Culture
The dance tradition of the Carpathian Basin is the unique area of the European dance culture, which is also a special transition between the Balkans and Western Europe regions. Several authentic Hungarian folk dance ensembles work in Budapest, some of them professional. Budapest is one of the only few cities in the world where a high school for folk dance learning exists.
In Budapest there are currently 837 different monuments, which represent the most of the European artistic style. The classical and unique Hungarian Art Nouveau buildings are prominent.
The city glories in 223 museums and galleries, which presents several memories, not only the Hungarian historical, art and science ones, but also the memories of universal and European culture and science. Here are the greatest examples among them: the Hungarian National Museum, the Hungarian National Gallery, the Museum of Fine Arts, the Budapest Historical Museum, the Memento Park and the Museum of Applied Arts.
In Budapest there are forty theaters, seven concert halls and an opera house. Outdoor festivals, concerts and lectures enrich the cultural offer of summer, which are often held in historical buildings. The largest theater facilities: the Budapest Operetta and Musical Theatre, the József Attila Theatre, the Katona József Theatre, the Madách Theatre, the Hungarian State Opera House, the National Theatre, the Vigadó, Radnóti Miklós Theatre and the Comedy Theatre.
A lot of libraries have unique collection in Budapest, such as the National Széchenyi Library, which keeps historical relics from the age before the printing of books. The Metropolitan Szabó Ervin Library plays an important role in the general education of the capital’s population. Other libraries: The Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Eötvös University Library, the Parliamentary Library and the National Library of Foreign Literature.
If we mention cultural events, Hungary’s the largest outdoor festival is the Sziget Festival, which is really popular in all over Europe, as well. Other major events: Budapest Spring Festival, Budapest Autumn Festival, the Budapest Wine Festival and the Budapest Pálinka Festival.
Tourists visiting Budapest are provided with free maps and information about "points of interest" by BTDM at its info-points.
24 h and 72 h Budapest card is available for visitors. During the card's validity public transport is free, and discount is available in lots of museums, restaurants, and other places of interest.
Read more about this topic: Budapest
Famous quotes containing the word culture:
“Anthropologists have found that around the world whatever is considered “men’s work” is almost universally given higher status than “women’s work.” If in one culture it is men who build houses and women who make baskets, then that culture will see house-building as more important. In another culture, perhaps right next door, the reverse may be true, and basket- weaving will have higher social status than house-building.”
—Mary Stewart Van Leeuwen. Excerpted from, Gender Grace: Love, Work, and Parenting in a Changing World (1990)
“The local is a shabby thing. There’s nothing worse than bringing us back down to our own little corner, our own territory, the radiant promiscuity of the face to face. A culture which has taken the risk of the universal, must perish by the universal.”
—Jean Baudrillard (b. 1929)
“The highest end of government is the culture of men.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)