Buda Castle

A settlement has been the hill that is home for the old town and the Buda Castle for nearly a thousand years. In the 13th century, the castle and Matthias Church formed the core of a growing town. BY the 16th century, the Turks had taken over and it fell into neglect followed by Christian troops that destroyed everything. What you see above is pretty much what was left.



But during the 18th and 19th centuries reconstruction flourished and gave rise to the version of things we see today. Of course, there must be guards and they must march about periodically to stave off boredom and keep the tourists happy.

The castle is an impressive building of which we only saw a small portion. The bulk of it contain the National Gallery filled with amazing art. This will be the focus of another trip. Behind this portion is a wing containing the Budapest History Museum, a much smaller affair and the place we visited on this trip.

On the way around the building, we stopped to view the Matthias Fountain. It was designed by Alajos Strobl in 1904 and depicts King Matthias Corvinus and his queen Ilonka. Although, I must say, it seems to me that the stag and dogs upstage the queen a good bit.

Behind the main portion of the castle is this large courtyard.

In one of the sections facing the courtyard is the History Museum.

In here we find statues unearthed during the excavation and reconstruction of the current building.

Since the reconstruction was begun by Empress Maria Theresa, we also find her portrait hanging here.

A very ornate building and a history museum well worth the visit.