DAISY ISLAND (MARGITSZIGET)

This island has unsuspected historical remains. At the end of the island, towards the Árpád bridge, the water tower, completed in 1911, is now under the protection of UNESCO. The open-air theater and cinema, which are open in summer, are located right at the entrance to the Arpad Bridge as well. Nearby, the 12th century St. Michael's Church is an example of the Romanesque style. It was destroyed in 1541 during the war against the Turks. Excavations allowed to dig up the ruins and to rebuild the church identically, between 1930 and 1931. Finally, near the two thermal hotels, one can see the ruins of the Dominican convent and its church (beginning of the 13th century), a convent where the daughter of King Béla IV, Marguerite, to whom the island owes its name, lived from 1242 to 1271. After the departure of the religious orders from Margitsziget, the island was given, in the 19th century, to the palatine, Alexander-Leopold, and then to his brother Joseph. It is to the latter that we owe its development into a park and a botanical garden. And it is to the former that we owe the thermal springs and the first spa complex on the island, built by Miklós Ybl. At the entrance, near the Margaret Bridge, there are two recent testimonies of Margitsziget's past and present bathing activity: the Palatinus Beach and the Alfréd Hajós Pool. Behind the onion-shaped monument symbolizing the union of Pest, Buda and Óbuda, a light and sound fountain (szökőkút) offers a musical show every hour, from 10 am until 10 pm.