Castle Walks

You can reach the Castle Hill by the Funicular, which was originally built in 1870 but after being destroyed in World War II, it was only rebuilt according to the original plans in 1870. Stepping out of the Funicular, on the right hand side you can see the imposing building of the Sándor Palace. It was built in 1806 and today is the office of the President of the Republic of Hungary. On the left there is a neo-baroque wrought iron gate. On the pillar that holds the gate you can see the spectacular Turul, the mythical eagle of the ancient Hungarians. By walking through the gate you get to the courtyard of the Royal Palace, where you can first see the Halászfiúk (Fisher boys) fountain and then the horse statue of Jenő of Savoya, who set Buda free of the Turkish occupation

The earliest part of the buildings on the Southern side of the Castle Hill is the István tower, dating from the 14th century. The contractor was the half-brother of the Neapolitan, Anjou King Louis I of Hungary (†-1382). This is surrounded by the buildings of the King, and later the Fresh Palace of King Sigismund. The brightness of the gothic buildings of Sigismund, who is originally from the Luxemburg House, was worthy of the royal household that held titles of the Holy Roman Empire. King Matthias primarily improved the existing buildings but also established the wonderful library of the Corvinas, formed renaissance gardens on the slopes of the hill and built the large Round Bastion and the Mace Tower.

After the reoccupation of Buda most of the palaces were still standing, even if ruined. By filling these up, first they built modest army barracks, then, in the 18th century an imposing palace too. The baroque building first gave home to the University, and then the palatine, who acted as a deputy for the rulers, moved here.
After the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 it became necessary for the Hungarian capital to have a representative royal palace for Franz Joseph and Elizabeth to live as Hungarian king and queen. Miklós Ybl and Alajos Hauszmann drew up the plans according to which they doubled the buildings on the Northern side, and the Krisztinaváros wing was also built. Following the World war II the buildings were in ruins once more, later they were rebuilt and gave home to the Budapest Historical Museum, the National Library founded in 1802 and the Hungarian National Gallery, which houses medieval, as well as 18th, 19th and 20th century Hungarian art pieces. In the Budapest Historical Museum there is a 14th century chapel and a knight’s room. Visitors can get a taste of the renaissance ornaments of the royal couple or walk along the strong walls of the fort.

The Lion Courtyard of the palace is one of the most beautiful inner courtyards of Hungary. At the entrance visitors can see Matthias’ Well, depicting out great king during a hunt. Walking towards the North from the palace we will find the statue of the Csikós (Horse-Herder).

Between the citizens’ quarter and the royal palace first the Carmelites built a monastery and a church (1736), but after the dissolving of the order the church in 1787 it was changed into a theatre. Today it is a home to the National Dance Theatre. The classicist palace next to it was built for the Count Vince, father of the “devil horse rider” Móric Sándor in 1806. The architects were János Ámon from Vienna and Mihály Pollack from Pest. After 1887 right until 1945 it was the head office of the Prime Minister’s Office. Today it is the residence of the President of Hungary. On the grassy green between the two buildings there are the ruins of a medieval church.

Fishermen's bastion

Behind the Matthias Church there is a wonderful panoramic view of the city from the Fisherman’s Bastion. If there is poetry in architecture, this is it. Frigyes Schulek designed an elegant flight of stairs running from the Danube up to the Castle Hill at the end of the 19th century, the end point of which was the castle wall decorated by bastions, ornaments, arcades, winders and statues. The terrace was completed by 1901, in one of its bays there is the horse statue of King Stephen I (St Stephen), which was erected in 1906. Schulek was an experienced architect with a great imagination and according to his vision the part of the wall that was protected by fishermen would have looked like this. However, in reality it is more likely that it was much more rugged, led decorated and easier to defend.

Matthias church and the Holy Trinity Square

The same can be said about the other great work of Schulek, the Church of Our Lady, better known as the Matthias Church, which was consecrated in the last third of the 13th century. The name recalls the fact that the great King had both of his weddings here. At the beginning the building had a Northern-French florid late neo-gothic style. The chancels of the three-nave, mock-transept basilica are multi-cornered; its towers overlook the square. This is how it was originally built, but between 1874 and 1896 Schulek decided to completely rebuild it, according to the general conception of the times he took away the rebuilt parts and extensions constructed during the centuries of history of the church and reset a state which – according to him - looked like the church of the Germans. He did not save on the decoration: medieval ornaments can be seen on one of the towers, in the chapels, in the chancel and on the furniture. But he also kept a lot of the carved parts, for example the Southern gate, which shows the death of Mary. Its figures and ornaments were originally carved by Southern-German masters around 1370. Our first king from the Anjou-house, Róbert Károly was crowned here. During their occupation the Turkish used it as a jami, and because of this they destroyed its figural ornaments, mostly the heads of the figures. After the re-occupation it was used by monks and the last two Habsburg rulers, Joseph Ferenc and Charles IV were crowned as Hungarian King here. The magical, beautiful appearance of the church is down to the imagination and scientific knowledge of the designer, but its floor plan, halls and some parts it still shows its old face, the taste and fastidiousness of the citizens and rulers of Buda. The church is a regular venue of classical concerts.

The square was named after the monument of Szentháromság (The Holy Trinity) in the middle of it. It was erected in 1711 – 1714 by the people to mark their gratitude when the plague epidemic ended. The monument, here medieval houses used to stand; there is the old town hall. It was designed by an Italian architect, Venerio Ceresola at the beginning of the 18th century and shows the style of early baroque. The neo-gothic building of the Hungarian Culture Foundation can also be found on the square, which was built in the early 20th century according to the plans of Sándor Fellner. Its staircase is decorated by the world-famous Zsolnay porcelain. The building houses several events, from the beginning of June to the end of October there are weekly chamber-music concerts called the Pearls of Baroque, where the musicians are dressed in period customs.
Near the town hall, in Úri street you can find the horse statue of General András Hadik, who was the famous military leader of Maria Theresa. He and his hussars (cavalrymen) occupied even Berlin.
It is worth visiting the Tourinform office on the square, it offers visitors free tourism publications, ticket sales, internet café and tourist-friendly services every day of the year.

Dísz square

From the Bastion walkway and from Úri street we get to the Dísz square. It gets its name (meaning: decoration) from the fact that after 1686 the military headquarters was here and the ceremonial parades were held on the square. In medieval times the square gave place to executions. According to the new traditions at the end of the 19th century a partial, neo-baroque building was constructed to house the Ministry of Defence until 1945. Across the square there is the Korona patisserie. The monument of the War of Independence of 1848 – 1849, the Solder Statue can also be found on the square. Tárnok street is another street that runs up to the square, at the other end you can see the Matthias Church. There are two medieval houses in the street: No. 14 even has some 16th century paintings on the walls. Its neighbour is the Arany Hordó restaurant, recalling the atmosphere of the 15th century Buda. On the two sides of the restaurant there are nice little alleys and across it there is a medieval pharmacy which was recovered after the war; it has some wall decorations and pictures.