Report on the research programme on the gothic sculpture ensemble from Buda castle

As is well known in academic circles and to older generations of the general public, a huge collection of finds was discovered during renovation work in the Buda Castle Palace in 1974; the ensemble became known as the Gothic sculpture ensemble from Buda Castle. The sensational discovery, which exalted a large part of the country for months, consists of thousands of small and large stone sculpture fragments (Fig. 1). The finds were transferred to the Budapest History Museum (BTM), where the best part of the sculptures have been on permanent display since 1976. The statues, which are now clearly known to have been commissioned by King Sigismund of Luxemburg (1387–1437) to decorate his palace in Buda sometime between 1410 and 1420, are of unparalleled importance in many respects and represent one of the most outstanding relics of the period, not only in Hungary but also internationally. For this reason, a new research programme has been launched in recent years, aiming to continue with the previous work and reassess the finds themselves. This paper covers the most important points of this project.