Hild József (1789–1867)

József Hild (November 8, 1789 – July 6, 1867) was one of the most prolific architects working in Hungary during the late Reform Era and Neoclassical period, credited with nearly 900 private residential buildings alongside his major public and ecclesiastical commissions.

He began construction of Budapest’s St. Stephen’s Basilica, one of the city’s most prominent landmarks (though he did not live to see it completed — the building was finished under Miklós Ybl after a partial dome collapse forced a redesign). Hild’s hand is also visible in the Esztergom Basilica, Hungary’s largest church, and in Eger Cathedral, making him one of the central figures in shaping Hungary’s 19th-century ecclesiastical and civic architecture.

Sources: We Love Budapest.