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This neat
town with a decidedly Mediterranean feel to
it lies barely 20 km from Budapest (suburban
trains departing from Batthyány Square
every 20 minutes reach it in 30-40 minutes),
and it has gained a solid reputation as a popular
tourist excursion spot.
Szentendre has preserved its 18-19th century
compact and unified layout.
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Its picturesque setting on the Danube, its
architecture and historical monuments all contributed
to the formation over the years of colonies
of painters, sculptors and artists who lived
and still live today in Szentendre.
Indeed, the very air seems to stimulate the
creative juices!
The town warmly welcomes the visitor, indulging
them with its multitude of spectacular sights
and a fascinating artistic presence.
Longobard cemeteries and Avar memorials are
to be found here, and there is a particularly
strong Serbian culture all around, brought here
by Serb communities fleeing a Turkish onslaught
in the late 17th century. |

Most of the houses which once belonged to wealthy
merchants are now museums, but the Serbian Orthodox
churches still function and visiting hours are
fixed for times between masses which dazzle
the onlooker in all their Baroque pomp, as dies
the Rococo iconostasis. |

All the listed houses in the center have found
new functions: a restaurant famed throughout
Hungary operates from the attic of one, and
in another the visitor is served fine cakes
and coffee specialties in cafes.
There are gourmet delicacies for the body and
enchanting exhibitions for the mind. In fact
the galleries, workshops, exhibition
and museums just come one after the other.
Seven or eight galleries deal with the marketing
of art.
If anyone becomes particularly interested in
any one of the artists, a studio visit can be
arranged.
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An exhibition of works by Lajos Vajda, Dezsõ
Korniss, Endre Bálint and Piroska Szántó
is set up in the Hunyadi Street old merchant's
house, No.1 Vastagh György Street preserves
ceramics by Margit Kovács whose works
have enjoyed international acclaim for many
decades, while the art of Jenõ Barcsay
is displayed in Dumtsa Jenõ Street.
Not far from here, an unusual museum shows just
how far a skilled artisan can extend the boundaries
of his trade.
The Marzipan Museum displays how far the plasticity
and coloring of this marvelous and delicious
sweetmeat can - in the right hands - be
molded
into just about any shape one could imagine.
These works of art stay locked up in the display
cases, but many more can be sampled at the confectionery
next door.
It would be easy to spend a whole day strolling
about the town and along the Danube embankment,
taking lunch and perhaps an afternoon coffee
and cake, and yet there is still another important
place to see.
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Sentendre is home to the first (and still
the largest) open-air museum in Hungary.
This park displays the continual development
of vernacular architecture from all the regions
of original buildings typical of their area
carefully dismantled and rebuilt in their new
home.
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The rooms come fully furnished with period
furniture, linens and beautiful needlework characteristic
of the region in question, the kitchens display
fireplaces and pots and pans, the pantries have
original containers for foods, sacks and wickerwork
baskets, while the stables are full of all the
essential equipment for animal husbandry. Museum
experts revive the everyday life and holidays
of the old peasant way of living. |
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