The Carmelite Monastery of Buda ( or ''Karmelita kolostor'') is a building in the Castle Quarter of

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, the capital city of

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, that serves as the seat of the

Prime Minister of Hungary The prime minister of Hungary () is the head of government of Hungary. The prime minister and the government of Hungary, Cabinet are collectively accountability, accountable for their policies and actions to the National Assembly (Hungary), Par ...

. It was formerly a

Carmelite The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

monastery and theatre. The Carmelite Order built the monastery on a parcel that had been occupied by a mosque during the Ottoman occupation of Hungary. The Order received the land in 1693 after the 1686 liberation of Buda, completed the monastery in 1736, and consecrated it in 1763. In the 1780s,

Joseph II Joseph II (13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 18 August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 29 November 1780 until his death. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Emperor F ...

's '' Klostersturm'' forced the Carmelites to disband, and in 1786, an imperial decree converted the monastery into the Castle Theatre () "for the delectation of high-ranking court officials." Notable performances during the imperial era included

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

and the premiere of ''

Bánk bán Bánk is a village and municipality in the comitat of Nógrád, Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the nor ...

''. Heavily damaged during World War II, the theatre was renovated by the state communist government in 1971 to serve as the seat of the People's Theatre and, after 1982, the National Theatre. In 2001, the National Dance Theatre became the building's primary tenant. The Hungarian government appropriated the Carmelite Monastery in 2014 and began further renovations in 2016 to prepare it for use as the prime minister's office. The prime ministry moved into the building in 2019.

History

In the Middle Ages, the area was occupied by a Franciscan church devoted to St. John, built between 1269 and 1270. The building was converted to a mosque during the Turkish occupation, and was destroyed in the 1686 siege of Buda. The plot was given to the Carmelites in 1693. Laying the foundation stone in 1725, their church was built by 1736, but only consecrated in 1763.

dissolved the order in 1784, and on his trip to Buda in 1786, he personally arranged to convert the church to a theatre, to entertain government officers of Buda. The plans were made by Wolfgang von Kempelen. A part of the crypt under the sanctuary was rebuilt as a trap room, and cells functioned as changing rooms. The high altar became the stage. With a three-story auditorium, and a capacity of 1200 seats, the premiere was held on 17 October 1787, from which on the theatre was home to mainly German productions for the next few decades. The first ever play in the Hungarian language was premiered on its stage, on 25 October 1790, by the company of

László Kelemen László () is a Hungarian male given name and surname after the King-Knight Saint Ladislaus I of Hungary (1077–1095). It derives from Ladislav, a variant of Vladislav. The name has a history of being frequently anglicized as Leslie. It is the m ...

. On 7 May 1800 Beethoven gave a concert here. The building was renovated in 1815. According to a pact with the municipality of Buda, for a symbolic lease, a company from Kassa played in the theatre between 1833 and 1837, including acclaimed actors of the era, like Déryné,

Márton Lendvay Marton or Márton can be both a given name and a surname. The Hungarian name Márton is the Hungarian-language form of the Latin name Martinus. Female counterpart of the given name: Martina (given name). Given name * Márton Balázs (1929–2016 ...

or Gábor Egressy. They formed the foundations of the later National Theatre opening in 1837. Until 1870, German troupes were playing in the building, when German plays were banned by the municipality. From 1871, the theatre was home to the National Theater, and from 1885 to 1886, also hosted plays of the Népszínház the

Opera House An opera house is a theater building used for performances of opera. Like many theaters, it usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, backstage facilities for costumes and building sets, as well as offices for the institut ...

, and the Academy of Drama. After

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the theatre re-opened on 21 March 1918. Plans were made to make the theatre a chamber theatre of the National Theatre, but it was found unfit for the task. Smaller groups played in the building until 1924, when, after the gallery collapsed, it was closed for the next five decades. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, it received severe bomb hits, collapsing the balcony. Until the end of the war, the building functioned as an army storage. Renovations took place in 1947. The Várszínház was reopened on 13 February 1978, and was the home to the Népszínház until 1982, after which it was the chamber theatre of the National Theatre until 1 December 2001. From 2001 until 2019, it was the home of the National Dance Theatre (thus being a theatre only in its name). Since 2019, the building has been a seat of the offices of the Prime Minister of Hungary.

Sources

- National Theatre in the Hungarian Theatrical Lexicon (György, Székely. ''Magyar Színházmuvészeti Lexikon''. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1994
), freely available on mek.oszk.hu *Aurél, Molnár. A Várszínház. Pécs : Szikra Nyomda, 1978. OCLC: 21774521

External links

National Dance Theatre
- Official website of the National Dance Theatre {{Budapest Religious buildings and structures in Budapest Culture in Budapest Theatres in Budapest Official residences in Europe