We spent the afternoon of Saturday 3rd June cycling at the peaceful Margit (Margaret) Island which is nearly 3km long and about 500m wide. It is situated in the Danube River and connected to Buda and Pest by the Margit and Árpád Bridges, This park was established over one hundred years ago.

After several days of walking and shopping in the large city of Budapest, I strongly suggest to spend an afternoon in this peaceful park, either on foot or probably better using a bicycle. It is a large park (no vehicles allowed) but with some sites too.

The island used to be called Rabbit Island (Nyulak szigete), and it received its current name after Saint Margaret (1242–1270), the daughter of Béla IV of Hungary, who lived in a Dominican convent here during the 13th century. The island was probably first civilized by the Knights of St. John in the XII century. The island was dominated by nunneries, churches and cloisters until the XVIII century, when it was chosen to be the resort of palatines. It was declared a public garden in 1908.

Among the present historical monuments of the island are the XIII-century ruins of a Franciscan church and the ruins of a Dominican church and convent (photo below) from the same century, as well as a Premonstratensian church from the XII century (seen in the photo here). Members of the Augustinian order also lived on this island.

The ruins of the Dominican church and convent where Margit - daughter of King Bela IV - used to live during the 13th century. These can be still seen today on the island's east bank.

Béla IV vowed to bring his daughter up as a nun here if Hungary survived the Mongol invasion, and duly confined 9-year-old Princess Margit when it did. She apparently made the best of it, acquiring a reputation for curing lepers and other saintly deeds, as well as for not washing above her ankles. Beatification followed her death in 1271, and a belated canonization in 1943. The convent fell into ruin during the Turkish occupation, when the island was turned into a harem.
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