Among the cultural treasures of Visegrád, the Royal Palace is one of the most precious. The city has been the seat of kings and favored location for centuries. Thanks to the archaeological excavations, we know about the 1000 years of history of Visegrád and through the architecture and artifacts of the palace we can glimpse into the many centuries of the building.

The construction of the palace was commissioned by Louis the Great in the 14th century and it became the one of the most beautiful royal residences in Europe during the reign of Sigismund of Luxemburg.

After the death of Sigismund the palace became forlorn and regained its former glory only under King Matthias. Starting from 1476, Matthias completely renovated the palace with Hungarian and Italian masters and it became the first Renaissance style building outside Italy. After removing the old, Gothic wells, the new, Renaissance ones were built: the Hercules Well, the Well of Muses, and the Lion Well which was placed in the private court of the Queen.

During the Ottoman occupation, the palace was neglected for so long that by the 18th century it was almost completely buried beneath the dirt and by the 20th century even its location was forgotten and it was questioned if it ever existed. János Schulek was responsible for its rediscovery and he started excavating the palace at the end of 1934. The excavations were done by the well known archaeologists and historians of the time. The still ongoing work so far succeeded in reconstructing the royal residence building, the garden, and the rebuilt Hercules Well can be seen once again.