Buda Castle

About Buda Castle

Buda Castle is a castle in Buda, Hungary, on the bank of the Danube River. It was completed in 1265. The first settlement on the castle hill was built by the Celts in the late 1st century BC. The Romans occupied the area after the conquest of Pannonia in the 1st century AD and a legion camp was built here. The area was later called Aquincum and was the capital of the Roman province of Pannonia Inferior. The Roman city was destroyed by the Avars in the 5th century. The Slavs and the Avars occupied the area after the fall of the Roman Empire. The Avars were defeated by the Franks in the 8th century. The Franks rebuilt the old Roman city and called it “Pest”. The Hungarians arrived in the Carpathian Basin in the 9th century and the first written record of the castle hill is from the year 1000. The castle was built in the 12th century but the first written record of the castle is from the year 1265. The castle was the residence of the Hungarian kings from the 13th century to the 15th century. The Ottoman Turks occupied the castle in 1541 but they were defeated by the Hungarian army in 1543. The castle was rebuilt in the 16th century. The castle was used as a military fortress until the 19th century. The castle was damaged in the 1848-49 War of Independence and the last military garrison left the castle in 1881. The castle was used as a prison from 1884 to 1918. The castle was damaged in World War II and it was restored in the 1970s. The castle is now a popular tourist attraction.