surviving Lower Church. Matthias' successor, Vladislaus II, carried on the works of the Matthias Palace. Under Ottoman rule, the palace fell into decay. The medieval palace was destroyed in the great siege of 1686 when Buda was captured by allied Christian forces. With the expulsion of the Ottomans, reconstruction of the castle began and would continue for the next 150 years. Construction accelerated during the reign of Maria Theresa at the request of the Hungarian nobility. After the 1867 Austro-Hungarian pact, there was a need for a representative royal palace in Buda. In 1881 architect Miklós Ybl was commissioned to rebuild the palace. Gallery References Neighbourhoods of Budapest