Margaret Island ("Margit-sziget"), northern part - Budapest, Hungary

Location:

GPS coordinates: Latitude 47°31'53", Longitude 19°3'2" (N47 31.88 - E19 3.03) Map

The pavilion of the Music Well or Bodor Well (in Hungarian "Zenélő kút"), a kind of bandstand

There is a musical fountain (although it looks like a bandstand instead) at the north of the island, it is the so-called Bodor Fountain. This is a drinking fountain with a pavilion, a dome on six columns with the statue of Poseidon, the ancient Greek god of the sea on the top. The fountain that can be seen today is actually an exact replica, the original was created by the Szekely handyman Péter Bodor between 1820-1822. It was erected in Marosvásárhely (in Transylvania, at that time Hungary, today Târgu Mureș, Romania), but this one was finally demolished in 1911. The replica was constructed in 1936 and standing on the Margaret Island, but like many other monuments this was damaged in the 2nd World War. During the reconstruction the music playing mechanism was omitted (the fountain was restored by György Páll and Gyula Jankó in 1954). At a new renovation in 1997 an electronic musical device was installed into it. Unfortunately as of 2012 the condition of the fountain is quite bad again, probably due to the repeated vandalism.

Entrance of the Palatinus Bath (which is the largest open-air swimming complex in Budapest)

The word "Palatinus" that is the name of the open-air bath in the Margaret Island is the latin version of the English word "palatine" and refers to the name of the island in the early-19th century (in Hungarian "Nádor-sziget", literally "Palatine Island" or the "Palatine's Island"). Since 1809 the place was named Margaret Island ("Margit-sziget") again, however until the death of Archduke Joseph of Austria, Palatine of Hungary (in Hungarian "Habsburg József nádor") of 1847 both names were still used for the island.

The limestone female figure statue at the entrance of the Palatinus Water Park is called "Sunbather", created by Géza Csorba in 1937 (but this one is a resculpted replica).

Ruins of the medieval gothic monastery and church of the Dominican nuns

The medieval Dominican Monastery on the Margaret Island was founded by King Béla IV of Hungary from the Árpád dynasty. His daughter Margit (Saint Margaret of Hungary) was entrusted to the Dominican nuns of Veszprém when she was only 3 years old, then in 1252 when she was 10 she moved here to the monastery on the Rabbits' Island (later Margaret Island, named after St. Margaret). Most of the building was destroyed during the Ottoman (Turkish) rule (between 1541 and about 1699). Although there were attempts for the archaeological excavation of the former gothic church and monastery already in the 19th century, this could be started finally in 1923.

The Musical Fountain or Bodor Fountain with a bronze Neptune statue on the top of its dome

The current Neptune statue was created by Béla Ohmann in 1936, based on the statue of the original fountain that was in Marosvásárhely (or Târgu Mureș, today in Romania).

The gilded statue of Poseidon (or Neptune) on the top of the original Bodor Fountain of Marosvásárhely could turn around, it took one turn every day. At that time a water-powered mechanism played the music in the musical fountain, today the early-20th century style music comes from hidden speakers in every hour.