Buda Castle
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Buda Castle seen from the opposite side of the Danube |
The
Buda Castle (
Hungarian:
Budai Vár) is the historical royal castle of the Hungarian kings in
Budapest,
Hungary.
The Castle of Buda was built on the southern tip of
Castle Hill, next to the old
Castle District (Hun:
Várnegyed), which is famous about its medieval,
Baroque and 19th century houses and public buildings. Many of them were damaged during
World War II and the
revolution in 1956 but have been restored since then, and the whole district became a
UNESCO World Heritage Site in
1987.
The first royal residence on the
Castle Hill was built by King
Béla IV of Hungary between 1247 and 1265. There is no archeological evidence about this residence so it remained unsettled whether it was situated on the southern tip of the hill or on the northern elevation near the
Kammerhof.
The oldest part of the present-day palace was built in the 14th century by Prince
Stephen, Duke of Slavonia, the younger brother of King
Louis I of Hungary. Only the foundations remained of that
Stephen's Tower (Hungarian:
István-torony). The
Gothic palace of King Louis I (1342-82) was arranged around a narrow courtyard next to the Stephen's Tower.
King
Sigismund Luxemburg of Hungary (Hun:
Luxemburgi Zsigmond, 1387-1437) greatly enlarged the palace. Sigismund, as a Holy Roman Emperor, needed a magnificient royal residence to express his primacy among the rulers of Europe. Buda Castle was the main residence of the Emperor, so during his long reign it became probably the largest
Gothic palace of the late
Middle Ages. Buda was also an important artistic centre of the
International Gothic style.
The construction works began in the 1410s and were largely finished in 1420s altough some minor works continued until the death of the king.
The most important part of Sigismund's palace was the northern wing, called
Fresh Palace (Hun:
Friss-palota). On the top floor of it there was one huge hall (70 m x 20 m) with a carved wooden ceiling and great windows and balconies looking to the city of
Buda. The façade of the palace was decorated with statues and coat-of-arms. The palace was first mentioned in 1437 under the name
"fricz palotha"
Sigismund also strenghtened the fortifications around the palace. The southern part of the royal residency was surrounded with narrow
zwingers. Two parallel walls, the so-called
cortina walls run down from the palace to the River
Danube across the steep hillside. The most imposing structure, the famous
Broken Tower (Hun:
Csonka-torony), on the western side of the cour d'honneur remained unfinished. The basement of the tower was used as a prison, the top floors were probably the treasury of the royal jewels.
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The Palace in Buda Castle |
The Historical Museum of Budapest is located in Buda Castle, boasting over 4 floors. This museum presents the history of Budapest from the beginnings until the end of the Communist era. There is also the restored lower part of the medieval Royal Chapel, and underground there are examples of dungeons and other displays. Outside one can observe the architectural beauty of the Buda Castle and see wonderful small gardens in the medieval "zwingers" (walled enclosures). There is also a closed-off well, and a magnificent view of the surrounding area, the Castle District. There is a tower which can easily be accessed in the outdoor area, and a walkway on the same level. Both the tower and the walkway boast shocking panoramas of Budapest, especially the Parliament building, the Danube, the nearby streets, and, on a clear day, the Freedom Statue.
The museum is fairly cheap and, if one wishes to save the expense of buying books of the Buda Castle, a photography ticket (Hungarian:
fotójegy) is available (in the summer of 2005, the price of a photography ticket was 600
forint, which is equivalent to about 3 USD).
As part of the castle, there are excavations and smaller ruins. Many of these can be walked in.
