Things you may not know about Budapest’s fortress, the Citadel

The Citadel built on Budapest’s Gellért Hill is probably one of the most famous and well-known landmarks of the Hungarian capital. Ruling Budapest from 235 metres above sea level, it is also a famous tourist spot where astonishing photos and videos can be taken. Below you can find some details even many Hungarians do not know about why and how it was built in the heart of Budapest.

According to pestbuda.hu, most tourists do not even believe that the Gellért hill is natural. Many think it was built by Hungarians to provide an excellent panorama of the nation’s astonishing capital. Even so, Gellért Hill is the gift of nature but it was not used for military aims for hundreds of years. The Citadel was only built in the 1850s on the top of the hill and it is now under renovation and development. The project’s aim is to create a place where both tourists and locals can enjoy the magnificent vistas, and drink a coffee or cocktail after climbing up the hill.

The word ‘citadel’ is of Italian origin, and it translates to a fortress built on the highest point of a city. Interestingly, this citadel was not built by the residents of Budapest. Instead, it is the creation of the Habsburg military which ruled over Hungary after the failed 1848-1849 war of independence. However, it is a common mistake to think that the citadel was built to subdue the rebels of Pest. Pestbuda.hu argues that such an idea would be pointless since there were two huge buildings in Pest to serve that purpose: the Maria Therese barracks and the New Building, where the first Hungarian prime minister responsible for the parliament, Lajos Batthány was executed in 1849.

The citadel was built as part of a fortification project concerning all parts of the Habsburg Empire. Emanuel Zitta designed the general plans that involved all hills around Budapest and aimed to create a chain of forts around Budapest. However, Vienna thought these would be too close to Castle Hill and in case of foreign occupation they would serve well to destroy everything around them. Therefore, only one citadel was built, the one on Gellért Hill.