An ice skating rink is to be built on Kapisztrán Square in Buda Castle. The venue is planned to open on 27 November, announced the Council of the 1st District on its Facebook page. Due to the construction and operation of the rink, parking on the square will be suspended from 9 November until 10 March 2021.

Residents of the 1st District will be able to use the venue free of charge after registering.

A skating rink will soon replace the car park on Kapisztrán Square (Photo: Budavári Önkormányzat)

Replying to a comment which objected to the reduction of parking spaces, the Local Council responded that "the idea, acquisition process and the contracts for the rink had been finalised before the state of emergency and free parking were announced. The two issues were pushed together by chance, creating a difficult situation for everybody."

The Church of Mary Magdalene on Kapisztrán Square (Nándor Square at the time) in 1895, photographed by György Klösz (Photo: Fortepan/Budapest Archives, Reference No.: HU.BFL.XV.19.d.1.07.201)

The skating rink will be located outside of the Local Council building. The local government purchased the classicist building in 1993 after the State Printing House moved out. Previously, the communist council and then the democratically elected council had operated in a building on Krisztina Boulevard.

The Mary Magdalene Tower today: the remains of the church after its demolition in 1950 (Photo: Balázs Both/pestbuda.hu)

The Institute and Museum of Military History housed in the massive Nándor Barracks stands next to the district hall. Opposite these stand the remains of the Church of Mary Magdalene, the Mary Magdalene Tower. The church was torn down in 1950.

The church itself was built in the years after Buda was founded. Following the Mongol invasion of 1241–1242 King éla IV founded the city of Buda atop Castle Hill, surrounding the city with a wall. The Mary Magdalene Church was one of the first buildings in the new city, alongside the Church of the Assumption of Mary (Matthias Church). It served as the Hungarian church for centuries, as this area of the city way mainly populated by Hungarian residents.

Kapisztrán Square in 1912

Kapisztrán Square was one of Buda's market squares from the city's foundation. The area was called Szombatpiac ('Saturday market'), as the weekly Saturday market was held here. Once the Nándor Barracks were built, the area was known as Nándor Square. A statue of Saint John of Capistrano was erected on the square in 1922; the space has borne his name since.

Source: Budavári Önkormányzat Facebook page, pestbuda.hu

Cover photo: Kapisztrán Square (Photo: Kéri Gáspár/pestbuda.hu)