The Hospital in the Rock opened in February 1944 during World War II. Its role was to provide general emergency care, treating both civilian and military patients injured in air raids.

The hospital, placed under the supervision of János Hospital, was headed by university lecturer and chief surgeon Dr István Kovács, who worked there in shifts with nearly 40 doctors.

Their work was supported by a large number of Red Cross volunteer nurses, including several women of noble background, among them Ilona Horthy, Ilona Andrássy and Ilona Széchenyi.

The 120-bed hospital became completely full during the siege, and according to eyewitness accounts, as many as 650–700 people were crowded into it during the Siege of Budapest. The hospital operated until June 1945, then closed for a time before reopening the day after the outbreak of the 1956 revolution to treat civilians and soldiers injured in the fighting.

Between 1958 and 1962, the hospital was rebuilt and expanded so it could also be used in the event of chemical or nuclear attack. Doctors and nurses assigned to the facility held annual civil defence drills there until the mid-1980s, practising their roles in the event of a conflict.

The Hospital in the Rock remained strictly secret until 2002, and has welcomed visitors as a museum since 2008. In 2015, annual visitor numbers reached 100,000.

More: 
sziklakorhaz-atombunker-muzeum
1012 Budapest, Lovas út 4/c
Tel: +36 707 010101

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