1st District

Budapest then and today – 5 photos showing how much the city has changed The capital, which is 150 years old this year, has changed so much over time that every day citizens can marvel at a section of a street, an old building that has disappeared or that has miraculously survived. This time, with the help of five pairs of images, Pestbuda presents the passage of time from the houses of the old inner city of Pest to the flood in Tabán.

Bicycle-friendly developments are starting in three districts Public procurement tenders were announced for the development of the bicycle network in the 2nd, 3rd and 13th Districts. The works will start this summer, their goal is to increase the safety of bicycle traffic and to encourage cycling.

The Batthyány Square terminus of the suburban railway was handed over 50 years ago The Budapest terminus of the suburban railway [HÉV] from Szentendre has been moved several times, most recently just 50 years ago, when it moved to its current location, Batthyány Square. The timing and the location were no coincidence either, as the suburban railway was able to connect to the metro this way which was also handed over at the time. The current terminus was handed over 50 years ago, but it may also change in the future.

This is what the reborn Buda Castle will look like - From now on, anyone can see the plans The restoration of the Buda Castle has begun, and the visuals for its reconstruction have been published in the past few days, so now we know exactly what the building will look like after the reconstruction is completed. The Neo-Baroque royal palace was built between 1890 and 1905 with a significant expansion of the previous palace, but after 1945 it was rebuilt and simplified due to war damage. Anyone can see the reconstruction plans in the visitor centre that opened on Monday in Hunyadi Court.

Scandalous background, sensational ending - The Lukács Villa on Ostrom Street is 100 years old The steep Ostrom Street, which opens into the Bécsi Kapu Square, is home to several valuable buildings, which are worthy of the prominent location with their sophisticated appearance. However, the history of the creation of the former Lukács Villa at number 5 is riddled with scandals, but this can also be attributed to the turbulent era. The walls of the villa, which was completed 100 years ago, hide this flaw, and to today's observer, they only tell about the designer's genius.

The first section of Hegyalja Road was completed 90 years ago Nowadays, Hegyalja Road is one of the most important traffic routes in Buda, as it connects Budaörsi Road with Erzsébet Bridge. Its existence is natural to everyone now, many people get to Lake Balaton this way, but when the original Erzsébet Bridge was built, the road was not yet ready: its first section, which was built by public workers during the economic crisis, was handed over 90 years ago. The investment caused controversy, some feared for the silence of the Tabán.

A walk through time - The houses in the Buda Castle tell the story of nearly 800 years of Jewish history Although the history of Budapest's Jews is as old as the city itself, it is less well-known how many places we can find memories of the community and how many houses preserve stories from the Middle Ages to the 21st century. The tour guide of the Buda Castle Walks of the Castle Headquarters has now provided an insight into this during the Shalom, Buda! castle walk to Pestbuda.

The Palace of the Ministry of Finance was completed 115 years ago It is lesser known that on 7 October 1907, the construction works of the Ministry of Finance's Szentháromság Square palace were completed. The significant construction work took place between October 1901 and December 1904, but the post-construction work continued until October 1907. And several pivotal dates are connected to the construction itself.

The former headquarters of the Red Cross Society will soon show its original appearance The reconstruction of the building in Buda, originally designed by Alajos Hauszmann and Dezső Hültl, began in 2021, and recently the structural construction work was completed, so in addition to the construction of the roof and facade, the interior work will start in the autumn. With the reconstruction of the house at 1-2 Dísz Square, a wound in the cityscape that has been open for more than seventy years will be healed.

Skulls under the Fisherman's Bastion - The Forgotten St. Michael's Chapel In the last years of the 19th century, during the works before the foundation of the Fisherman's Bastion, a cavity hiding skulls emerged from the ground, which the architect Frigyes Schulek referred to as one of the Castle's old dungeons. But he could have guessed its original function because he deemed it worthy of preservation, but the place was then forgotten again, only to be found again in the middle of the 20th century: now the place has been identified as the medieval St. Michael's Chapel, which since 1997 has been one of the most interesting details of the Fisherman's Bastion.

The restored Immaculata statue in Krisztinaváros is back to its place - its original was erected 320 years ago Another sculpture with a long history was renewed in the capital: the Immaculata statue in Krisztinaváros, erected 320 years ago in 1702 - the oldest public sculpture in Budapest - has been replaced by a copy since 1928, and in the meantime this work has also needed to be restored. The work was carried out at the Department of Restoration of the Hungarian University of Fine Arts recently, and yesterday the sculpture was placed at the Krisztina Square erection site.

Not only spaces, but also ages are connected by the reborn Hauszmann ramp in the Csikós courtyard One of the newest buildings of the Buda Castle connects the Hunyadi courtyard with the Csikós courtyard, starting next to the Royal Guard. Walking along the Hauszmann ramp that is the same as the original, we can not only admire the panorama of Krisztinaváros, but also discover exciting details: the walls of the building preserve the memories of several eras.

The former diplomatic residence in the Castle was demolished The demolition of the former diplomatic residence, the later Burg Hotel, was completed this week in the Szentháromság Square in Buda Castle, leaving only piles of rubble. The building, designed by György Jánossy and László Laczkovics and completed in 1981 is planned to be replaced by a house that will evoke the exterior of the buildings originally demolished after World War II.

The fate of the Kölcsey statue: the Romanians beheaded it, the people of Budapest recreated it The story of Ferenc Kölcsey's first statue in Budapest is very adventurous: the statue of the poet, which was inaugurated in Batthyány Square in 1939 and looked down from a low platform, was able to watch the passers-by from a much more worthy place decades ago. The original of the work in Budapest was inaugurated 125 years ago, hundreds of kilometers from its present location, in Nagykároly. In our article, on the occasion of the Hungarian Culture Day, we present the reasons why the work of art came from Transylvania to Budapest and why it was moved from its original place in Batthyány Square.

A building fitting the historical environment will be on Szentháromság Square in Budavár, says the designer A house, respecting the historical past, which closely matches the image of the Castle District and the UNESCO World Heritage Site, will be the new conference centre of the Pallas Athene Domus Meriti Foundation in Szentháromság Square, said Ádám Reisz, head of Rapa Architects, the designers of the building. He also explained that the starting point for the reconstruction of the facade was the pre-war state, as there is a wealth of visual information available about this age on which they could based it.

Budapest then and now – 6 photos showing how much the cityscape has changed over a century The change in Budapest can be surprising when looking at old pictures: the former riding hall behind the National Museum, the New Building (Újépület) on the site of the current Szabadság Square, the disappeared houses of Pest and Buda downtown, the former splendour of the Buda Palace, and the beautiful historic buildings which stood on the site of the series of hotels along the Danube. What has changed and what is constant? Take a look at the six pictures Pestbuda collected.

The reborn St. Stephen's Hall of the Buda Castle was solemnly handed over The St. Stephen's Hall of the Buda Palace, which was once one of the most ornate rooms in the palace, was renovated with complete historical fidelity. The room, rebuilt in its original form, will be open to the public free of charge from 20 August until the end of the month, following today's official handover.

For the first time, we can see in photos what the reborn St. Stephen's Hall looks like For the first time, we can see in photos what the new St. Stephen's Hall in the Buda Castle looks like, which will be opened to the public on 20 August, in two weeks. In the newly taken photographs, we can see several details of the historic ceremonial hall, including the new Zsolnay fireplace, new floor and wall coverings, new pyrogranite images of kings and Hungarian saints, and even a close-up of an armchair and a curtain upholstery.

Building of Rác Bath up for auction Although the renovation of the Rác Bath complex was completed in 2010, it has never reopened due to protracted legal and financial disputes. Now the building's condition has deteriorated so much that it needs to be renovated again. The building – owned by Rác Nosztalgia Kft., which is under liquidation – will now be put up for auction together with the hotel connected to it for 5.1 billion HUF.

A street in Buda and a mountain in Australia – Who was Tadeusz Kościuszko? Kosciuszko Tádé Street in the 1st District is generally well-known. However, few people know who the person behind the name was and why the street known as Koronaőr Street before 1948 was renamed in his honour. However, the hero of Polish independence, Tadeusz Kościuszko, born 275 years ago, was so well known in his day that in addition to a street in Buda, the highest mountain in Australia was named after him, and his statue was even erected in Washington.

Six months to go – Saint Stephen's Hall ever closer to (re)completion On 20 August, the first reconstructed ornate hall of the Royal Palace of Buda Castle will open to the public. Saint Stephen's Hall has the most lavish representative space of the turn of the century, housing several unique artistic and applied artistic solutions. The structure of the rebuilt Southern Connecting Wing of the Royal Palace is now complete, internal work will begin in the coming days.

Restoration of Habsburg Gate and Turul statue in Buda Castle has begun The ornate gate built during the Hauszmann-reconstruction of Buda castle stands at the Szent György Square station of the Buda Castle Funicular. The ornate fence, stairs, and the adjoined great Turul statue – erected in 1905 – are being restored.

Refuge for a Queen – Queen Consort Elizabeth's love for Buda Castle The story of how Franz Joseph's beautiful wife went from being unknown in Hungary to become "our Queen consort", often referred to simply as Sisi, is fascinating. The Queen learnt Hungarian, was happier in Buda than Vienna, and her death shook the entire nation. Her friendship with Gyula Andrássy is well-known, and it was in part her efforts that transformed Franz Joseph (Ferenc József), the cruel oppressor, to the diminutive Ferenc Jóska.

New visuals: Take a look at the Ministry of Finance The final designs of the office block to be built in the Fortuna Courtyard of the Ministry of Finance on Szentháromság Square have been revealed. An office block stood in the courtyard until 2019 when it was torn down.

Historical buildings avoid destruction in Budapest city-centre In response to recent events, the Prime Minister's Office has ordered the initiation of listing two buildings as historical monuments of Budapest. All work must stop on the Márványmenyasszony ('marble-bride') restaurant in the 1st District, which hosted the weddings of historical figures such as Széchenyi and Wesselényi and the house on Kazinczy Street, which has become known as Tamás Wichmann's pub. Although the future of these buildings remains uncertain, their history is known all the better.

Iconic tower of National Archives in Buda Castle to be rebuilt The tower of the Hungarian National Archives, designed by Samu Pecz and completed in 1918, is to be rebuilt in Buda Castle. The tower was blown up in 1945 to avoid necessary post-war repairs. Furthermore, a new wing will be added to the building, which was not built a hundred years ago due to a lack of funding.

Rebuilt Headquarters of Hungarian Defense Forces will act as gate to the Palace of Buda Castle One hundred and twenty years ago its massive dome was the pride of Dísz Square. However, for the last 70 years, the military headquarters' partially deconstructed remains have lacked form and function. However, this is set to change. After a partial renovation between 2012 and 2014, its continued reconstruction will begin next year, restoring the building to its former glory, and serving visitors to Buda's Castle District.

Fehérvári Roundel and Western Gardens of Buda Castle to be renovated, new parking garage planned The Fehérvári Roundel and its surroundings are to be demolished and rebuilt to its original size in Buda Castle. One of the main goals of the National Hauszmann Program is to allow visitors to Buda Castle to explore the Castle District by walking around it on its walls. The Fehérvári Roundel plays a major role in enabling this. Following the reconstruction, a previously closed section of the western castle wall will be opened, connecting the roundel to Csikós Courtyard. The western gardens will be revitalised to evoke the vineyards and orchards that once surrounded Budavár. Várgarázs III. will meanwhile further reduce the number of cars parked in the Castle.

Ice skating rink to be built on Kapisztrán Square A new ice skating rink is to be built in Buda, within the castle walls in front of the local mayor's office. Parking on the square will be suspended.