Although the Vajdahunyad Castle in the City Park may look like a historical building, dating back to the medieval times, it was in fact built over for the 1000th birthday of the Hungarian State in 1896 for the Millennial Exhibition.
The original building of the Vajdahunyad Castle was just a temporary structure made of wooden planks and cardboard designs. Even its plain name was descriptive signifying that it is nothing more than a complex of various historical buildings. Ignac Alpar designed the building of Vajdahunyad Var, which is actually the name of an old Hungarian Gothic Castle in Hunyadvar.
But the Hungarians loved the building so much that it was eventually built from permanent materials (between 1904 and 1908), much to our great pleasure: now you can see stained windows, elaborately painted vaulted ceilings, marble staircases, etc.
The concept of Vajdahunyad Castle Budapest was to blend the various architectural styles into one composite castle. The design of Ignac Alpar contains the architectural details of 21 buildings, some only in minor additions, while others as main characters.
Today the castle is the home of several festivals, concerts and the exhibitions of the Hungarian Agricultural Museum.
References:The Gravensteen is a castle in Ghent originating from the Middle Ages. The name means 'castle of the counts' in Dutch. Arnulf I (918–965), Count of Flanders, was the first to fortify this place, building a medieval bastion on this high sand dune, naturally protected by the river Leie and its marshy banks. This bastion consisted of a central wooden building and several surrounding buildings, also in wood.
In the early 11th century, the wooden building was replaced by a stone residence, consisting of three large halls that made up three storeys, connected by a stone stairwell. The monumental stone staircase, the light openings, the fireplaces built into the walls and the latrines were signs of considerable luxury and comfort in those days. There was probably also a tower.