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Image by András Nagy
Just nearby the Keleti Station you’ll find the biggest park of downtown Budapest but don’t be surprised if you find some tombs there too – it is a cemetery after all. I wouldn’t be exaggerating if I compared it to Pere Lachaise in Paris – a spacey, green island where amongst thousands of others the great men of Hungarian history are buried. The cemetery was established in 1847 and officially opened on the 1st of April 1849. Opening times change every month, however, if you go between 07.30 and 17.00 it’ll be open in all seasons.
No wonder it is called a ‘garden’ – the first time I visited the place I was really surprised to find monuments, trees and green fields rather than tombs. Check out some photos here. Such a calm park, and although some might find it odd, I like to hang out there, walk around, sit on a bench contemplating or even enjoying the sun. The cemetery even features a museum that exhibits mourning and burial accessories.
Best time of the year to visit the cemetery is spring or autumn, when nature is at its best to provide beautiful scenery for a long, quiet walk: either harsh green with the colourful spots of blooming trees and flowers or the decadence and last dance of falling leaves. Beauty, not grief makes you cry.
Fiumei Road Cemetery Garden | Art & culture, Relaxing | Free
Fiumei út 16 | Outer Pest | +3613235100
07:30 – 17:00 daily
I share your enthusiasm for Fiumei ut temeto (cemetery) or Kerepesi as it is better known. I would dare to say that it is a thousand times better than Pere Lachaise, which claims to be the ‘best cemetery on the planet’.
Kerepesi has many more interesting gravestones, which are like sculptures and works of art, some witty, some poignant, always fascinating. The cemetery is a park (free of dog turds and screeching children), historic site, museum, art gallery, history lesson, nature reserve and a wonderful place to relax from the stresses of the big city life. There are interesting details of different periods in Hungarian history scattered all around the garden. I particularly like the overgrown region at the far eastern end, near the Jewish cemetery. I always visit Attila Jozsef’s modest grave when I go there and spend a while in quiet contemplation, hoping for inspiration (!)