Royal Palace

The large, gothic styled Royal Palace was built in the first half of the 14th Century in the Buda Castle district, which became famous Europe-wide. In 1686 it was a heap of ruins, having witnessed the bloody battles of its re-conquer from the invading Turkish by the Christian forces. In 1715, a new, smaller palace was erected over the wrecks. During the reign of Maria Theresa, however, a larger palace was built with 203 rooms. The Habsburg rulers never actually lived in the palace, but used it as their residence on their occasional visits to Buda. The expansion works began in 1890 and the neo-baroque styled Palace was completed in 1903, which unfortunately almost completely burned down in 1945. The rebuilding process of its massive structure began in 1950 and today you may find the Hungarian Central Library (Magyarország Központi Könyvtára, also known as the Széchényi Könyvtár), the Hungarian National Gallery (Magyar Nemzeti Galéria) and numerous other museums on its premises.