Buda Castle

The Budavár Palace, in Budapest

The Budavár Palace, or Buda Castle, is the former Royal Palace of Budapest, a major monument that dominates the Danube from the castle hill. The Budapest audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this building founded in the thirteenth century by King Béla IV, embellished by Matthias Corvinus into one of the finest Renaissance palaces of Europe, several times destroyed and rebuilt over a turbulent history.

The former Royal Palace of Hungary

In the prestigious district of Buda, the old palaces are king: you still count several dozen, proudly standing, each recalling the memory of the great noble families who formerly lived on these lands. But the most impressive is without any doubt the one that stands in front of you. Buda Castle or Budavár Palace? Both names circulate, but one thing is sure: it is indeed the former Royal Palace of Budapest, and it is in this capacity that it marked history. Everything begins in the thirteenth century, when King Béla IV decides to build here a residence on the vestiges of a former fortress. Over the centuries, the kings follow one another, each going about his enlargements and his renovations. In the fifteenth century, King Matthias Corvinus makes it one of the finest Renaissance-style palaces of all Europe, a period of splendour and radiance for Hungary. But history was not always tender with the palace: between the sixteenth and the nineteenth century, Ottoman and Austrian occupations, sieges and fires destroyed it several times, and it was again heavily damaged during the Second World War, before being rebuilt. Today, the immense building, capped with a dome, shelters the Hungarian National Gallery and the Budapest History Museum, and offers from its terraces a magnificent view over the Danube and Pest. A royal palace and a jewel of Buda, the Budavár Palace is a fine stop of the discovery of Budapest.

What to see

Here you admire the former Royal Palace of Budapest, founded in the thirteenth century by King Béla IV and made by Matthias Corvinus one of the finest Renaissance palaces of Europe; several times destroyed by the Ottoman and Austrian occupations and the Second World War, then rebuilt, the immense domed building today shelters the National Gallery and the History Museum, with a magnificent view over the Danube. The Budavár Palace is a jewel of Buda. It is a fine stop, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The Budavár Palace stands on the castle hill, in the district of Buda, in Budapest, reachable on foot, by funicular or by transport. The terraces and the courtyards are in free access; the museums it shelters can be visited according to their hours and conditions, which vary. It is best to enquire before coming.

What is the history of the Budavár Palace in Budapest?

Founded in the thirteenth century by King Béla IV on a former fortress, it was embellished in the fifteenth century by Matthias Corvinus into one of the finest Renaissance palaces of Europe; destroyed several times by the Ottoman and Austrian occupations, the sieges and the Second World War, then rebuilt, the former Royal Palace today shelters the National Gallery and the Budapest History Museum.

Where is the Budavár Palace in Budapest?

On the castle hill, in the district of Buda, in Budapest, in Hungary.