London and Budapest: A Tale of Two Parliaments

Abstract The Houses of Parliament in London (1835–1860) and the Parliament in Budapest (1885– 1902) are related in many ways. It was due to former Prime Minister Gyula Andrássy’s personal commitment that a riverside site and the Neo-Gothic style were selected for the Hungarian edifice. While the New Palace of Westminster represents the late-medieval English variant of the Gothic style, its Hungarian counterpart is an amalgamation of various Gothic features marshalled into a heterogeneous synthesis. Inevitably the issue of a national style emerged, as well as the representation of royalty on the exterior and in the interior of the building. The Parliament in Budapest was meant tobe a national monument and project the (illusive) image of a Hungary on equal footing with the world’s major countries.