Ottoman Era
After the Battle of Mohács the medieval Kingdom of Hungary collapsed. The Ottoman army occupied the evacuated town on 11 September 1526. Although Buda was sacked and burned, the Royal Palace wasn't damaged. Sultan Süleyman I carried away all the bronze statues (the Hunyadis, Pallas Athene and Hercules) with him to Constantinople. The statues were destroyed there in a rebellion a few years later. The Sultan also got hold of many volumes from the famous Corvina library.
In 1529 the Ottoman army besieged and occupied Buda again. The palace was badly damaged that time. Under the reign of King John Zápolya), the last national ruler of Hungary, the palace was repaired last time. On the southern tip of the Castle Hill the Great Rondella was built by Italian military engineers. The circular bastion is the most imposing surviving structure of the old palace.
On 29 August 1541 Buda was occupied again by the Ottomans without any resistance. The Hungarian capital became part of Ottoman Empire as the seat of the Eyalet of Budin.
Although Turkish travel writers wrote enthusiastically about the beauty of the palace of the Hungarian kings, the new Ottoman government left the palace decaying. It was partially used as barracks, storage place and stables, otherwise it stood empty.
The palace was called Iç Kala ("Inner Castle") and Hisar Peçe ("Citadel") by the Turks. The name of the cour d'honneur was Seray meydani. The favourite nickname of the complex was "Palace of the Golden Apples".
In the era between 1541 and 1686 the Habsburgs tried to re-capture Buda several times. Unsuccessful sieges in 1542, 1598, 1603 and 1684 caused serious damage. The Ottoman authorities repaired only the fortifications.
According to 17th century sources many buildings of the former Royal Palace were roofless and their vaults collapsed. Nonetheless the medieval palace by-and-large survived until the great siege of 1686.
Read more about this topic: History Of Buda Castle
Famous quotes containing the word era:
“How many a man has dated a new era in his life from the reading of a book! The book exists for us, perchance, that will explain our miracles and reveal new ones. The at present unutterable things we may find somewhere uttered.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)