As part of the rebirth of the Budavári Palace Quarter, the tower of Karakas Pasha was renewed: in addition to the 17th-century building, which was now open to the public for the first time, a Turkish garden was also created at the northern end of Csikós-udvar.

óIn the Middle Ages, the area around today's Csikós courtyard was surrounded by a wall on all sides, this area was part of the defense system of Buda Castle. During the Turkish times, the Újnegyed neighborhood was created in this falszoros, at the end of which the Buda Pasha Karakas Mehmed erected a tower around 1620 - recalled Krisztina Sikota, deputy general manager of the Várkapitányság Nonprofit Zrt., at the opening of the renovated building on Thursday.

As he added, the twelve-angled cannon tower, built of carved block stones, kept its original form even at the end of the 19th century. After the Second World War, however, it followed the opposite path to the other buildings of Csikós-udvar, as the Main Guard, the Stöckl staircase and the Riding School were demolished for ideological reasons during communism, and an unused, gravelly copper one was created in their place, he reminded.

Krisztina Sikota emphasized: the restoration carried out during the National Haussmann Program is a true rebirth, as the reconstructed buildings in the Buda Castle District await visitors as new cultural venues.

"We will restore the turn-of-the-century beauty of the district by rebuilding the destroyed buildings, but at the same time we will preserve the locations that can serve today's needs with a new function," he said.

According to him, the tower has been given a new look and its interiors have also been renewed. The café and washrooms in it offer the opportunity to rest, and the seventh information point of the Budavári Palace District was also opened here, where you can exchange tickets for attractions and current programs.

Rose bushes in five colors, fig trees, wild grapes, dwarf organ and quince trees were planted in the Turkish garden next to the tower, and a Moorish-style ornamental fountain creates an oriental atmosphere.

Karakas Pasha's tower can be reached by stairs from Szent György tér, and by elevator from Palota út and Csikós-udvar.

MTI