Let us meet at the International Eucharistic Congress in Budapest!

After eighty-two years, between 13-20 September once again Budapest will host the International Eucharistic Congress. A capital, which lies on the border between Eastern and Western Europe. This gives Budapest a very special, unique atmosphere. We invite you for adventures in the city of mysteries. This is not an overstatement, since you can discover millions of secrets, even in a couple of days.

For example, the Gellért Hill on the right bank of the Danube, which is part of the UNESCO World Heritage since 1987, hides a cave church and a water reservoir. The 235 m high rocky mount with forests spreads the Buda-side bridgeheads of the Elisabeth and Liberty bridges, its summit is crowned by the fortress of the Citadel with the Statue of Liberty.

By the Elisabeth Bridge we can walk up to the statue of its name-giver, the martyr bishop of St. Gellért, the Benedictine monk from Venetian origin. He was the most effective spreader of the cult of the Blessed Virgin in Hungry. His statue was erected on the same place, where he was martyred in 1046, when the rebels of a pagan movement tossed him into the Danube.

Just a short 800 metres walk from here, at the foot of the Liberty Bridge you can find the Cave Church, which was built for the Hungarian-founded Pauline Order. The monks were deported in 1951, under the Communist rule, and the entrance to the church was filled with concrete. After the change of regime, the church was re-opened, and since then several masses are celebrated every day.

In the belly of the hill there is the József Gruber Water Reservoir, which plays an important role in the water distribution of the capital. The water consumption of Budapest is 423 thousand cubic metres on an average day. As a comparison, the same amount in petroleum would cover the needs of the whole country for three months.

On top of the reservoir you can find the Philosophers’ Garden, which was established in 2001 according to the last will of the sculptor Nándor Wagner, with his works. On the gate to the garden one can read “For the better understanding of each other”. The statues of Ehnaton, Jesus, Buddha, Lao-ce and Abraham are standing in a circle in the park. They are surrounding the radiant globe, symbolising the common God and the highest world. The globe joins the religions and represents a place, which man can find only beyond the earthly life,

Next to the Cave Church, in the magnificent building of the Hotel Gellért, there is one of the most prestigious bath of Budapest, where – along with the beneficent effects of the thermal water, a number of wellness-services also help to physically “refill” after the spiritual experiences. It also worth to pay a visit to the Rudas Bath (renovated in 2014), found at the Buda bridgehead of the Elisabeth bridge under the steep rocks of the Gellért Hill.