Castle Hill was once the seat of Hungarian Royalty and while there are only a few grand sites to visit, it does offer a wondeful view of the Danube and a panoramic view of Pest across the river. The present castle is an historically inaccurate post WWII construction that barely hints at the real history of this place. We didn't visit the Hungarian National Gallery which is housed there but it is an art museum of some note.
The Turul Bird, depicted in this statue is the mythical bird of Magyar that according to legend led the Hungarian migration from the steppes of Central Asia in the 9th Century. According to RS today the bird is invoked by right-wing nationalist politicians.
Next we visited the Roman Catholic Matthias Church considered to be Budapest's finest church inside and out. Against the bright blue sky, it is hard to disagree. This church, named for King Matthias Corvinus has been destroyed and rebuilt several times in the 800 years it has been around. It is elaborate in decor incorporating a number of different architectural design periods. One of my favorite spots in the church is the Loreto Chapel which holds a Baroque statue of the Virgin Mary with the Christ Child. According to a legend when the Turks put the Buda Castle under seige people walled the statue inside the niche to save it from destruction. In 1686 an explosion demolished the walls around the statue revealing the Virgin's smiling face. The Turks took this as a bad omen so they gave up this part of the castle without a fight.