Sziklakórház

The Hospital in the Rock Nuclear Bunker Museum in Budapest lies beneath Buda's Castle District and makes use of a natural cave system that was converted into an emergency surgical hospital in the 1930s. Originally conceived as a shelter for civilians and military personnel during World War II, the facility later also served during the Hungarian Uprising of 1956. During the Cold War, the hospital was classified as top secret and continued to be expanded into the 1960s so that it could serve as an air-raid hospital with decontamination facilities and its own power supply in the event of a nuclear attack. The historical significance of the site lies in its role as a vital medical center in times of crisis, where the wounded were treated under difficult conditions.

Today, the museum presents the history of this underground complex as well as the development of military medicine and civil defense. Visitors can explore an extensive wax figure exhibition, considered the largest in Hungary, which recreates various historical eras. The exhibition covers the events of World War II, the 1956 Revolution, and the threat of the Cold War. On display are original medical instruments, apparatus, and equipment used between the 1940s and 1980s. There are also displays of civil defense alarm centers and information on the bunker's function as a nuclear shelter.

The museum is entered via Lovas út 4/c, a short walk southwest of Matthias Church. The entrance is located on the back side of Castle Hill, below Szentháromság utca and the Tóth Árpád sétány promenade. Since its permanent opening in 2008, the exhibition has been continually expanded and supplemented with new historical finds and eyewitness accounts. The museum was recognized as a thematic museum in 2014 and is now an important place of remembrance for Hungary's medical and military history in the 20th century.