Built next to the Budapest History Museum, Hungary's magnificent national gallery is found on the hills of Buda, facing the Pest side and from its front steps providing a view of the capital that can be considered art itself. 

A walk through the halls of the Budapest's national gallery takes you on a historical journey that gives a sense of the land before it was even formed to be Budapest, when the city was still divided as Óbuda and Pest. The permanent exhibition at the gallery holds dozens of fine early gothic pieces dating back to centuries ago, as well as halls of medieval and renaissance stone sculptures and carvings. The gallery also displays selected collections of exquisite baroque art from mannerist painters, originating from Vienna and Prague.

The intriguing part of taking in the gallery's entire store is walking through the various transitions the country has undergone, as the transformations in Hungarian artistic vision after 1945 act as an exemplum of the step by step growth and movement of the nation in the post-war period. 

The evolvement of Hungary from period art to modern art can also be shown in recent years through their curation of temporary popular modern art exhibitions. Currently, the gallery is displaying a number of works from the now iconic popular figure, Frida Kahlo. The pieces have been borrowed from their home at the Museo Dolores Olmedo in Mexico City from the 7th July to 4th November, 2018. There is also a temporary exhibition showing Julian Rosefeldt's short film installation project, 'Manifesto', starring Cate Blanchett. With the assistance of Blanchett's award winning acting, Rosenfeldt has used 13 short films to revisit the outdated concept of artistic manifestos, modernising the concept by relating its content to layers of contemporary society. The inclusion of contemporary conceptual art to be honoured alongside the traditional Hungarian fine art of the permanent exhibitions is a formal acknowledgement of how far Hungary has come in reinventing itself from being a communist nation. 

To visit the gallery, ticket prices can vary. Access to solely the permanent exhibitions cost 2200 HUF, while temporary exhibition tickets (which also allow access to the whole gallery) will cost between 3200 and 3800. However, the gallery offers a generous 50% off discount for those who are under 26, provided you are able to show ID for proof of age.

Visit the Hungarian National gallery for a culturally historical insight into the past and present of Hungary.

Hungarian National Gallery

Szent György tér 2, 1014 Budapest

Opening Times

Tuesday-Sunday, 10.00 - 18.00