Budapest Régiségei 15. (1950)

Gerevich László: Gótikus házak Budán 121-238

elswhere' in Central Europe too, chiefly in Eastern Austria, Bohemia and Poland. It is possible that Buda, a Gothic town under very strong Italian influence, was one of the cradles of this style. In addition, we find fragments of monuments built in Italian Renaissance style and, furthermore, traces of the local Renaissance style, which developed from the former. The names of Italian architects emerge in the history of Buda not only during the reign of King Matthew, but also in the first half of the sixteenth century. In 1528, Nicolaus of Milan is mentioned, in 1531 Francis,, an Italian stonecutter. At the same period we find also in Vienna together with houses of a long, narrow ground plan, patrician houses built in the Italian style, the square courtyard being surrounded on four sides. In Vienna this new type was inconsistent with the local tradition, whereas in Buda the Renaissance house could develop organically from the medieval ground-plan. The dwelling houses of »Italian type attracted the notice of foreigners too. Anna Cendale, messenger of Ulászló II's wife described in the year 1502 the queen's journey. She wrote : »...The houses in Buda . . . were built in the Italian manner.« Usinus Velius often refers to Italian architecture and decoration. When describing the Castle in Buda, he was struck by the Italian proportions of the buildings. Another ambassador, Baron Wratislaw recognised the peculiar character of urbane architecture in Buda, .when he passed through the country in 1591. He wrote, that the houses in the Castle »were built in the old Hungarian architectural style«. These quotations prove, that travellers used to Western towns found the houses in Hungary strange, noticing first the Oriental influence, and later, during the reign of King Sigismund and King Matthew, the influence of the Italian Renaissance. Of course the Buda houses are, as regards their ground-plan, after all only variants of medieval town-houses. They are related to the Low German burghers'house, which was widespread in the Middle Ages, and which had developed from the Tow German peasant house. The greatest difference is, that the houses in Buda have no gables, but eaves. This points to a different development and effected changements in the ground plan. The origin of the German house with eaves is still obscure. According to the most plausible explanation, they originated from castles, public buildings and cloisters. We may presume, that both the Buda type and the German houses with eaves were influenced by a common type which came from the South or the East through Slav mediation and to which later Italian elements were added. It is interesting to note, that the ground plan of the house with a mansard roof, which was of a French origin and widespread in Germany in the seventeenth century, is very similar to that of the Buda houses. In this case the indirect Italian influence is not even doubtful. The civil architecture in Buda had some peculiarities which influenced even the far districts of the Carpathian Basin. Among them, the most evident is the characteristic doorway. Till now we have only known a few examples of the doorways with sedilia which were often described, but their importance had not been recognized. Yet the wide doorways are the chief characteristic of the Buda houses, which differ from the urbane dwellings of the great Western towns, having maintained their agricultural character. We could call them »manor houses«. The courtyard is an important part of these houses. A register made on order of King Sigismund informs us, that in the year 1437, in 200 houses of the Castle there were stables for accomodating 1833 horses. The records of Pest, Buda, as well as of the Castle always mention besides the stone building and the courtyards wooden buildings, thus proving, that the outhouses were indispensable and of eminent importance. These wooden outhouses, the wide 235