PHOTOS: Stunning palace being rebuilt in Buda Castle

“We have placed the bushwalking tree on the roof of the reborn Archduke Joseph’s Palace!”, the Castle District responsible for the renovation and reconstruction works in Buda Castle announced on the National Hauszmann Programme’s Facebook page.

Habsburg was also present at the inauguration

For the third time in a year, a bushwalking celebration was held in the renewed Buda Castle district, the post says. As part of the National Hauszmann Programme, the structure of the Archduke Joseph Palace on Szent György Square has reached its highest point, following the reconstruction of the Red Cross headquarters on Dísz Square and the former Hungarian Army Headquarters. At the event, Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén welcomed the members of the Habsburg family. In his speech, Government Commissioner Gergely Fodor stressed that “the plans that were still on the drawing board a few years ago have now become reality, and the palace district is looking more and more like the wonderful district that Hauszmann and his contemporaries once created.”

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The head of the Castle Police thanked the professionals working on the construction and reminded the audience that “the palace of Archduke Joseph, like many other buildings, was damaged in the Second World War, and could have been restored, but no attempt was made. It was first used as a workers’ hostel, then burnt down and demolished 55 years ago.”

The Government Commissioner called the bush festival a special occasion. “It is special because we welcome the former and future occupants of the building into our circle: Michael of Habsburg-Lotharingia, the great-grandson of Archduke Joseph, whose christening was held in the original palace, and Dr Tamás Sulyok, President of the Constitutional Court, under whose leadership the Chamber of Deputies will soon be settling in the rebuilt palace.