Buda Castle and Mathias Church

Buda Castle & Matthias Church

Also a short walk from our hotel was the Castle Hill. We took a guided tour. Despite the wind blowing the rain sideways our guided tour was enjoyable

Highlights of the tour included:

BUDA CASTLE (Budavári Palota)

The castle has been destroyed and rebuilt many times over the centuries. Also called the Royal Palace, the castle was first completed in 1265 by King Bela IV. Today the castle is home to the Hungarian National Gallery, the Budapest History Museum, and the National Széchényi Library, really worth visiting.

RUSZWURM CAFE

Ruszwurm Cafe & Confectionery is one of the places in the Buda Castle area where it is hard to get a seat, especially at weekends and on rainy days. The confectionery is smallish, historically smallish with beautiful interior and wonderful pastries. The coffee is authentic and good too. Reasonably priced and delicious homemade cakes including some of Hungary’s most famous cakes, like Dobos torta, Somloi Sponge Cake or the yummy creamy Kremesare available in this beautiful small pastry shop with original old fittings, 200-year-old wood counters with a fabulous old tiled fuel stove for chilly winter days.

Matthias Church

Located atop the Buda Castle hill, it has been serving the citizens of the Buda Castle Hill since 1015, its foundation by the first Hungarian king. The current building was constructed in the florid late Gothic style in the second half of the 14th century and was extensively restored in the late 19th century. It was the second largest church of medieval Buda and the seventh largest church of the medieval Hungarian Kingdom.

Streets, apartments, and businesses of the Buda Castle Hill District