The Buda Castle, one of the most important landmarks of the Hungarian capital, is going through renovation. During the revamp of the castle, key building remains have been unearthed. According to the National Hauszmann Programme, the finds could answer several questions.
Part of the stucco marble wall covering found in Buda Castle
View of the cloakroom hall looking north. Source: Fővárosi Szabó Ervin Könyvtár (FB/Nemzeti Hauszmann Program)
The experts of the National Hauszmann Programme found a small piece of the stucco marble wall covering of the cloakroom hall in its original place (in situ). A field of arches in the western wall of the hall has also been found, Lelépő reports.
During the excavation of the northern wing buildings of the Buda Palace, fragments of marble from the Hauszmann Palace have already been found under the surface of the Hunyadi courtyard. However, their original location was uncertain.
Visual plan for the cloakroom hall. Source: Várkapitányság (FB/Nemzeti Hauszmann Program)
The significance of the newly discovered stucco marble is that it illustrates beyond doubt the colour, material use and texture of the original wall covering.
Until now, it has been impossible to determine this precisely in the absence of colour photographs.
A small piece of the stucco marble wall covering in the cloakroom hall. Source: Várkapitányság (FB/Nemzeti Hauszmann Program)
The colour of the original wall now known
After the greyish-brownish-yellowish fragments of artificial marble found earlier in the courtyard, the original wall cladding is now white, with light grey field fragments.
Experts have also found the remains of a blind arch in the south-east corner of the former cloakroom. A special feature of the arch is the fact that in 1911, the statue of Gyula Jankovits, the Libatolvaj (Goose Thief), carved from Carrara marble, was erected in front of it.
The remains of a blind arch in the south-east corner of the former cloakroom. Source: Várkapitányság (FB/Nemzeti Hauszmann Program)
Libatolvaj (The Goose Thief) by Gyula Jankovits. Source: Arcanum / Várkapitányság (FB/Nemzeti Hauszmann Program)
The work was badly damaged during the siege of the palace in 1945. However, it miraculously survived the communist era, Lelépő writes. Following its restoration in 2016, it can now be admired in front of the reborn St Stephen’s Hall (Szent István-terem), in the stair hall of the Budapest History Museum (Budapesti Történeti Múzeum).
National Hauszmann Programme
One of the main objectives of the National Hauszmann Programme is to restore the Buda Castle to the splendour that visitors enjoyed in its heyday at the turn of the century. As part of the reconstruction, the building will regain its former façade and roof, and part of the interior will be revived.
