If you enjoy learning about World War I and World War II history, then you will enjoy the Museum of Military History in Budapest.
Outside the museum, there are canons, a howitzer, and tank. You can peek inside a tank to see the cramped space inside.
You can crawl up to get a closer look at a howitzer. I don’t know about you, but I have never been this close to a howitzer.
Entering the Museum
We entered the museum on a free day on one of Hungary’s national holidays. Walking inside, everything is written in Hungarian, but the visuals speak louder than words. The museum has plenty of uniforms, weapons gear, and uniformed figures in battlefield position replicated to scale, which gives you a sense of scale and size.
It’s interesting to see these uniforms encased behind plexiglass. At the House of Terror Museum, uniforms were out in the open with museum personnel walking around.
You can pick up three different weapons to feel the weight of them. This image below was extremely heavy to pick up, while the other two (not shown) were much lighter.
You can climb up to see inside the cockpit.
The buttons and intricacies of operating an airplane are quite extensive. No wonder it takes so much training to become a fighter pilot.
Weapons
While I cannot say that I know much about the specifics of these weapons, if you are a military buff, then you will know more about these weapons on display.
You can see former Communist medals up close.
Models
The more pleasant part of the museum experience has to be the incredible amount of models shown of planes, tanks, and reenactment scenes of past battles.
Seeing Things Life-Size
It’s one thing to see things behind glass, but it’s another thing to see things true to scale. The Museum of Military History did that well.
Courtyard
If you want a break, you can walk outside into the courtyard. They have head busts of military leaders and more weaponry. There is also a “mock-up of the electrified fence that once separated Hungary from Austria,” according to the Lonely Planet.
A History Lesson
The period of history covered at the Museum of Military History dealt a great deal with World War I and World War II. While most of the museum was written in Hungarian, you could see the actual items used during warfare. A few other Budapest travel sites touted this museum as family-friendly with kid-related activities during national holidays. I did not find that to be the case. (After all, it is a military history museum.) Hungary’s involvement in World War II is… well, complicated, and it was difficult to explain to a young learner the complexities of war. I would recommend this museum for older learners who have studied world history. Had I gone with my college classmates back in the day, this would have been an excellent place to talk about Hungary and its military history.
For More Information:
Address: Kapisztrán tér 2-4, 1014 Budapest
Hours of Operation: 10:00 am to 6:00 pm (or 10:00 to 4:00 pm, October 1 to March 31) Tuesday through Sunday, closed on Mondays
Ticket Prices Adult 1500 HUF, Student/Senior 750 HUF, Family 3000 HUF
Website: http://www.militaria.hu/ (Hungarian site only)
How to Get There: From Széll Kálmán tér, take the Dísz tér blue bus line #16A or walk up from Széll Kálmán tér metro line 2.
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