The monastery was built in 1736 by the Carmelite order on the former site of a mosque that was destroyed in 1686 during the siege that liberated Buda from Ottoman occupation. The order received the real estate in 1693 and completed the new monastery and church by 1736, but it was consecrated only in 1763. Two decades later, Emperor Joseph II disbanded the order and converted the property into a theater by imperial order in 1786, “for the delectation of high-ranking court officials”.
The building then served as a theater for many years, except when it was turned into a munitions depot between 1914 and 1918 during WWI. Its refurbishment to suit the purposes of the Prime Minister’s Office began in 2016 at a cost of HUF 4 billion ($14.2 million).
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his staff in the new office
The building is adjacent to the Presidential Palace and has a commanding view of the Hungarian capital. Orbán’s office was converted from two monk cells.
Images: origo.hu
