Andrássy Avenue (Hungarian: Andrássy út, literally "Andrássy Road") is an iconic boulevard in Budapest, Hungary, dating back to 1872. It links Erzsébet tér ("Elizabeth Square") with Városliget (the "City Park"). Flanked by Eclectic Neo-renaissance palaces and houses featuring fine facades, staircases and interiors, it was recognised as a World Heritage Site in 2002 (along with the Millennium Underground Railway, Hősök tere and Városliget).[
Andrássy út consists of four main parts, from inside to outside as follows:
From Erzsébet tér to Oktogon: an urban-like part mostly for commercial purposes.
From Oktogon to Kodály körönd: widened with an allée, including residential areas and universities.
From Kodály körönd to Bajza utca: it is even more widened, and residential palaces are fronted by small parks.
From Bajza utca to Városliget: the same width; villas encompassed by gardens, including a couple of embassies.

Andrássy Avenue with the Hungarian State Opera House (left side), 1896.
It was decreed to be built in 1870, to discharge the parallel Király utca from heavy traffic and to connect the inner city parts (see Belváros) with Városliget through Terézváros. Its construction began in 1872 and the avenue was inaugurated on August 20 (a national holiday), 1867. Its realization was a blend of the plans proposed by the top 3 competitors Lajos Lechner, Frigyes Feszl and Klein & Fraser. Its palaces were built by the most distinguished architects (led by Miklós Ybl) of the time, financed by Hungarian and other banking houses. These were mostly finished by 1884 and mostly aristocrats, bankers, landowners and historical families moved in. It was named in 1885 after the main supporter of the plan, Prime Minister Gyula Andrássy.
The construction of the first underground in Continental Europe was proposed in 1870, since the capital had always been opposed to surface transport on this road. Construction began in 1894 and was finished in 1896, so this new metro line could facilitate the transport to Városliget, the main venue of the millennium celebrations of Hungary .

source: wikipedia 

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