Budapest's cathedral of antlers
The intrepid travelers at Curious Expeditions visited the Hungarian Agricultural Museum where they shot amazing photos of a veritable cathedral of antlers, the Hall of Hunting. The museum is located in Vajdahunyad Castle inside Budapest's City Park. From Curious Expeditions:
Hundreds of antlers, horns, hooves, and fur. Stuffed birds and mounted bears. Cutlery with horn handles carved into foxes. Antler broaches, antler chandeliers, and antler chairs. It is known as “The Hall of Hunting.” With beautiful vaulted ceilings and stained glass windows, along with the fact that the Agricultaral Museum is often empty, this top floor feels like the church of a long lost deer deity. Echoed footsteps and hushed whispers lend a quiet respect to these relics of the hunt.Link
It’s a wonder that the Agricultural Museum of Budapest has anything at all. The collection has been destroyed not once, but twice since its opening 100 years ago. WWll came through, and about 10 years later, just as the collection was coming back together, the freedom fighters of the hungarian uprising of 1956 tore through the hall of antlers and taxidermy displays. But through many donations and loving attention, this shrine of the dead animal has been restored to its former glory.
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Sickens me a little.
Wonder if all those slain deer were put to good use, or if the horns were chopped off and the bodies thrown aside to rot.
This reminds me of the marvelous Deyrolle taxidermy shop in Paris:
http://intelligenttravel.typepad.com/it/2008/02/beloved-taxider.html
#3:
As the collection was rebuilt by donation, it'd probably be impossible to determine for each individual set.
This room is also handy in case of vampire fights.
@Marilyn (#4), Totally. I love visiting Deyrolle so much.
I dragged the kids there once -- my wife said, "Why in the world would you go to the Agricultural Museum?" It was fantastic.
It's also in the Városliget park, where they have Children's Day festivals. And next to where they have ice skating, behind Hero's Square with the statues and the monument, where ...
I keep forgetting why we left Budapest again. Oh yeah -- the air pollution. Dirtiest damn city in Europe (literally), and that's saying something.
Oh, Talia -- it's Hungary. That venison was eaten. (Deliciously.)
That church would be a great place to film a fight scene for a TV show or film.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdNvU_E3vvk
They really should have filmed "Lost Boys 2" here.
bollocks. i wish i'd known about this when i was there.
...they probably get good tv reception...
Most of these animals were hunted down by the absolute top of the Communist leadership between 1950 and 1985.
In this small country with small forests hunting was reserved for the Communist elite. (Also to keep guns in "good" hands.) In fact, the deers with the largest antlers were kept in captivity until a drunk comrade showed up to finish them off and claim another record-breaking hunt.
I used to go there in the 1980s as a 5-10 year old kid - we lived 1 block from the City Park - and even then I was wondering why the hunters' names on the plaques corresponded to the names in the news.
No wonder the 1956 freedom fighters who are not known for destruction had a special hatred for the display.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFyWaVmMbyw
San Antonio, and for many years the Lone Star brewery was the home to the famous "Hall of Horns". Today it's located at the Buckhorn museum near where the original collection and Buckhorn saloon are located. They have thousands of horns, fins, and feathers, as well as a wax museum. Plus you can drink in it!
http://www.buckhornmuseum.com/
It's just up from the Alamo. Pop over and ask to see the basement, they never get tired of that joke.
If you are passing, it's also worth checking out the Vaide Horn Museum in Latvia - not so much a place of hunting, but somewhere where park rangers collect various horns and antlers they find in the woods. Run by a fantastically keen park ranger, delighted to see anyone who finds him in the midst of the forest. Check out the chairs made of antlers:
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1087/1386029977_e0eee06448.jpg?v=0
@17: cool chair but-- ouch!