AROUND TOWN - Top 10 Budapest - page 59

city's and the castle's
history via three distinct
exhibitions. The basement
houses an exhibition on
the castle during the
Middle Ages, that includes
a recreation of a vaulted
chapel from the earliest
1255 structure. Gothic
sculptures and armour that
were unearthed while
renovating the Royal
Palace after World War II are also
displayed. The ground loor has
exhibits on the city's evolution
from Roman times to the 17th
century, while the irst-loor
exhibition is entitled “Budapest
in Modern Times . d Map J4 • I,
Wing E of the Royal Palace, Szent György
tér 2 • 487 88 01 • Open Mar-mid-May,
mid-Sep-Oct: 10am-6pm Mon, Wed-Sun;
Nov-Feb: 10am-4pm Mon, Wed-Su, mid-
May-mid-Sep: 10am-6pm Mon-Sun • Dis.
access • www.btm.hu • Adm

The Royal Palace on Castle Hill

! Royal Palace Towering above Budapest,

the Royal Palace, or Castle, is in
fact, an amalgamation of several
buildings. Most of the present
Habsburg Palace was built in the
18th century during the reign of
Maria Theresa, but it was preced-
ed by a palace and two castles
that had earlier stood on the site.
The irst castle was built around
1255, but was rebuilt by Mátyás I
in 1458. Following damage in
World War II, the palace was ren-
ovated again, with some parts,
such as the dome, being entirely
rebuilt. The last resident was
Regent Admiral Horthy, who lived
here from 1919 to 1945. Since
then, it has housed several muse-
ums, including the Hungarian
National Gallery. d Map B4
@ Hungarian National Gallery

$ Sándor Palace This is the oficial residence

of the Hungarian president and
you can only admire the building
from the outside, especially its
superb Neo-Classical motifs and
bas-reliefs by Richárd Török,
Miklós Melocco and Tamás
Körössényi. The Palace was com-
missioned in 1806 by Count
Vincent Sándor, and designed by
Mihály Pollack and Johann Aman.
It was severely damaged in 1944,
and was almost entirely rebuilt
after World War II. d Map H3 • I,
Szent György tér 1-3 • Closed to the public

It would take weeks to view
all the exhibits in the National
Gallery, as there are more than
40,000 works on display at any
given time. From the tragedies
of the 19th century to the colour
and optimism of the Secession,
it's all here. One of the world's
greatest galleries (see pp20-23) .
# Budapest History Museum Also known as the Castle

Museum, this fascinating collec-
tion of artifacts and historical
documents cleverly traces the

Façade of Sándor Palace

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