8th District

Budapest then and today – 5 photos showing how much the city has changed The capital, which is 150 years old this year, has changed so much over time that every day citizens can marvel at a section of a street, an old building that has disappeared or that has miraculously survived. This time, with the help of five pairs of images, Pestbuda presents the passage of time from the houses of the old inner city of Pest to the flood in Tabán.

The renovated Blaha Lujza Square to be handed over this year The renovation of Blaha Lujza Square will be completed by the end of the year. The technical handover started on 29 November, there may still be minor repair work, but pedestrians can take possession of the space this year. Eleven small-sized, so-called micro-sculptures were also placed on the seating surface of the plant cassettes. The works present the acting legends of the former People's Theatre then National Theatre in their iconic roles.

The Museum Garden, where Petőfi also visited - The scene of liberty, love and history The garden of the Hungarian National Museum is a symbolic place, the emblematic location of the events of 15 March 1848, which earned its name: the garden of the nation. It is one of Budapest's most popular public parks, which was already a popular resting place for city residents in the 19th century. In the Museum Garden, visitors can see the statues of famous writers and heroes of liberty, among its oldest trees is the Japanese acacia, which already saw the funeral of Lajos Kossuth in 1894, and it is where the Paul Street boys played in Ferenc Molnár's famous novel. Pestbuda's video reveals how much people had to pay to sit on the bench in the past, what the future Queen of Albania did here and how long 15 March has been celebrated in the garden of freedom and love.

The rabbinical seminary opened its doors in Budapest 145 years ago In Budapest, at the corner of Bérkocsis and Bodzafa Streets in the Józsefváros district - at the intersection of today's Gutenberg Square, Scheiber Sándor and Somogyi Béla Streets - in October 1877, a solemn event took place that was rare even in the world of the time. The rabbinical seminary, in which Israelite students began their studies, opened its doors to the Hungarian Jewish people.

Endre Thék's memorial plaque was inaugurated in Józsefváros Endre Thék was the biggest figure in Hungarian furniture production. In honour of the master woodworker, furniture and piano manufacturer, a memorial plaque was placed on the building under 66C Üllői Road in the 8th District, where his home was. At the current inauguration, the original plaque removed in 1952 was replaced.

All rooms of Uránia can be visited again After an absence of nearly seven years, the two basement rooms of the Uránia National Film Theatre, which are located below the Main Hall, reopened this month. The Fábri and Csortos screening rooms had to be closed in 2015 due to water damage.

The Party Office on the former Köztársaság Square does not allow the past to be sealed off Although the party office with a dark past has been continuously deteriorating for years in the former Köztársaság, today's II. János Pál pápa Square, it has not yet been possible to demolish or rebuild it. Moreover, its immediate surroundings were recently declared life-threatening and closed, so instead of being converted into a residential building as planned, the socialist realism style building continues to remind us of the bloody events of the 20th century and the 1956 revolution.

Interior of the St. Joseph Parish Church has been renovated The renovation of the St. Joseph Parish Church in the 8th District, Horváth Mihály Square, has been completed. After the renovation of the facade, the reconstruction of the interior of the church was also completed this year.

The Józsefváros Telephone Centre fit perfectly into the city, today it houses elegant hotels The incorporation of industrial buildings into the urban environment was an important urban development issue in the 1880s. On the one hand, they tried to move - in many cases relocate - the noisy large plants that often emit polluting substances farther from the city centre, and on the other hand, the leaders of the capital wanted to design the centres suitable for the development and service of public utilities and communications in such a way that they fit as closely as possible into the architecture of a given street or space. Fortunately for posterity, this intention has mostly produced eye-catching results, a good example of which is the József Telephone Centre.

The Home of Hungarian Teachers is still standing today - Teachers living in poor conditions could move into the tower building At the beginning of Orczy Road, close to Nagyvárad Square, stands a house with a tower, reminiscent of a medieval castle, quietly hiding behind the surrounding trees. Few know that this building once served as the home of the poor teaching women in the capital.

Erzsébetváros was the poorest and smallest district but it wanted to take the name of the Queen The 7th District is a relatively young part of the city, it was separated from Terézváros in 1873, because that was found to be too large and too populous. The new district thus created became the smallest part of Budapest, but at that time it did not have its own name. However, the leadership of the district, which began to develop vigorously in the second half of the 19th century, believed that identity requires a name, so in December 1881, they asked the royal couple to let the district take the name of Queen Elizabeth.

The interiors of the Hungarian National Museum are being renovated Internal renovation work has begun at the Hungarian National Museum, during which the reception areas and the museum shop, as well as a café, will be renovated.

Demolition: Irén Psota's birthplace to be destroyed Another detail of the old Budapest is set to disappear, as the demolition of the building at 23/A Tömő Street in Józsefváros will begin soon. The four-storey building, built in the 1880s, in which actress Irén Psota was born, was sold by the local council in 2019, and the new owner has already received a demolition permit.

Renovation of Blaha Lujza Square to begin next year: water games and mushroom-shaped fountain planned A mushroom-shaped fountain with three nozzles, 84 burgundy-red chairs, an exposed concrete retaining wall hundreds of metres long, and water games sunk into the pavement will decorate the renovated Blaha Lujza Square, according to the tender announced by BKK. Prospective contractors can submit their offers for the rebuilding of Budapest's busiest squares 15 February 2021. The works will have to be quick, as according to an agreement between the capital and the government state support for the reconstruction of the square can only be accessed until the end of next year.