Tanulmányok Budapest Múltjából 31. (2003)
A MÚLT RÉTEGEI - A SZENT GYÖRGY TÉR TÖRTÉNETE - Magyar Károly: A budavári Szent György tér és környékének kiépülése : történeti vázlat 1526-tól napjainkig 43-126
A BUDAVÁRI SZENT GYÖRGY TÉR ÉS KÖRNYÉKÉNEK KIÉPÜLÉSE Talking about the St. George Square in the first half of the 19th c. we ought to speak about one more building, the stable of the Royal Palace that might have seen perhaps of less importance in function, but was of great importance in appearance and size. The construction of this huge building started in 1847 could be explaned by the alteration in function of the palace-compound, that began nearly half century before. From 1790 to 1848 the palace - at least a part of it - was used as the residence of the palatine. (Word comes from the Latin palatínus). The persons bearing this anciant, highest office of the feudal Hungarian State (named in Hungarian nádor) in these years came from the side-branch of Habsburg-dinasty, and had the titel of Erzherzog -főherceg, i.e, archduke. Beside them even the members of the royal family visited more often the palace. All these circumstances caused strong need for a much larger stable, than there had been in the western part of Northern forecourt. (The eastern part was occupied by the Zeughaus!) But before the start of the works the still existing western part of the old nothern curtain-wall - together with some outbuildings - and the baroque artillary-barrack standing on southwestern part of the square were demolished, since the new stable was planned to stretch over from the Forecourt to the square. From this time onwards the palace-compound has been opened towards the St. George square. The construction works of the new stable lead us over to the next period to be discussed. .. 1849-1945 The new stable-building - being of 150 m length! - was by far not completed yet, when the Revolution of 1848 broke out. The walls of it were very heavily damaged during the long siege of 1849 that resulted the reconquest of Buda on the 21th of May from the Austrian hands. It was too close to the place situated towards the north, where the sieging Hungarian artillery troops could brake the city-wall through, and make it collapse. This brake was by the way one of the first locations where the Hungarian storming troops could enter into the city. Connected to this final storm a crutial scene of the whole siege took place on the St. George Square. General Alois Hentzi, the commander of the Austrian troops while trying to lead a counter-attack against the intruding forces was shot here. Althoug he did not die at once, his heavy wound made him unable to command and at the same time the defenders' fate came sealed. The new, longer, forthcoming period in the history of the square may as well divided into three phases, but ail the three pointed towards the same direction. The first started with less spectacular alterations in its general outlook, but with more important changes in its functional character. Apart from the necessary renovations only one smaller, but rather symbolic construction work took place here. Emperor France Joseph had a memorial erected to commemorate the heroism of his general, Hentzi and his soldiers, died in Buda during the Hungarian siege. This monument made in the Gothic style of the mid-19 th c. and set up in the middle of the square in 1852 (on his own cost of the emperor!) became one-and-the-same-time a 123
