Budapest Attractions, Hungary

Castle Palace
The first castle was built in the 13th C on the south spur of Castle Hill. Its purpose was to provide protection from attacks by Mongols and Tartars. Unfortunately nothing remains of this building. Under King Karl Robert a smaller palace was erected. King Sigismund, who made Buda his residence, had a Gothic castle built, which was considerably extended, in Renaissance style, under Matthias Corvinus.
Although the Castle Palace (Vár-palota) survived during the time of Turkish occupation, it was nevertheless almost completely ruined during the Siege of 1686. Therefore, in the 18th C, a new castle was built, which in the time of the Empress Maria Theresa had more than 200 rooms. The Castle Palace, from now on the residence of the Palatine (the representative of the Habsburg overlords), was rebuilt by the architects Alajos Hauszmann and Miklós Ybl in Neo-Baroque style. A symmetrical layout was created which is focused on the central dome (62m (203ft) high) facing the Danube.
The extensive buildings were badly damaged in the Second World War. After decades of restoration work, in the course of which it was possible to preserve many medieval and Renaissance structures, individual sections are gradually being opened up to the public.
At the southern end of the complex, parts of the medieval castle have been reconstructed. The Buzogány Tower (buzogány means flail or club) near the Ferdinand Gate is impressive. Outside stands the South Tower, which was in existence in the 15th and 16th C.
Outside the walls of the castle a number of Turkish tombstones can still be seen.
In front of the domed building, on the side facing the Danube, stands a bronze equestrian statue by József Róna (1900), representing Prince Eugene of Savoy who opposed the Turks.

Castle Quarter
The Castle Quarter has the remains of monuments such as the Roman city of Aquincum and the Gothic castle of Buda, which have had a considerable influence on the architecture of various periods.

Fishermen's Bastion
On Castle Hill, at the spot where in the Middle Ages the fishermen had their defense installations, the Fishermen's Bastion (Halászbástya) was built behind the Matthias Church between 1895 and 1902. Its towers, colonnades and embrasures, which were designed in Neo-Romanesque style by Frigyes Schulek, were renovated a few years ago. From the bastion there is a magnificent view over the city and the Danube.
In the north courtyard of the bastion stand two pleasing statues of the monks Julianus and Gellért, by Károly Antal (1937).

Margaret Island
Margaret Island (Margit-sziget), barely 2.5km (1 1/2mi.) long and up to 0.5km (1650ft) long, is undoubtedly the main local recreation and recuperative center for the people of Budapest. Thermal springs, feeding the medicinal and swimming baths, space for sports and games, carefully tended gardens and paths, and not least the remains of buildings which play a significant part in the history of the town all serve to attract many visitors every day.
The island gets its name from the canonized Princess Margit (1252-71), daughter of the Hungarian King Béla IV; as the result of a vow made by her father she became a nun in the Dominican convent on the island.

Matthias Church (Church of Our Lady, Coronation Church)
The Church of Our Lady in Buda is one of the principal sights of the Hungarian capital. It is the successor to a church built in the time of King Béla IV between 1255 and 1269, which was rebuilt on several occasions. Its side aisles were extended and given polygonal ends in the 14th C; the magnificent south doorway with its relief in the tympanum depicting the "Death of Mary" also dates from that period. In 1309 Charles Robert of Anjou was crowned King Charles I of Hungary in this church. Under King Matthias, after whom the church is named, side-chapels were added, together with an oratory for the royal family and a new south tower, which bears the arms of Matthias Corvinus, dated 1470 (the original arms are now to be found inside the church). In 1526 the building was destroyed by fire and fifteen years later was converted into a mosque. When the Turks were driven out by the Austrians the Jesuits made themselves responsible for the Church of our Lady and renovated it in Baroque style. In 1867 Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria and his consort Elisabeth ("Sissi") were crowned rulers of Hungary here; Franz Liszt composed the famous coronation mass.

Gellért Hill
Probably the most striking feature of the landscape of Budapest is the panoramic Gellért Hill (235m (771ft): a block of dolomite, the east flank of which falls steeply down to the Danube, while the west side consists of terraces which were formerly vineyards. Along its geological fault several medicinal springs emerge which supply the Gellért Baths, Rudas Baths (photo - left) and Rác Baths.
The hill is named after St Gellért (St Gerald of Csanád), a Benedictine monk who did good works during the time of King Stephen I. He was made the first Magyar bishop, but died a martyr's death in 1046. On the northeast slope of Gellért Hill, above a man-made waterfall, stands a statue of St Gellért by Jankovits (1902).
The Citadel, built by the Austrians on the summit of Gellârt Hill after 1851, is still in good repair. Parts of the fortifications are open to the public.

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