Budapest's Fisherman's Bastion Quiz

Answer:

The Fishermen's Bastion gets its name from its original role as part of the defensive walls for Buda Castle, and its location near the area of Fishtown on the banks of the Danube. It is not clear whether the fishermen, who certainly brought their produce up to the castle by way of stairs leading to this part of the wall, also were expected to provide the manpower to defend that section of the wall in times of war.

Between 1895 and 1902, as part of the celebrations for Hungary's first 1000 years, Frigyes Schulek was commissioned to rebuild the area, while also restoring the neighbouring St Matthias Church to its former glory. The proposal was to create an area for viewing the city and reflecting on its history. To this end, it was designed to have seven towers, representing the seven Magyar tribes that arrived to form Hungary in 895. The original plans included a large statue, the Seven Leadership Sculpture Group, depicting the seven leaders, but as plans evolved that was removed. A modified version can be seen in Heroes' Square. While there is solid evidence for the number and names of the tribes, that is not the case for their leaders - multiple lists have been recorded over the years, some clearly mistaken - but the statues at the monument show Árpád (considered the founder of the Hungarian nation as the leader of the Seven), El?d, Ond, Kond, Tas, Huba, and Tétény.

In the southern court is a statue of St. Stephen, also known as Stephen I of Hungary, who ruled as Hungary's first king from around 1000 CE until his death in 1038. The statue, showing St. Stephen mounted on a horse and with a golden halo around his head, was created by Alajos Stróbl, with work starting in 1896 and the official installation taking place in 1906.

If you choose to approach the Fisherman's Bastion by way of the staircase leading up from the river, you will see a number of statues along the way. These include one of John Hunyadi, considered a national hero for his victories over the Ottomans during the 15th century, looking very heroic as he holds his sword, with symbols of the defeated at his feet. Near him is a replica of a 14th-century statue of St George Piercing the Dragon originally created by the (famed Hungarian sculptors) Martin and George Kolozsvari and installed in Prague Castle. At the top of the staircase, under the arch the leads into the Bastion itself, are two 10th-century soldiers, guarding the entrance.

The development of the Fisherman's Bastion did not stop with its official opening. Aside from anything else, there was extensive damage during World War II, and repairs continued until the mid-1950s. In 1937, a statue sculpted by Károly Antal was installed next to the northwest tower, depicting Julian and Gerardus, two of the Dominican friars who were sent by King Andrew II to find a reputed group of Magyars who had been left behind during the 9th-century move to Hungary. The group found their tribal relatives, in the Russian region of Bashkortostan, although Gerardus had died along the way; when Julian returned two years later, he found the area had been devastated by the invasion of Mongol Tatars, and returned to report the threat of invasion to the king. In 1976, the monument was moved to be in the Dominican Courtyard, part of the hotel that was built on the ruins of the old Dominican chapel.

If you want to see the incorrect options, all spectacular attractions, you can visit Australia to see coral on the Great Barrier Reef, then pop south to Melbourne to view the Royal Exhibition Building, temporary home to Australia's first parliament. The statue of Christ the Redeemer stands on a mountaintop overlooking Rio de Janeiro, Smilodon fatalis (sabre-toothed tiger) is one of the many types of fossils found in the La Brea tar pits in Los Angeles, and the world's first cog railway, which opened in 1868, will still take you to the top of Mt Washington (NH) if the climb is too daunting for you. To see the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela, you will need to visit Ethiopia.