The underground labyrinth of Budapest

Budapest holds a few secrets. Hidden deep inside the mountain in the Buda district is a veritable maze of corridors and caves. For centuries, this place has been used by the inhabitants in many different ways. On my trip to the land of goulash and langos, I threw myself into the "Buda Labyrinth" adventure.

Budapest, 32 degrees. The sun beats down as I squeeze my way through a group of Italian tourists. "E sulla destra c'è il famoso Bastione dei Pescatori", explains a tour guide with the obligatory little flag. She is followed by a whole swarm of loudly chatting Italian women. Even though I would have liked a little more background knowledge, I didn't have the time or the language skills to mingle with the group (which is not to say that I've ever done this before). My path took me away from all the hustle and bustle that surrounded the Fisherman's Bastion. I had a special, a "refreshing" destination: the underground labyrinth of Buda.

As always, I had prepared myself well for this city trip, or so I thought. I already knew in advance that the Hungarian capital consisted of the districts of Buda and Pest. I knew that one of the main attractions were the ruin bars (they really live up to their reputation: no roof, graffiti on the sometimes very dilapidated walls, and the climbing plants give the whole thing a jungle touch). I had even put together a whole to-do list. Until I took a wrong turn on site and suddenly found myself in front of a steep, dark staircase. The double door was only half open and I could hear a quiet conversation from below. There was a flyer on the door: "One of Budapest's most popular sights: the underground labyrinth".

After my descent into the underworld, including a moment of shock when I missed a few steps in the dark, it took a while for my eyes to adjust to the lighting conditions. It smelled musty and the dim light was barely enough to illuminate the large room. I was standing in a long cave with some information boards about the place hanging on the limestone walls. The entrance to the labyrinth was only a few meters away. It was pleasantly cool, around 15 degrees. What the heck, I thought to myself, I'll just do it now. According to the notice, the tour takes about half an hour. The older ticket seller made a somewhat dissatisfied, grumpy impression. He looked at me briefly through his plexiglass window and then just said "6000 forints" (approx. 15 euros). I took out my card and he just shook his head. He told me only cash. That was the end of the matter for me.

The secrets beneath Budapest's streets.

But only until the next day, because I was fascinated by what I saw. After a little research, I found some interesting details about the natural labyrinth. It runs under the oldest part of Budapest and has a very eventful past. According to records from the 13th century, the caves were mainly used to store grain and wine. And to annoy the tax collector: the rich hid their valuables in the underground passages.

In the 16th century, the Ottomans ruled over Ofen (now Budapest). During these 145 years, some houses were directly connected to the cave system. It was like a large, shared cellar for them. However, after the divided labyrinth was increasingly used for burglaries, the entrances to the houses were closed.

The Turkish occupiers were creative in their use of the cave passages: they set up an underground harem, in which terrible scenes regularly took place. When the "masters" had had enough of a girl, they simply threw her into one of the many wells located throughout the dark corridors. That's why you can still find countless bones and skulls down there. Another way to get rid of the playmates who had become boring was to simply wall them up. During excavations, some of their skeletons were found in the walls.

A hospital was set up in one part of the labyrinth at the beginning of the Second World War. The "rock hospital" can still be viewed today on a guided tour. In the 1940s, these rooms also served as an air raid shelter in case of air raids. Between 300 and 400 patients were treated in the hospital every day. During the Cold War, it was then converted into a nuclear bunker under the strictest secrecy.

A few years later, the GESTAPO, among others, discovered the caves for themselves. Political enemies and other undesirable individuals were held here. Many of the prisoners were also cruelly tortured and executed in the caves, which were sealed off from the outside world.

But there were also other, not so inhumane uses for the underground passages: for some time there was a huge gold depository here! The Hungarian National Bank hoarded the gold reserves a few meters below the surface. The caves have been open to tourists since 1984, and just three years later they were even declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

You should take a closer look at this.

A day later, I was standing in front of the building again. With 6000 HUF (Hungarian forints) in cash, I climbed down the steps of varying heights. For being one of the most visited attractions, it was very quiet. Eerily quiet. Apart from me, there didn't seem to be anyone else in the maze. At the beginning, I was still standing in a large cave, but it quickly branched out. Left, right or half left? I asked myself this question several times that afternoon. When I finally turned into a completely dark corridor, I regretted this adventure for the first time. You could only get around by feeling your way along the wall. All alone in the pitch black, that wasn't my thing. So I cheated a little (at this point, thanks to the person who built a flashlight into my cell phone).

You could get a bit paranoid in the damp caves. You think you can hear a noise, but it's just drops of water falling from the ceiling onto the rocky floor. Wasn't there a whisper? I turned around several times, almost in a panic, just to see if I was really alone. When some light finally filtered through again, I was relieved. Another cave opened up, this time with a few figures. And I sincerely hoped that they weren't actors scaring you. My worries were unfounded: The figures were made of stone and wax. As it turned out, they were Hungarian kings. In the course of my little adventure, I saw several more statues. From historical Hungarian personalities to national opera stars.

The nature of the cave kept changing. The deeper I went into the system, the higher the humidity became. At some point, I could no longer see the ground and it got steadily worse. To be honest, I was on the verge of a panic attack as all I could see was white mist.

Suddenly, something shimmered through this wall of fog. As I approached the eerie bluish glow, the fog lifted a little. I recognized a small figure, a gargoyle, which was illuminated in blue. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any information about what it was. Instead, I discovered a dark alcove just a few steps away. In the light of the lamp, I was able to decipher the plaque. "Prison of Vlad Tepes".

A few hours later, back at home, I found out the following: In one of the caves is the prison where Vlad Tepes (Vlad III) was held for some time. Vlad III, also known as "The Impaler", was the model for the character Dracula. The extremely cruel ruler was born in Transylvania (now Romania) in 1431. As soon as he ascended the throne, he began to stake his opponents. He was captured by King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary in the 15th century and imprisoned in an underground cell. Originally, Vlad had even been an ally of Matthias, but he fell out of favor. He was held in a cell in the labyrinth for around twelve years. However, his prison can only be guessed at when visiting the labyrinth:. It is completely in the dark. Only an illuminated gargoyle marks its approximate location. The figure is supposed to scare away anyone foolish enough to stay in this evil place any longer. Vlad was released from captivity at the request of the ruler of Moldavia, but died in a battle just one year later. Some sources claim that his body, cut into pieces, was buried in the Hungarian caves. Vlad's head, however, was impaled at the gates of Constantinople (now Istanbul) as a warning.

Fortunately, I didn't know any of this in the labyrinth. It was scary enough as it was. The announced duration of 30 minutes had now turned into almost an hour. That's how long I wandered through the 1.5 kilometer long, winding corridors. Through darkness, fog, past the bones of the tortured and executed. No wonder some visitors tell of eerie whispers, footsteps or temperature fluctuations during the tour. As I said, you could get paranoid in this environment.

When the exit came into view, I was relieved. As I climbed back up the steps, the temperature rose and the sun finally shone on my face, I felt like I had just completed a "Journey to the Center of the Earth" by Jules Verne. It was definitely an adventure.