Szatmári Gizella: Walks in the Castle District - Our Budapest (Budapest, 2001)

The reconstruction of the Palace, which was severely damaged when Buda was recaptured from the Turks, was begun under Charles 111. Gone now was the glory and luxury of old. Built by Johann Höbling, the austere block of the new edifice at the southern end of Castle Hill did not even vaguely resemble the royal residence of happier times. And yet, due to further extensions variously directed by the Emperor’s Senior Architect Jean Nicolas Jadot, Ignác Oracsek, the court architect of the royal chamber’s chairman Antal Grassalkovich, and chamber architect F. A. Hillebrandt, all 203 rooms had been rendered habitable by the time of Maria Theresa.

Francis Joseph I in the Castle Gardens of Buda (early 20th century)

Joseph II had St. Stephen’s crown moved to Buda, where it was placed in the Palace Chapel. From 1791 Alexander Leopold, and then from 1795 Palatine Joseph, used the former royal palace as their official residence.

It was after the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 and the coronation of Francis Joseph I as King of Hungary that the establishment of a proper royal residence was built to plans by Miklós Ybl and later by Alajos Hauszmann (1891-1905). Although Ybl, a famous and much sought-after architect, submitted several versions of his plans as early as 1883, construction work—making foundations for the new wing—could not start before the summer of 1890, due to various

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