Táncsics Mihály utca, the Vienna Gate and the Kapisztrán tér
It is perhaps in Táncsics Mihály utca that the most beautiful Baroque
dwelling-houses and palaces can be found. The Baroque mansion at No. 7-which
was also built from several medieval houses-witnessed in 1800 a visit by Ludwig
van Beethoven. No. 9, which now presents neo-Classic features, was used in
medieval times to be the Royal Mint. In the nineteenth century several
champions of the Hungarian independence movement were imprisoned in the street
wing (the barracks), built around 1810. In No. 26 archaeologists have recently
excavated the remains of the synagogue of the medieval Jewish community.
The Vienna Gate (Bécsi kapu) is the only existing old town-gate of Buda; is
has been rebuilt in neo-Classic style. A memorial plaque in Latin (1936) is
dedicated to the international Christian army which in 1686 recaptured the town
from the Turks. On Bécsikapu tér the late Baroque dwelling-houses at Nos. 5-8
form a pleasant and often photographed complex of monuments. In 1935-37 Thomas
Mann stayed several times in No. 7 as a guest of Baron Lajos Hatvany, the
eminent patron of letters. At the northern end of the square rises the huge
block of the Hungarian National Archives.
On Kapisztrán tér stands the solitary tower of the Mary Magdalene Church.
This used to be the town's second parish church and is mentioned in a document
dating from 1276. During the Turkish occupation it was the only Christian
church in Buda and was used both by Protestants and Catholics. Its nave and
chancel were destroyed in the Second World War.