page_title: Buda Castle
section_title: Modernization
hierarchical_section_title: Buda Castle / History / Modernization
caption_attribution_description: Buda Castles - Budapest - Hungary - Europe
context_page_description: Buda Castle is the historical castle and palace complex of the Hungarian kings in Budapest. It was first completed in 1265, but the massive Baroque palace today occupying most of the site was built between 1749 and 1769. The complex in the past was referred to as either the Royal Palace or the Royal Castle. The castle now houses the Hungarian National Gallery and The Budapest History Museum.
  Buda Castle sits on the southern tip of Castle Hill, surrounded by the touristic area known as Várnegyed, which is famous for medieval, Baroque and Neoclassical houses, churches, public buildings and monuments. The hill is linked to Clark Ádám Square and the Széchenyi Chain Bridge by the Castle Hill Funicular. The castle is a part of the Budapest World Heritage Site, so declared in 1987. The original Royal palace was ruined during WWII, it was rebuilt in a simplified Stalin Baroque style during the Kádár era.
context_section_description: The government made a decision about reconstruction only in 1948. According to contemporary photos, all the important interiors were in a damaged state, but their reconstruction was technically possible. The new communist government of Hungary considered the Royal Palace a symbol of the former regime. Therefore, Hungarian leaders chose to thoroughly modernise the interior and exterior of the palace. Architectural trends played a part in the decision, as modernist architects had condemned the Hauszmann style as "too ornate".
  
  The first modernist reconstruction plan was made by architect István Janáky in 1950. His controversial concept was later modified. In 1952 the Hungarian government asked for help from Poland, because they had successfully rebuilt Warsaw and, indeed, other cities. A delegation of Polish experts, led by the architectural historian Jan Zachwatowicz, proposed the rebuilding of the Hauszmann palace.
   During the 1950s the palace was gutted and all the remaining interior, including the rooms and halls that were undamaged, were destroyed. Important exterior details, such as the main entrance, the Habsburg Steps, the dome, the Royal Stables, the guardhouse and the riding school were demolished, and the remaining façades were simplified. In Lions Court the ornate gates of King's Stairs and Diplomat's Stairs were demolished. The doorway of the castle church disappeared, as did the chapel. The detailed Neo-Baroque roofs were simplified and plain new windows were installed. The allegorical sculpture group of the tympanum was destroyed.
  At the same time however, medieval elements that were uncovered were reconstructed in what was thought their appearance was. No precise drawings existed of the medieval elements, therefore an approximate reconstruction of their appearance was done.
  The modernist dome was designed by Lajos Hidasi in 1961 after Italian Baroque models. The palace was rebuilt by 1966, but the interior spaces were ready only in the 1980s. Buda Castle became a cultural centre, home to three museums and the National Széchényi Library.
caption: Aerial view of the castle in 2006.
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