The hill started to be a populated area in the second half of the 13th century when King BΘla IV, facing the Tartar invasion, built a castle here. The base of the hill is marl; on top of it there is a 10-12 m thick limestone sediment. It was on this rock that the Castle was built. Its real developement started in1873 when Pest, Buda and ╙buda were unified and in this way a new capital was established. The Mathias Church was renovated and the Fishermen's Bastion was built also at this time. The bigger part of the Castle was damaged in World War II; the Royal Palace was completely devastated in a fire. After 1945 it was rebuilt and during this time several previously unknown niches and gothic archways were found. In the Castle area many gothic and baroque dwelling houses originate from the Middle Ages. (The Castle can be approached from Moszkva Square with V┴RBUSZ-marked coaches.)
