The Castle District (Varnegyed) is the historic medieval quarter at the heart of the Buda side of Budapest, occupying the long limestone ridge of Castle Hill that rises above the Danube. The district, together with the banks of the Danube and Andrassy Avenue, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1987 and is the best-preserved historic quarter of the city, with a network of medieval cobbled streets, Baroque and Gothic houses, churches and the great royal palace at its southern end. The district developed from the thirteenth century, when King Bela IV fortified the easily defended ridge after the Mongol invasion of 1241-42 and encouraged the citizens of the lower town to resettle on the hill. The quarter grew across the medieval period as the royal seat of the Hungarian kings and the residence of the nobility and senior clergy, reaching its peak under the Renaissance court of King Matthias Corvinus in the late fifteenth century. The district was devastated during the Ottoman occupation and the siege of 1686, rebuilt in Baroque style under the Habsburgs, and devastated again in the siege of 1944-45 before its careful post-war reconstruction. The principal landmarks of the district cluster around the two main squares. The Matthias Church (Matyas-templom), with its richly patterned tiled roof and soaring Gothic spire, is the coronation church of the Hungarian kings and one of the finest Gothic churches in the country. Beside it stands the Fishermen's Bastion (Halaszbastya), a fantastical neo-Romanesque viewing terrace of conical turrets and arcades built between 1895 and 1902, offering the most celebrated panoramic view across the Danube to the Hungarian Parliament and the Pest skyline. The district also holds the Holy Trinity Square with its Baroque plague column, the Sandor Palace (the residence of the President of Hungary), the medieval Jewish prayer house, the network of cellars and the Hospital in the Rock museum carved into the hillside beneath. The cobbled streets of Tancsics Mihaly utca, Uri utca and Orszaghaz utca preserve a remarkable ensemble of medieval and Baroque townhouses. The district is freely accessible at all hours and is reached by the Castle Hill Funicular, by bus or on foot.

Type: Tourist Attraction

Address: Varnegyed, Budapest, Hungary