Buda Castle

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Buda Castle from above

Buda Castle seen from the opposite side of the Danube, in Pest

Buda Castle in the snow, taken from the Buda 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. Buda Castle is part of the Budapest World Heritage Site, declared in 1987.

1 History
2 Museums
3 External links
4 References

[edit] History

[edit] Medieval palace

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 magnificent 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 although 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. It was called the Roman Hall. 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 strengthened 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.

In front of the palace stood the bronze equestrian statue of Sigismund, later repaired by King Matthias Corvinus.

The last phase of grand-scale building activity happened under King Matthias Corvinus (1458-1490). During the first decades of his reign the king carried on and finished the works on the Gothic palace. The Royal Chapel - with the surviving Lower Church - was probably built that time.

After the marriage of Matthias and Beatrix of Aragon, the daughter of the king of Naples in 1476, Italian humanists, artists and craftsmen arrived at Buda. The Hungarian capital became the first centre of Renaissance north of the Alps. The king rebuilt the palace in early Renessaince style. The cour d'honneur was modernized and an Italian loggia was added. Inside the palace there were two rooms with a golden ceiling, the famous Corvina library and a passage with the frescoes of the 12 signs of the Zodiac. The façade of the palace was decorated with the statues of John Hunyadi, László Hunyadi and King Matthias. In the middle of the court there was a fountain with the statue of Pallas Athene.

Only fragments remained of this Renaissance palace: red marble balustrads, lintels, decorative glazed tiles of stoves and floors.

In the last years of his reign Matthias Corvinus began to build a new Renaissance palace on the eastern side of the Sigismund Courtyard, next to the Fresh Palace. The Matthias Palace remained unfinished because of the early death of the king. From written sources we know that it had a monumental red marble stairway in front of the façade. The bronze gates were decorated with panels depicting the deeds of Hercules. Matthias Corvinus was usually identified with Hercules by the humanists of his court. A great bronze statue of the Greek hero welcomed the guests in the forecourt of the palace complex where jousts were held.

The walled gardens of the palace were laid out on the western slopes of the Castle Hill. In the middle of the enclosure a Renaissance villa was built by Matthias. Only one column survived of this so-called Aula Marmorea.

After the death of Matthias Corvinus his successor, King Ulászló II carried on the works of the Matthias Palace, especially after his marriage with Anna of Foix-Candale in 1502.

[edit] Ottoman Era

After the Battle of Mohács the medieval Kingdom of Hungary collapsed. The Ottoman army occupied the evacuated town on 11 September 1526. Although Buda was sacked and burned, the Royal Palace wasn't damaged. Sultan Süleyman I carried away all the bronze statues (the Hunyadis, Pallas Athene and Hercules) with him to Constantinople. The statues were destroyed there in a rebellion a few years later. The Sultan also get hold of many volumes from the famous Corvina library.

In 1529 the Ottoman army besieged and occupied Buda again. The palace was badly damaged that time. Under the reign of King John Zápolya (1529-1540), the last national ruler of Hungary, the palace was repaired last time. On the southern tip of the Castle Hill the Great Rondella was built by Italian military engineers. The circular bastion is the most imposing surviving structure of the old palace.

On 29 August 1541 Buda was occupied again by the Ottomans without any resistance. The Hungarian capital became part of Ottoman Empire as the seat of the Eyalet of Budin.

Although Turkish travel writers wrote enthusiastically about the beauty of the palace of the Hungarian kings, the new Ottoman government left the palace decaying. It was partially used as barracks, storage place and stables, otherwise it stood empty.

The palace was called Iç Kala ("Inner Castle") and Hisar Peçe ("Citadel") by the Turks. The name of the cour d'honneur was Seray meydani. The favourite nickname of the complex was "Palace of the Golden Apples".

In the era between 1541 and 1686 the Habsburgs tried re-capture Buda several time. Unsuccessful sieges in 1542, 1598, 1603 and 1684 caused serious damage. The Ottoman authorities repaired only the fortifications.

According to 17th century sources many buildings of the former Royal Palace were roofless and their vaults collapsed. Nonetheless the medieval palace by-and-large survived until the great siege of 1686.

[edit] Destruction of the medieval palace

The medieval palace was destroyed in the great siege of 1686 when Buda was captured by the allied Christian forces. In the heavy artillery bombardment many buildings collapsed and burned out. The Stephen's Tower, used as a pulver tower by the Ottomans, exploded. According to contemporary sources, the giant explosion killed 1500 Turkish soldiers, and caused a tidal wave on the Danube that washed away standing guards and even artillery batteries on the opposite shore. It was caused by a single cannon shot by a friar called Gábor, also referred as Tüzes Gábor ie. "Gabriel Fiery".

Habsburg military engineers made several plans and drawings about the buildings in the next decades. Although the walls mainly survived, the burned out shell was rapidly decaying because of the lack of basic maintenance. In the decade between 1702 and 1715 the Stephen's Tower totally disappeared, and the palace went beyond repair.

In 1715 King Charles III ordered the demolition of the ruins. Johann Hölbling surveyed the still existing structures. According to the order of the king the surviving marble statues, antiquities, inscriptions and coins were spared (there is no evidence about the realization of the royal decree). The main part of the palace and the Broken Tower were totally demolished, the hollows and moats were filled, and a new flat terrace was established. Luckily the southern fortifications, zwingers and rooms were only buried under tons of rubbish and earth.

[edit] The siege during 1944-45

The Buda Castle was the last major strongpoint of Budapest held by Axis forces (Germans and Hungarians) during the siege of Budapest in 1944-45. Heavy fights and artillery fire rendered the palace once again into a heap of ruins. As a last resort, the defenders finally attempted to break the Soviet blockade, but utterly failed, leaving 90% of the soldiers dead on the sidestreets of Buda. Allegedly the Russians knew about their plans and aimed heavy weapons at the possible escape routes hours earlier. This is considered one of the biggest military catastrophes of Hungarian history by many historians, comparable to the Russian breakthrough at the Don in 1943.

[edit] Museums

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).

The castle also houses the Hungarian National Gallery. As part of the castle, there are excavations and smaller ruins. Many of these can be walked in.