Visiting the Buda Castle in Budapest
At the top of a hill we find one of the most representative monuments of Budapest, the Buda Castle, also known as the Buda Palace and which was the residence of the Kings of Hungary.
It forms a special ensemble with the Chain Bridge and currently houses the Széchenyi Library and two museums, the Budapest History Museum and the Hungarian National Gallery. The Buda Castle was built in the 14th century but stands out mainly for its 19th century buildings.
We recommend you take this tour of the Buda Castle to discover all its secrets.
A bit of history of the Buda Castle
The construction of the Buda Castle was carried out in the 13th century thanks to King Bela IV and was later enlarged in the 15th century.
This first castle was completely devastated in 1686 after being liberated from the Turks, so it had to be rebuilt in the Baroque style.
However, this new castle was again destroyed, this time by fire during the War of Independence of 1849.
A new reconstruction suffered damage again, this time during World War II when it was converted into an operations center for Nazi Germany and suffered bombing from Russia. After it, in 1950 the Buda Castle finally reached the aspect with which we can see it today.
The Museums that can be visited in the Buda Castle
If you want to enter the Buda Castle you must enter its museums.
One of them is the Hungarian National Gallery where we can see great works of art from Hungary spanning the time period from the Middle Ages to the 20th century.
They are mostly paintings although we can also see some sculptures.
If you decide to visit this museum thinking that you are going to enter a palace, you will be disappointed because they are simply very modern rooms that have nothing to do with a castle.
The other museum you can visit is the Budapest History Museum which, as its name suggests, shows you the history of the city since the Middle Ages. The most interesting part of the museum is its cellars, discovered in the reconstruction after World War II and which are a true work of art in themselves.
You can find more information on the official pages of the Hungarian National Gallery and the Budapest History Museum.
