Budapest info

The Castle district


The Royal Palace and the medieval part of Budapest 
 EVENTS CALENDAR
 SIGHTS OF BUDAPEST
 ATTRACTIONS
 SPAS OF BUDAPEST
 CAVES OF BUDAPEST
 MAJOR MUSEUMS
 USEFUL INFORMATION
 VACATION RENTALS

The Castle

After the Mongolian conquest in the 13th century, King Béla IV. ordered fortresses from stone to be built. The fortress of Buda was also founded at that time. The castle reached its golden age during the rule of the renaissance king, Matthias. He had it enlarged and transformed to a palace. Later, during the Turkish occupation of Hungary, it was under Turkish rule for over 150 years. Not even the Habsburgs cared much about it, as the empire was ruled from Vienna. During the second world war it was badly damaged. Buda Palace

The Palace was founded around 1247, but the royal seat was in Visegrád until the 15th century. It went under major reconstructions several times. Firstly, King Matthias converted the fortification to a palace, later Maria Theresia had it rebuilt and enlarged. In the 19th century the famous Hungarian architect Miklós Ybl got the comission to reconstruct it. From the original fittings unfortunately nothing has left. Today the buildings house the National Gallery, the National Library, the Ludwig Contemporary Collection and the Historical Museum.  From the panorama terrace there is a magnificent view on the Pest side. 

the funicular railway

One way of getting to the palace is by the funicular next to the Tunnel, which has a 95 metres long, 48% steep track and offers an astonishing panorama.
The Dísz tér is to be found on the northern side of the palace. It was the place of the market during the middle ages, the place where executions were performed too.

Szentháromság tér (Holy Trinity square) is situated in front of the Matthias Church, it is the place, where all major streets of the castle district meet. In the middle of the Szentháromság tér a Holy Trinity coloumn was errected to commemorate the plague epidemic in 1709. The first Town Hall of Buda faces the square, which was built after the end of the Turkish occupation.

The Castle district

Off the beaten track in the smaller side streets one can still feel the atmosphere of old ages, you can see hidden courtyards, signs of the guilds, beautifully reconstructed citizenhouses. Tóth Árpád sétány also worth a walk. The Castle district of Buda is part of the world heritage since 1987.