The building of the Haggenmacher villa at No. 3 Szilassy road in the former inn of Szemassy road was purchased by the Hungarian State from the Budapest local council and is used for public purposes. The keys were handed over on Friday by Mayor Zoltán Pokorni and Balázs Fürjes, Secretary of State for the Development of Budapest and the Budapest Agglomeration.

As we wrote , the Capital City Ownership Committee decided in November last year to sell the monument, and the sale and purchase agreement had already been signed, but the intention to sell caused huge public outrage in the Highlands.

The dilapidated villa at  3 Szilassy road(photo: Balázs Fürjes / Facebook)

“The Capital announced the property at a surprisingly cheap price of HUF 400 million net. He also found a landlord, but a small popular movement started to stay in community ownership, not to privatize this nearly 40,000 square meter plot with the monument on it, ” Zoltán Pokorni explained the developments in recent weeks when the keys to the villa were officially taken over.

Balázs Fürjes, Secretary of State for the Development of Budapest and the Budapest Agglomeration, also confirmed on his Facebook page that there was a broad consensus on the matter. As he said, local council representatives from completely different parties, civilians, as well as the mayor and himself agreed that it would be a mistake to privatize this significant monument, rather it should be kept in public ownership and should be renovated. 

The interiors are also in need of complete renovation (photo: hegyvidek.hu)

“We have prevented privatization, the former Inn of God will remain in public ownership, in communal use. With the cooperation of the government and the Mountain local council, we can open a new chapter in the history of the place, ” the Secretary of State said.

The villa will be used for community purposes after a careful refurbishment and cannot be sold on a commercial basis in the future.

The house on the site of the building, erected on the manor of Johann Karl von Stettner's court councilor, had an inn as early as the 1760s, which was named the Eye of God from a nearby lake. Lajos Kossuth stayed here in May 1837 and was arrested here.

The Haggenmacher villa in a 1968 photo (photo: hegyvidek.hu)

On the site of the inn, the new owner Károly Haggenmacher built the present building between 1884 and 1885, which was handed over to the capital by the heirs in 1941 as part of an exchange. The Villa Haggenmacher is therefore to be preserved for its cultural and historical value.

Zoltán Pokorni emphasized that the opinions of several organizations would be sought regarding the planned functions, and that the department of architecture of the Moholy-Nagy University of Arts would also be involved in the joint thinking. Anyone else can make a proposal, for which a separate interface will be created on the website of the local council.

“Everyone’s imagination can soar. After the purchase, we hope to be able to count on the government's support for the renovation, but we have to dream of a function that sustains itself here: Zoltán Pokorni.

Source: pestbuda.hu, hegyvidek.hu, Balázs Fürjes / Facebook

Photo: The keys to the Haggenmacher villa have been handed over, it is now state-owned (photo: hegyvidek.hu)