Hungarian National Gallery, Art gallery in Buda Castle, Budapest, Hungary
The Hungarian National Gallery occupies rooms within Buda Castle and holds approximately 10,000 paintings spanning Hungarian art from the early 1800s through the 1940s. The collection traces how Hungarian painters and sculptors responded to and participated in broader European artistic movements over more than a century.
The gallery grew from an earlier institution called the Metropolitan Picture Gallery and received its current name in 1957 when it moved into Buda Castle. This relocation established the collection within the royal palace as a symbol of Hungarian artistic heritage.
The collection displays Medieval and Renaissance wooden altars from the 15th century alongside works by Hungarian artists who worked in Paris and Western Europe. These pieces reveal the artistic connections between Hungary and the rest of the continent during this period.
Entry to the gallery can be reached through several different entrances within the castle, so allow time when arriving to locate the right route. It helps to ask staff or grab a map since the collections span multiple levels throughout the building.
From the dome at the highest point of the castle where the gallery is located, you can look out over Budapest while taking in the architectural details of the structure itself. This vantage point offers one of the few chances visitors have to see the city from within the palace without extra effort.
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