Vestiges of the past
From the Roman presence remain the ruins of Aquincum, one of the largest archaeological parks in the country. Built between the 2nd and 3rd centuries, the city had thermal baths and a large amphitheater, the foundations of which can be seen. Of the Romanesque style, only one amazing witness remains in the park of the Vajdahunyad castle: the exact replica of the superb Romanesque church of Ják... a replica built in the 19th century. Most of the Gothic remains are visible on the Buda hill. Also noteworthy is the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption in Budavár, the oldest religious building in the city. It is also during this period that the model of the Buda town house was established, with the first building facing the street and having a porch leading to the inner courtyard, around which the other buildings are organized and connected by corridors. The most beautiful example of the Renaissance is the castle of Višegrad, which King Matthias had rebuilt according to the canons in vogue at the time and largely inspired by Italian models, especially in the work and ornamentation of the windows. The Ottomans left some beautiful remains, including the superb Király baths, built in 1565, whose magical and ethereal atmosphere is still appreciated by visitors today.
Baroque Splendors
During the 17th and 18th centuries, under the impulse of the Habsburgs - who reigned as masters over the kingdom since the expulsion of the Ottomans - and the Jesuits - whose influence continued to grow - the city was endowed with richly decorated buildings, often in ochre (nicknamed "Maria Theresa yellow" after the empress and queen of Hungary). Among the baroque jewels of Budapest, let us note the church of Saint Anne with its two bell towers (Jesuit canon of the Nordic churches) and its play of contrasting lines animating its facade and the royal castle of Buda with its central dome and its belvedere inspired by Italian models. Palaces and summer residences were also adorned in the colors of the Baroque, like Erdődy Palace - with its massive bossed base - and Gödöllö Castle, the first residence thought of as a whole (including courtyard, building and garden) and whose central pavilion is marked by a monumental entrance topped with a dome.
Neoclassical majesty
From the 1820s onwards, the city entered a great period of prosperity which resulted in a construction fever with an increase in the number of museums, theatres, baths and hotels. In their desire to create a harmonious and homogenous city, the bourgeoisie abandoned the fantasies of the Baroque and turned to the elegant rigour of the Neoclassical. Harmony, symmetry, clean volumes, such are the characteristics of the buildings of the period. Themost beautiful example of this style is undoubtedly the Hungarian National Museum, a long rectangular building whose central portico with eight Corinthian columns and sculpted pediment can be admired. Another neoclassical masterpiece is the Chain Bridge, the first stone bridge ever built over the Danube. These two piers resemble small triumphal arches to which are attached the chains holding the bridge deck. Also worthy of note is the Evangelical Temple of Deák, which was built by Mihály Pollack, the great ordainer of the neoclassical city, and whose portico with four Doric pillars adorns the façade.Eclecticism and Hungarian style
In the course of the 19th century, the domination of the Habsburgs weighed heavily on Hungary, which then used architecture as a vehicle for national awakening, drawing both from the sources of the great European aesthetic styles and from the sources of Hungarian culture and folklore. It is the advent of the neo-Matin styles of national references. The most beautiful representatives of this period are the Parliament, whose neo-Gothic flamboyance exalts the constitutional virtues of the nation, the National Opera, whose neo-Renaissance style is expressed through gold and marble, the Church of St. Stephen with its 96-metre high dome, the same height as the Parliament, symbolising the equality between Church and State, or the superb neo-Baroque Széchenyi baths. In 1896, thousands of visitors flocked to admire the splendours of the capital at the exhibition commemorating the Hungarian millennium and highlighting the sources of national identity. Onthis occasion, major urban developments were carried out, starting with the creation of Andrássy Avenue (the "Champs-Élysées" in Budapest) and the installation of the very first metro. The Millennium Village blends traditional Hungarian houses and typical ethnic minority houses with Turkish and Hindu reminiscences, recalling the eastern origins of the Magyar people. The Fishermen's Bastion,a neo-Romanesque jewel, and the Church of St. Mathias with its impressive neo-Gothic towersare also built. In a romantic and symbolic spirit, the Hungarians multiplied references to the national past, as with the Great Synagogue of Pest, whose oriental influences can be admired with its minaret-like towers topped with bulbs, or the Pest redoubt with its Islamic-inspired friezes, orientalizing arcades and sculptures of the nation's leading figures. Architecture becomes a tool of resistance.Art Nouveau and Art Deco
At the turn of the 20th century, architects freed themselves from historical styles to devote themselves to the creation of a new national formal language. The great theoretician of this new Hungarian architecture is Ödön Lechner. Budapest then became the beating heart of Hungarian Art Nouveau: the Szecesszió. Among the main characteristics of this resolutely Hungarian style are the integration of decorative motifs of oriental inspiration or drawn from national folklore, the use of majolica (ceramics) as a facing and as a decorative element, the covering of buildings with multicoloured tiles, the interplay of opposing lines on the façades and the presence of corner towers to underline the monumentality of the buildings. Among the jewels of the period, one can admire the Museum of Decorative Arts
nicknamed "the Gypsy Palace", the Gresham Insurance Palace whose wrought iron portals represent peacocks and hearts, two of the great symbols of the Hungarian Secession, the Thonet House or the Post Office Savings Bank and its variations of bricks and ceramics. Gradually, the lines became more geometric and the decoration more refined. The transition to Art Deco began with buildings such as the Institute for Young Blind People and its sober red brick façade devoid of decoration. In the inter-war period, the authoritarian regime set up by Miklós Horthy imposed strict rules, particularly in terms of architecture. This formal dictatorship advocating a return to neoclassical and neobaroque buildings crushed all modernist and progressive tendencies. The hills of Buda are covered with villas whose neo-Baroque style should exalt patriotism and the triumph of Christianity. But here again, some architects resisted, using the Art Deco style then in vogue in the West as a springboard to modern national art. Among the great achievements were the Magyar Divatcsarnok store and the buildings on Vaci Street. This period is also characterized by the development of numerous seaside and tourist structures that were to bear witness to the luxury and splendour of the city.Modernism
Art Deco prefigured the advent of a modern and functionalist style with simplified lines and volumes, economy and clarity of form. In some buildings, the influence of the Bauhaus can also be felt. Among the finest examples of this new style are the Villa Zenta-Hoffmann and the Villa Jaritz, both located in the Rózsadomb district, which is full of modernist splendour. At the end of the Second World War, Hungary fell under the Soviet yoke, which in turn imposed strict rules. Reconstruction was carried out with a rationalist approach, where buildings had to meet the requirements of their function, particularly in the growing number of social housing units. This communist era was also characterized by the socialist realism that imposed its mark on many buildings. These classical elements combined with the communist ideology can be seen, for example, in the former Communist Party headquarters with its monumental facade decorated with Doric columns. This return to classical canons is one of the vectors of communist propaganda. In line with this functionalist style, the international style made its appearance with flagship buildings such as the Central Union Headquarters.
