Hospital in the Rock
30 January 2025 11:08 am The hill underneath Buda Castle is riddled with caves and tunnels. While the Labyrinth under the Castle is open for tours in the summer, it was closed for the off season, so we were unable to visit them. However, a portion of this cave network was transformed into an underground hospital prior to World War II, and is now operated as a museum, which was open. Known as the "Hospital in the Rock", it was recommended to us by a friend, so after we finished our visit to the synagogue on our last day in Budapest, we walked across the Chain Bridge and up Castle Hill to check out the museum.
Our visit to the museum included a guided tour of the facility. Because it was built inside an existing cave system, the layout is a bit of maze, and it definitely didn't feel like any other hospital I'd ever been in. The facility was only used as a hospital twice. The first time was during the Soviet siege of the city in 1944-45. Because the hospital was operating under the authority of the International Red Cross, they treated both civilians and soldiers, regardless of which side they were on. Designed to treat a maximum of 60-70 patients, the high casualties of the siege left the hospital overwhelmed with an order of magnitude more patients. Patients were placed two or more to a bed, and treated on stretchers in hallways, or even on the floor. Because the facility had its own generators, it never lost power during the siege, and remained in operation throughout the siege.
After the war, the facility was upgraded and expanded to provide a higher capacity. But it was only used as a hospital one more time, during the 1956 uprising against the communist regime. After the Soviet army put down the uprising, the hospital was closed again. With the threat of nuclear war looming during the Cold War, it was decided to convert the hospital into a nuclear bunker, and the complex was further expanded and modified for that purpose. These portions of the complex include decontamination showers and storage for food and water supplies. The portions of the tour in this section included displays on the power and impact of nuclear weapons with decidedly anti-nuclear weapon messaging.
The entire tour took about an hour and was a fascinating glimpse into the measures taken to provided high quality medical care under less than ideal circumstances. Unfortunately, photography was not allowed in the museum, so I don't have any images to share from the tour, but it was enlightening, and definitely something we would recommend to other visitors.
Our visit to the museum included a guided tour of the facility. Because it was built inside an existing cave system, the layout is a bit of maze, and it definitely didn't feel like any other hospital I'd ever been in. The facility was only used as a hospital twice. The first time was during the Soviet siege of the city in 1944-45. Because the hospital was operating under the authority of the International Red Cross, they treated both civilians and soldiers, regardless of which side they were on. Designed to treat a maximum of 60-70 patients, the high casualties of the siege left the hospital overwhelmed with an order of magnitude more patients. Patients were placed two or more to a bed, and treated on stretchers in hallways, or even on the floor. Because the facility had its own generators, it never lost power during the siege, and remained in operation throughout the siege.
After the war, the facility was upgraded and expanded to provide a higher capacity. But it was only used as a hospital one more time, during the 1956 uprising against the communist regime. After the Soviet army put down the uprising, the hospital was closed again. With the threat of nuclear war looming during the Cold War, it was decided to convert the hospital into a nuclear bunker, and the complex was further expanded and modified for that purpose. These portions of the complex include decontamination showers and storage for food and water supplies. The portions of the tour in this section included displays on the power and impact of nuclear weapons with decidedly anti-nuclear weapon messaging.
The entire tour took about an hour and was a fascinating glimpse into the measures taken to provided high quality medical care under less than ideal circumstances. Unfortunately, photography was not allowed in the museum, so I don't have any images to share from the tour, but it was enlightening, and definitely something we would recommend to other visitors.