- Type
- Castle
- Style
- Gothic architecture
- Architect
- Alajos Hauszmann, Miklós Ybl
- Heritage
- UNESCO World Heritage List
- Coordinates
- 47.4961°, 19.0397°
History
After the Mongol invasion of 1241–1242 King Béla IV fortified the hill above the Danube, and over the following centuries a royal castle grew here. Sigismund of Luxembourg built a grand Gothic palace, and Matthias Corvinus made Buda one of the first centres of the Renaissance north of the Alps, assembling his famous Corvinian library. The Ottomans took the city in 1541, and the recapture of Buda by the Holy League in 1686 left the castle in ruins. A Baroque palace went up under Maria Theresa in the 18th century, and around 1900 Miklós Ybl and Alajos Hauszmann enlarged it to its present size. Wrecked during the siege of Budapest in 1944–1945, it was rebuilt in simplified form and handed over to cultural institutions.
What to see
The palace houses the Hungarian National Gallery and the Budapest History Museum, whose lower levels preserve Gothic halls of the medieval residence. In the courtyards look out for the Matthias Fountain and the statue of the mythical Turul bird. A historic funicular climbs the hill, and the terraces offer a panorama of the Danube, its bridges and the Parliament building.
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