Budapest's Brilliant Underground Labyrinth, But You Need To Take a Cup With You.........

I was looking through some of my old travel diaries yesterday and came across a place I went to about 8 years ago in Budapest, Hungary, which I had completely forgotten all about…

Budapest


I came across the underground Labyrinth of Buda castle, by accident, I hadn’t even read about it in my research before I even set foot on Hungarian soil, but I am so glad that I found it…

From the moment that I entered the underground Labyrinth, the smell of alcohol invaded my nostrils, but I will get back to that later…

Map of the Labyrinth


Hungary’s capital city, Budapest, is divided down the middle by the River Danube, Buda on one side and Pest on the other. The underground Labyrinth lies on the Buda, side of the river underneath Budapest’s natural heritage site at Castle Hill. A trail of subterranean passages dating back to the Middle Ages is basically called the Labyrinth. It is a maze of dark intricate passageways that seem to go on and on forever. Throughout history it has been used as a wine cellar, torture chamber, bomb shelter and a treasury…







You enter the Labyrinth and wander aimlessly trying to find your way around the maze, to try and find the exit door seems like an impossible task, especially after you have reached the centre (well I think it was the centre of the maze), because right at the centre of the labyrinth is a fountain of red wine. This may sound crazy, in fact many people I have told this story to in the past do not believe me when I have told them that there is free wine on offer, but it was real and a great surprise…


Fountain of wine





I was with my girlfriend at the time and when we turned this one particular corner and we came face to face with a four pronged fountain of wine, we just stood there on the spot in disbelief. We hadn’t got a cup, mug, bowl, bucket or any kind of vessel with which to drink the wine from, so we just had to stick our heads under the flowing red wine. This was a great idea to start with, but then you realize that your clean laundered white shirt has now been dyed red by all the drips that have missed your mouth and ventured down your front. But who cares, it was wine, it was fun and it was free….

So anyway, after drinking on and off for about one and a half hours and sitting staring and giggling at each other and the rock walls, we then tried to find our way out of the maze. In order to try and find the exit, we had to venture through other various passages which was made more cumbersome by the fact that we were half pi**ed. We seemed to keep returning back to places that we had already passed through, but was great fun and when we eventually found ourselves at the exit it was pitch black outside, so goodness knows how long we had been underground. There is nothing more fun than being in the pitch black at times underground, half cut, trying to hold onto each so that the other person doesn’t get lost…

If you want to find out more about the Labyrinth, then check out the link below
en.wikipedia.org...

So if you go to Budapest, and you want to go to the Labyrinth, then please take at least a cup with you and maybe some nice crusty bread and some cheese of your choice. At least this will stop you from dribbling all down the front of your freshly laundered white shirt…

Cheers….

Oh wow! How great is that? It could accommodate 10,000 people so it is not a tiny place for sure. It sounds like your adventure was memorable, and yet you forgot about it, lol? Thanks for sharing this. I had never heard of this before.

aboutface
Oh wow! How great is that? It could accommodate 10,000 people so it is not a tiny place for sure. It sounds like your adventure was memorable, and yet you forgot about it, lol? Thanks for sharing this. I had never heard of this before.

Yeah, it was a great adventure, I didn't really forget about it, it was just at the back of my mind, but came more to the fore when I started reading my old diaries. I have travelled quite a lot over the years and there are always new adventures taking place, so the latest ones always tend to be more vivid in the mind...

If you get the chance to go, then I really recommend it, but please take a cup....

Looks really intriguing.

Interesting name, that it is split into to

Buda - Buddha
Pest - Pest

wonder which the poor part of town is?

reply to post by davethebear


Sir, were I fortunate enough to travel there, I would also be sure to take a baguette along with some cheese, and enjoy the experience to the fullest.

What is the source of the wine?

iamea
Looks really intriguing.

Interesting name, that it is split into to

Buda - Buddha
Pest - Pest

wonder which the poor part of town is?

Very intriguing, to say the least. There didn't seem to be a poor side of the city, very up and coming place with some great architecture, the people were amazing. I was amazed by the bullet holes in the walls of buildings that were put there during WW2. If you sit on a bench in the middle of the city and just look at what is around you, it is a bit like time travelling, you can almost feel what it was like in the old days......brilliant place........

aboutface
reply to post by davethebear

 

Sir, were I fortunate enough to travel there, I would also be sure to take a baguette along with some cheese, and enjoy the experience to the fullest.

What is the source of the wine?

I have no idea what the source of the wine is, I have even tried to find out via the internet, but as yet I cannot find anything relating to where it comes from. I hadn't actually thought about that before, but would be interesting to find out. Maybe someone will come up with an answer to the question. Maybe it's a natural wine spring....

i'm sorry to disappoint you guys but the labyrinth has been closed for a while now.

Labyrinth of Buda Vár


a great memory for davethebear

reply to post by davethebear


Thanks for that, I have been having an urge to visit some of the Cities of (what I tend to think of as inner Europe) as I have wandered around many of the usual ones and especially those near a beach.

SovannaMaccha
i'm sorry to disappoint you guys but the labyrinth has been closed for a while now.

Labyrinth of Buda Vár


a great memory for davethebear

I am not sure whether the information I have read recently is correct or not, but apparently the widely known exhibitions and programs of the Labyrinth of Buda Castle of 1984–2011, are no longer available, but they labyrinth is currently open and can be visited. This info I got from Wilkipedia, but I don't know how true this info is. I am sad if it is closed, I would love to have gone back one day, I have even bought a big wine glass for the occasion...

Shiloh7
reply to post by davethebear

 

Thanks for that, I have been having an urge to visit some of the Cities of (what I tend to think of as inner Europe) as I have wandered around many of the usual ones and especially those near a beach.

The beach resorts I tend to keep away from, I have not long returned from Australia, after 4 years away, so I am really happy to be away from the sunshine for a while and back to the cold of the north of the UK. I cannot wait for the snow to appear and build a snowman, that is one thing I truely missed in the 4 years I was away, oh, and of course a decent pint of beer.

Have you been to Venice? now that is another place I love, you'd love it there. It can be a bit smelly if you go in the summer, but what do you expect when the sun beats down on canal water. Also Barcelona, what a place, go and visit Gaudi's Cathedral, a true wonder of architecture genius......


Gaudi's Cathedral, Barcelona....

SovannaMaccha
i'm sorry to disappoint you guys but the labyrinth has been closed for a while now.

The situation doesnt seem to be as clear as "open" or "closed".
I was there last year in September 2012, and although I'd read that it was closed, other people on the net said it was actually open.
So I went, and yes it was open.



Didnt see the wine fountain though. Probably just missed it in the myriad of side tunnels and byways.

There may actually be multiple sections of the maze, some open and some closed. Either that or it is as I recall reading somewhere else last year that for some reason they cannot be officially "open", but they open anyway.

alfa1

SovannaMaccha
i'm sorry to disappoint you guys but the labyrinth has been closed for a while now.

The situation doesnt seem to be as clear as "open" or "closed".
I was there last year in September 2012, and although I'd read that it was closed, other people on the net said it was actually open.
So I went, and yes it was open.

Didnt see the wine fountain though. Probably just missed it in the myriad of side tunnels and byways.

There may actually be multiple sections of the maze, some open and some closed. Either that or it is as I recall reading somewhere else last year that for some reason they cannot be officially "open", but they open anyway.

Wow, alfa, you are only the 2nd person I have come across who has actually heard of and been to the labyrinth. I can't believe you missed the wine fountain though, I think I just followed my nose. But like you say, if you take one wrong turn then you miss stuff. I suppose I may have missed things that you happened to see. All a bit of a maze really..........

It does seem they got the closed instead of open in the text. If you read down, it actually says they started a 24/7 service in 2011, rather than closing in 2011.

reply to post by davethebear


What an amazing find! If I ever make it there I will be sure to bring my cup.

Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful pictures and your story. Are the sculptures carved into the stone or were they brought in? The horse looks like it is part of the wall. Again thank you for sharing. S&F