Vajdahunyad Castle

Ignac Alpar put up a temporary version of this building in wood and cardboard for the 1896 millennium exhibition, as a walk-through summary of Hungarian architecture. It proved so popular that it was rebuilt in stone and brick between 1904 and 1908. The result is four styles bolted together on one island: a Romanesque section whose chapel copies the carved portal of the abbey church at Jak, a Gothic wing modelled on Hunyad Castle in Transylvania, which gave the whole thing its name, and Renaissance and baroque ranges facing the lake. It houses the Hungarian Museum of Agriculture, and a hooded bronze figure of the medieval chronicler known as Anonymus sits in the courtyard.

History

Ignác Alpár designed the castle for the Millennial Exhibition of 1896, which marked 1,000 years since the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin in 895. It was first made of cardboard and wood, but it proved so popular that it was rebuilt in stone and brick between 1904 and 1908 (Wikipedia, Vajdahunyad Castle).

What's there

• The Jak chapel portal - a full-size copy of a Romanesque carved doorway.
• The Gothic wing - towers and turrets modelled on a Transylvanian castle.
• The Anonymus statue - the hooded bronze chronicler with a worn writing pen.
• The lake frontage - boating in summer, an outdoor skating rink in winter.

When to go

The courtyards are open and free all year and are prettiest under snow or in late autumn. The boating lake operates in summer and freezes into a large public rink from roughly December to February, which is when the castle actually earns its silhouette. The agricultural museum keeps normal hours and closes on Mondays.

Good to know

Nothing here is old, and once you know it is a copy some of the effect drains away. The agricultural museum inside is dated in presentation and of limited interest unless the subject appeals. Parts of City Park have been under redevelopment for years, so hoardings and diversions are common. It takes about an hour, and the crowds from Heroes' Square spill straight into the courtyard.

Nearby

The Szechenyi Baths, City Park and Heroes' Square are all within a few minutes' walk.

Key facts