The Castle District: the back story

About The Castle District: the back story

By the ULTIMATE Budapest Editorial Team

Castle Hill, a long limestone ridge on the Buda bank, has been the seat of Hungary’s kings since the 13th century. Its medieval lanes, Matthias Church, the Fisherman’s Bastion and the vast royal palace are part of the Budapest UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A royal hill

After the Mongol invasion of 1241–42, King Béla IV built a fortified town on Castle Hill. Under King Matthias Corvinus in the 15th century, Buda became one of the great Renaissance courts of Europe.

Matthias Church

The Church of Our Lady, known as Matthias Church, with its colourful Zsolnay-tiled roof, was rebuilt in the late 19th century by Frigyes Schulek, who also designed the neo-Romanesque Fisherman’s Bastion beside it, completed in 1902, with seven towers and views over the Parliament.

Buda’s castle has been besieged more than thirty times.

The palace

The vast royal palace at the southern end of the hill was destroyed and rebuilt many times; today it houses the Hungarian National Gallery and the Budapest History Museum.

Getting up

The Castle Hill Funicular, opened in 1870, climbs from the Chain Bridge, or take bus 16 from Deák Ferenc tér, or walk up through the Várkert Bazár.

Our advice: come early or late to enjoy the Fisherman’s Bastion without the crowds, explore the quiet lanes of Úri utca and Országház utca, and end with sunset on the palace terraces.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with The Castle District: the back story before you go.