Pest Hill) andBlocksberg. Since the 15th century, it has been calledSzent Gellért hegye (lit.the hill of St. Gerard), in reference to the legend of the death ofSt. Gerard (Hungarian:Szent Gellért),Bishop of Csanád. The bishop was assassinated by thepagans during thegreat pagan rebellion in 1046. He was allegedly put in a barrel and rolled down from the top of the hill.
The former name, Pesti-hegy (Latin:Mons Pestiensis) referred to the large cave (nowGellért Hill Cave) in the hillside. The word is probably ofSlavic origin and meansoven orcave.[1]
TheOttoman Turks called the hillGürz Elyas bayiri.[2]Gürz Elyas was a holy man from theBektashi order whose shrine and grave on top of the hill was a place ofpilgrimage in the 17th century.[3]
The hill belongs to theBuda Hills but, in a narrow sense, it connects to the southern Buda range consisting alsoSashegy. These hills are based onmain dolomite from theLate Triassic epoch, although the hills themselves arose later in thePleistocene along atectonic breakline. This explains also the origin of thehot springs all around the area. Thecaves are the result of the breaklines and the springs. The most significant among them is theGellért Hill Cave with theSziklatemplom (English: Cave Church).[4]
After the assassination of St. Gerard, the hill was not populated. The dense forest and rocks gave way to legends ofwitches holding their ceremonies on the hill.
From the 18th century the hillsides were covered withvineyards. TheTabán district at the foot of the hill was an important centre ofwinemaking inBuda. According to the 1789land register vineyards covered 128hectares (316 ac) on the hill (only 7.62 hectares or 18.8 ac were used as pastures).[5]
A smallcalvary was built on the top of the hill which was rebuilt around 1820. OnEaster Mondays a procession climbed the steep road leading to the calvary to celebrate theresurrection of Christ. Many tents andvendors were erected on the nearby meadow.Emmausjárás (En:Emmaus-walk) ortojásbúcsú (En: Egg Feast) was one of the most popularCatholic holidays of the year during the 18th–19th centuries.[6]
TheCitadella was built after the1848–49 Hungarian uprising by the rulingHabsburgs, as it was a prime, strategic site for shelling bothBuda andPest in the event of a future revolt.
Gellért Hill also saw action in theSecond World War and the1956 Hungarian Revolution, when Soviet tanks fired down into the city from the hill.[citation needed] Indeed, battle scars still pockmark some buildings in Budapest.[citation needed] There is a small military museum in the Citadella’s grounds.[7] At the end of the Citadella is theLiberty Statue (Szabadság Szobor inHungarian), a large monument erected by the Soviet Red Army to commemorate their victory in World War II.[8]
Now an affluent residential area, a number of embassies and ambassadorial residences line the streets that wind up the hill. Since 1987, the area has been a UNESCOWorld Heritage site as part of "the Banks of the Danube".
A large proportion of the hill consists ofparkland.Bats andhedgehogs are commonly observed on summer nights.
In January 2007, a new cave was discovered under Gellért Hill during private construction. The cave is 60 by 18 m (200 by 59 ft) with three rooms. The interior is covered with white crystals composed ofgypsum,calcite, andaragonite. The cave was created 300,000–500,000 years ago by a now disappeared thermal spring. The crystal cave was immediately placed under legal protection.[9]
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