Buda Castle in Budapest

Buda Castle is a historic castle of Hungarian kings, which rises in the territory of Budapest. Once it was called the Royal Palace and the Royal Castle …

Buda Castle in Budapest

Since 2002, this building, together with Andrassy Avenue and ancient Aquincum, is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. You can look at it if you study the hotels of Budapest and book a room for accommodation in one of them. You can get to the fortress by the Šiklo funicular or by bus from Sell Kalman Square.

The residence of the kings first appeared here during the reign of King Bel IV in the 13th century. During the reign of Sigismund, the castle was expanded, in that era it was the largest. After the battle in 1526, Hungary ceased to exist as a kingdom, so the Turks were able to penetrate the building and settle in it.

In the era of the Ottoman Empire, the complex was used as a stable, military barracks, some of the rooms were empty. During the siege by the Allied forces of the Holy League of Buda during the liberation of the city during the Great Turkish War, most of the castle was destroyed.

Buda Castle, Budapest

Restoration work began in 1715 by order of Charles IV, he began to build new structures here, and work was completed by 1749. In 1849, the revolutionary army of Hungary, under the command of Arthur Gergey, captured the castle, but after that it completely burned down. Later, in the mid-19th century, it was restored; in 1867, Emperor Franz Joseph I was crowned here.

In the 19th century, the autonomous government of the country decided to build a new structure, which would be no worse than any residence of European kings. Work continued for a long time, about 40 years, and ended in 1912. In the same year, the opening of the palace took place, it was recognized as one of the most outstanding on the territory of Hungary, personifying the advent of a new era.

In 1918, when the revolution took place, the Habsburgs were overthrown, the castle became the residence of the ruler of Horthy Miklog. In 1944, when the city was captured, the building was the last place that the Nazis conquered, during a difficult battle, the building fell again and turned into ruins.

Buda Castle in Budapest after the Second World War

After the war, archaeological excavations were carried out here, their goal was to restore some medieval structures, for example, buildings of the times of Sigismund. The reconstruction of these fortifications greatly changed the appearance of the modern city; we managed to combine these structures and the modern layout of the palace.

Under communism, it was believed that the Royal Palace is a symbol of the former regime, oppression of the people, so the building was greatly altered, many valuable architectural elements were removed or not restored at all after the war. At that time, this place turned into the cultural center of the city, the Hungarian National Gallery is located here. National Library House and Budapest History Museum. The restoration work was finally completed in 1966, the interior was completely restored here only by 1980.

Buda Castle

In 2006, under the guidance of the National Cultural Heritage Fund of Hungary, a plan for the long-term development of the Royal Palace was drawn up. After research, it turned out that the post-war restoration led to the fact that many elements of the building were irretrievably lost, it was decided to restore them, but a final decision has not yet been made.