A reconstruction program is bringing back the dazzling grand staircase of the Archduke Joseph Palace, recreating one of the most spectacular lost interiors from archival photos and century-old craftsmanship.

The reconstruction of the Archduke Joseph's Palace in the Castle District is progressing according to plan according to a recent social media post by the National Hauszmann Program. Exterior works are now nearing completion, and as the scaffolding is gradually removed, the richly decorated, historicist façades are once again revealed. Alongside the exterior reconstruction, work has begun on shaping the building’s interior spaces. In addition to modern, 21st-century office facilities, two of the palace’s most magnificent historical rooms will be reborn: the first-floor ballroom and the grand staircase, both recreated in their original forms.

At the heart of the palace once stood the dazzling grand staircase, bathed in natural light and covered by a glass roof. It could be approached from the north, through an arched carriage passage opening toward the Joseph Garden, followed by a Tuscan colonnade. The floor of the staircase hall was covered with colorful, polished marble slabs, from which rose the sweeping double staircase made of Carrara marble, connecting the ground and first floors. The first steps were guarded by two pairs of Carrara marble lions, while the center of the upper balustrade displayed the coat of arms of Archduke Joseph Karl. The staircase was flanked by wrought-iron railings adorned with lush vine motifs and punctuated by pyrogranite elements, with wrought-iron candelabra standing atop the terminal pillars.

Because no detailed original drawings of the staircase survive, the reconstruction relies entirely on archival photographs and architectural analogies from the era. A noteworthy clue comes from the Klotild Palaces, whose main staircase railings—designed by the same architects, Flóris Korb and Kálmán Giergl—were made using the famous pyrogranite elements produced by the Zsolnay factory. This strongly suggests that the Archduke Joseph Palace stair railings also used Zsolnay pyrogranite. In the name of historical authenticity, the renowned Pécs manufactory is once again producing these distinctive decorative elements for the reconstruction.

The palace of Archduke Joseph Karl was completed in 1906 in a historicist style, created through the transformation of the earlier Teleki Palace. The building suffered severe, though not irreparable, damage during the 1944–45 siege of Budapest. Nevertheless, more than twenty years later, in 1968, it was demolished for ideological reasons. Under the National Hauszmann Program, the palace’s exterior and roof are now being rebuilt in their original design, while inside, the breathtaking grand staircase and the towering ballroom will also be restored. Once completed, the reborn Archduke Joseph Palace will become a dignified home for Hungary’s Constitutional Court.

The National Hauszmann Program is a long-term architectural and cultural initiative aimed at restoring the historic appearance of the Buda Castle District and its surroundings. Named after architect Alajos Hauszmann, who designed many key buildings in the Castle at the turn of the 20th century, the program seeks to revive structures destroyed or heavily altered in the post-war decades. Its goal is not only architectural reconstruction but also the re-establishment of the area’s historical character, cultural significance, and prestige—returning the Castle District to a form that reflects its original grandeur.