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The leafy Varosliget (City Park) starts just behind Hosok tere, where the fairy-tale towers of Vajdahunyad Castle rear above an island girdled by an artificial lake that's used for boating in the summer and is transformed into the most splendid ice rink in Europe in winter. Like the park, the castle was created for the Millenniary Anniversary celebrations of 1896, so dramatic effects were the order of the day. This "stone catalogue" features replicas of the Chapel at Jak in western Hungary and two Transylvanian castles, enclosing a Renaissance courtyard that makes a romantic setting for evening concerts from July to mid-August. In the main wing is an Agricultural Museum ( Mezogazasagi Muzeum ; March to mid-Nov Tues-Fri & Sun 10am-5pm, Sat 10am-6pm; mid-Nov to Feb Tues-Fri & Sun 10am-4pm, Sat 10am-5pm; 300Ft) tracing the history of hunting and farming in Hungary, though its English captions peter out long before you reach the gift shop. However, few can resist the hooded statue of Anonymous outside. This nameless chronicler to King Bela is the prime source of information about early medieval Hungary, though the existence of several monarchs of that name during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries makes it hard to date him or his chronicles with any exactitude. Leaving the island by the causeway at the rear, you're on course for the Petofi Csarnok , a shabby 1970s "Metropolitan Youth Centre" that regularly hosts good concerts (outdoors in summer), films, parties, and a fine flea market at weekends (tel 1/343-4327 or www.petoficsarnok.hu for information in English). Accessible by a staircase around the back, the Aviation and Space Flight Exhibition ( Repulestorteneti es arhajozasi kiallitas ; April-Nov Tues-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat & Sun 10am-6pm; 300Ft) features some vintage planes and a space capsule. The museum is an offshoot of the Transport Museum ( Kozlekedesi Muzeum ; Tues-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat & Sun 10am-6pm; 300Ft), 250m away on the edge of the park, which contains antique cars, mothballed steam trains and models galore - don't miss the model railway that runs every hour on the hour, nor the outdoor wagon-bar (a quiet nightspot). Serious trainspotters, however, should plan a trip to the Rail Heritage Park.
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