This palace was built by Bela IV in the middle of 13th century after a Mongolean raid destroyed Hungary. The original simple fortification was transfered into a splendid seat of kings during the Anjous. Stephan tower was built by Louis the Great, the palace was extended with numerous buildings during Sigismund. Ruins of these buildings can be seen today beacuse the medieval palace was partially excavated and rebuilt in the 1970-s. This palace housed once the famous book collection, the Corvinas of King Matthias. The palace was destroyed in 1686 when Buda was taken back from the turks, a new baroque palace was built here which had a totally different layout than the medieval one. It was redecorated several times, Miklós Ybl and Alajos Hauszmann converted it into a neobaroque palace at the end of the 19th century. The palace was burnt out in World War II and although much of the interior could have been saved, it was rebuilt in a simplified form. Now it houses Budapest History Museum, National Gallery and National Széchenyi Library.