MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS (SZÉPMŰVÉSZETI MÚZEUM)

On the occasion of the Millennium celebrations, the Hungarian government decided to build the Museum of Fine Arts, which was completed in 1906. The two Austro-Hungarian architects were inspired by ancient Greece, borrowing elements of the pediment from the temple of Zeus in Olympia. After a long renovation, the museum reopened in late 2018. And it is a little splendor! Modernized, the institution has expanded with several rooms previously inaccessible to the public, such as the Roman hall and the Michelangelo room. Inaugurated in the presence of Emperor Francis Joseph, the museum, which is adjacent to Heroes' Square, is an integral part of the Millennium's developments. It also celebrates the thousand years of Hungarian presence in the Carpathian Basin, just like the City Woods. It was the first institution in the country's history to collect and display works of art on a permanent basis. While the Museum of Fine Arts contains international masterpieces, it also exhibits all Hungarian artistic creations dating from before 1800. Later works are housed in the Hungarian National Gallery (Magyar Nemzeti Galéria), also covered in this guide. To be seen at the Museum of Fine Arts: art collections from Antiquity to the 18th century (Egyptian mummies, Etruscan vases... presented in an interactive way) but also a beautiful collection of Flemish, Italian, French, German, English, Hungarian and Spanish old masters.