Szablyár Péter: Sky-high - Our Budapest (Budapest, 2007)
Churches; Towers; Domes
1 ■ The Royal Palace in Buda. Cross section of the original and the rebuilt dome Maria Theresa and the Esterházy Castle of Fertőd. Once the permanent function of the palace buildings was determined, the restoration of the complex to its original appearance was decided on with a number of significant external and internal alterations and the building of a genuine dome. The design eventually to be realised was made by the Public Building Designers under the supervision of Chief Architect Lajos Hidasi and with the collaboration of György Tiry. It was to here that the Hungarian National Gallery, the country's largest fine arts-collection, was moved in 1975. The remoulded dome was built with an axis pushed three metres back in comparison with that of the old one in such a way that a circular flight of stairs was installed inside the dual walls of the colonnaded drum; the stairs lead from the third floor to the circular observation gallery. Beneath the dome on the first floor was the central assembly hall, and with the interior courtyard roofed over, a large- scale stairwell was formed to facilitate visitor-movement. The reconstruction of the palace complex gained impetus in the early 1960s. Designed by structural engineer Gyula Farkas Kis, the drum was finished in 1962, while the dome structure was completed in 1964. In this way the restoration of the Danube-side facade was completed by 1964. The terrace arranged on the dome was initially used as an observation gallery. 42
