Budai Vár-barlang

Buda Castle Cave - Var Barlang - Castle Cave


Useful Information

Location: Budapest, 1014 Dárda utca 2.
Budapest, below the castle on Castle Hill. Meeting Point Normal Tour: Holy Trinity Column, Szentháromság Square, next to Matthias Church.
(47.502334, 19.031406)
Open: No regular open hours.
See online booking system for vacancies.
Closed on Sundays.
[2020]
Fee: Adults HUF 3,500, Student HUF 2,500, Senior HUF 2,500, Teacher HUF 2,500, Children (0-11) not allowed.
HungaryCard: Adults HUF 3,000, Student HUF 2,100, Senior HUF 2,100, Teacher HUF 2,100.
Tickets must be purchased online, no tickets sold on meeting point.
[2020]
Classification: SpeleologyTufa cave SubterraneaCellar SubterraneaWater Supply SubterraneaWorld War II Bunker
Light: LightIncandescent Electric Light System
Dimension: L=3,300 m, T=12 °C.
Guided tours: Normal Tour: D=1.5 h, L=1,500 m.
Short Tour: D=45 min, L=600 m.
Max=25.
Photography: photos and videos allowed only in case of written permission of the tour guide and fellow visitors!
Accessibility: no
Bibliography:
Address: Várbarlang, Budapest, 1014 Szentháromság tér. E-mail:
Danube-Ipoly National Park Directorate (DINPI), Budapest, 1121 Költő u. 21., Tel: +36-1-391-4610, Fax: +36-1-200-1168. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then.
Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1987 inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Description

Var Barlang (Castle Cave), also called Budai Vár-barlang (Buda Castle Cave), located below the castle on Várhegy (Castle Hill) in the middle of Budapest. It is said to be the largest system of cave-cellars in Hungary. The cellars belonged to private buildings on the castle hill but were connected over time and finally formed a labyrinthine maze several kilometers long. During medieval times, the cellars were used for food storage. The wells of the cellars provided drinking water for the city. Parts were used for valuables or as a hiding place. Later the cellars were abandoned and almost forgotten.

According to the last paragraph we should have classified this site as subterranea, artificial cellars dug by the people living in the houses above. But Budapest is the capital of caves, and even artificial structures are in this city generally a result of natural caves. The caves existed first, and they can still be seen, for example at the ceiling above the Medieval natural stone walls. The locals discovered the caves, used them as cellars, leveled the floor, sometimes they extended a chamber, connected formerly unconnected caves, or just cut off protruding nooks.

There are two different tours showing the caves. The normal tours include a walk through the Buda Castle Hill. It starts at Holy Trinity Column on Szentháromság Square, in front of the Matthias Church. The short tour is only the cave tour, starting at the entrance of the cave, in Budapest, 1014 Dárda utca 2. It is essential to be on time, as the guides can not be contacted after the start of the tour!

At the end of the 19th century an increasing number of passages caved in. As a result the cellars were surveyed and then started to fill in. In the 1930s the natural parts of the cellars were recognised as tufa caves. At this time parts of the caves accommodating some 10,000 people were converted into air raid shelters by the wartime defence program. Parts were used for military purposes by the German army. Later, during the Cold War, the cellars again housed secret military installations.

A part of the system of cellars was guided for decades as show caves, but around 2000 they were closed for the public. During a 40-minutes long guided tour wells, former storerooms, and remains of World War II, like combat stations and baths used by the Germans, were shown. The tours are now reopened but with different content, and they take at least 1.5 hours. The caves are now operated by the Danube-Ipoly National Park. Another part of the 3.3 kilometer long system is open to the public, which is called Budavári Labirinthus.