Szentendre & Open Air Museum
Segment: Szentendre & Open Air Museum
Episode: Grand European
Air Date: 9th February 2020
Presenter: Trevor Cochrane
Our adventure begins in Hungary with a visit to Szentendre, a beautiful historic Hungarian town on the Danube River, north of Budapest. It's a thriving artists’ centre and an architectural treasure trove that can be visited as an optional Viking shore excursion.
- Szentendre is renowned for its churches, museums, galleries and cafes which were all built in the charming dis tinctive Baroque style.
- Its Mediterranean character comes from the fact that the town was settled by Serbians fleeing from the Turkish occupation back in the 1500s. And it was the Hungarian-Serbian community who laid the foundations of what we see today here: a thriving artists’ community, embodied in the richly hued houses and decorated storefronts.
- The town’s warm charm is evident in its colourful houses, its cobblestoned streets and the numerous art galleries displaying work of local artists.
- The Open Air Ethnographic Museum (or Skanzen) displays traditional Hungarian rural architecture from different regions around the country, taking you back through a very rich history.
- The recreated peasant homes from the 18th to 20th centuries, the stone windmills, the antique furniture and folk art allow you to glimpse into a time gone by. But it’s not all about past history! The museum is in fact situated in the unique and natural surroundings of the Duna-Ipoly National Park and visitors can feel the wonderful natural environment as well.
- Viking guests are invited into Gulyas cookery for a light lunch at Jaszarokzallas Inn where they can taste goulash. This thick hearty stew of vegetables and meat, seasoned with paprika and other spices, is one of the national dishes of Hungary… and what better place to try it?
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