Gellert Hill

Visible from almost everywhere in Budapest, Gellert Hill (Gellert hegy), with the impressive Freedom Monument on its peak, is one of the city's memorable landmarks. The 14-metre monument was originally commissioned by Miklos Horthy as a memorial to his son, who died in a wartime air accident. When the Russians arrived, they replaced the propeller that the figure was originally meant to hold aloft with a palm frond to symbolize the country's liberation from the Nazis. Just beyond the monument is the Citadella, a fortress constructed by the Habsburgs following the 1848-1849 war of independence. It now houses an open-air museum chronicling the history of the hill.