For centuries the Hungarian parliamentary assemblies did not have a permanent home. Finally, in 1882 an international competition was announced to design a Parliament building, and out of 19 projects the competition was won by Imre Steindl.
The Hungarian Parliament is the 4th biggest Parliament building in the world, after Argentina, Great Britain and Romania. It is 268 m (884.4 feet) long, 118 m (389 feet) wide, and the dome is 96 m (316.8 feet) high. The building has 27 entrances, 29 staircases, 691 rooms, 22 km (15 miles) of corridors and stairs and 3.5 km (2 miles) of red carpet.
Since 2000 the Crown Jewels are kept there, in the Dome Hall.
The Hungarian Parliament is only visitable with a guide provided by the Parliament, they have guided tours starting every 15 minutes, in the touristic season (between 15 April and 15 October) from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., except when the Parliament is in session (on Mondays and Tuesdays - they have limited visiting hours), on National Holidays or in case of any other unexpected events.
