The Baroque monastery was built in 1736 by the Carmelite order on the former site of a mosque that was destroyed in 1686 during the siege that liberated Buda from Ottoman occupation. The order received the real estate in 1693 and completed the new monastery and church by 1736, but it was consecrated only in 1763. Two decades later, Emperor Joseph II disbanded the order and converted the property into a theatre by imperial order in 1786, "for the delectation of high-ranking court officials". Some notable performances included Beethoven and the premiere of Bánk Bán. It is the current seat of the Prime Minister of Hungary.