PestBuda

A publicly hated monument in the Castle - The Hentzi "pillar of shame" was inaugurated 170 years ago There have been many monuments and buildings and there are ones still standing in Budapest that remind us of the former occupiers and glorify those who committed crimes against Hungarians. The largest of these is the Citadel, which was built by the Austrian army, specifically for the purpose of threatening the population of Pest and Buda. And a monument in Buda Castle was erected to a man who unjustifiably shot at the city of Pest and its citizens in 1849. The Hentzi Memorial was inaugurated exactly 170 years ago, on 11 July 1852, by Franz Joseph, who defeated the Hungarian war of independence.

The birth of an iconic place - Oktogon is 150 years old, which was called Nyolcszög Square for decades We can safely call Oktogon Budapest's most unique transport hub: with its regular octagon shape, it quickly stands out on the map, and its easy-to-remember name means refreshment for foreigners, especially in Hungarian conditions. In addition, public transport routes famous throughout Europe intersect here: the continent's first underground railway, as well as the busiest tram lines. Its birth also coincides with the beginning of the golden age of the capital: its current form was defined 150 years ago, and for a long time it was called Nyolcszög Square.

Surroundings of Buda Castle - The historic gardens are being renewed The National Hauszmann Program covers not only the reconstruction of the buildings of the Buda Palace District, but also the renovation of the gardens surrounding them. The royal environment at the turn of the century naturally also demanded eye-catching green surfaces, on which an army of gardeners worked. This wonderful environment survived the siege relatively unscathed, but the rebuilding after World War II did not spare it, so in fact these gardens can also be considered huge losers of deliberate destruction.

The southern part of Váci street will be renewed In the southern part of Váci street, 12 leafy trees are planted, street furniture, benches, bicycle supports are installed, and the Lajtha well is put into operation. The connecting small streets will also be renovated. The work started in June and continues in stages.

Bridge over Marx Square - Fifty years ago, the environment of the Nyugati Railway Station was imagined this way The design competition for the arrangement of the area around the Nyugati railway station was closed a few months ago. In the new ideas, a more livable, greener railway station environment and Nyugati Square were outlined, and the road overpass crossing the square was no longer considered. Fifty years ago, however, the future of the railway station was imagined quite differently. The results of the design competition at the time were announced in the press on 8 July 1972.

The building of the ELTE Faculty of Law on Kecskemét Street will be renovated - The Csekonics Palace once stood on the site Building B of the ELTE Faculty of Law is at 10–12 Kecskeméti Street, located at and connected to Magyar utca 31–33. The monument complex is now being renovated and modernized. A famous building once stood on the plot, the luxurious palace of the wealthy Csekonics.

Instead of pillars, flower boxes prevent irregular parking The anti-parking poles were replaced by flower boxes in on Margit boulevard in the district. The plants that have now been placed are well adapted to the urban environment and, as promised, they will be watered regularly.

Tragic house collapses in Budapest Unfortunately, in the last 150 years, it has happened many times in Budapest that during construction or demolition, a house collapsed, a wall fell, the slab cracked, or a tragic accident was caused by the collapse of the scaffolding. The newspapers of the time regularly reported on these misfortunes. In our compilation, we present a selection of the most egregious cases and minor mishaps.

The first horse-drawn omnibus started in Pest 190 years ago - These carriages travelled the streets of the capital for nearly a hundred years The first omnibus, i.e., horsebus, started in Pest on 1 July 1832. It connected two coffee houses, one was in the City Park, the other in the City Centre, the main goal of the business was to increase the turnover of the City Park coffee house. Omnibuses were part of the Budapest street scene for nearly a hundred years.

Music plays in the most beautiful parts of Budapest 160 mini-concerts are organized in the capital's historic squares in the summer. This year's Zenélő Budapest series will be held at venues such as the Museum of Fine Arts, the Hungarian National Museum, the Várkert Bazaar, the House of Hungarian Music or the Hegyvidéki Cultural Hall. This year, there will be events at the renewed historical locations of the Buda Palace District, such as the Csikós courtyard.

Archaeologists found an Árpád-era cemetery next to Budafoki road The excavations took place from April to June along the Budafoki road, north of the Kondorosi road, one of the surprises of the excavation was the discovery of an Árpád-era cemetery. Traces of the residential buildings of a settlement more than seven thousand years ago were also found in the area.

 In memory of Marhavágóhíd - one of the capital's meat industry centres was completed 150 years ago When it was completed, it was considered one of the capital's architectural attractions. Many citizens of Buda and Pest, and even visitors from the countryside or abroad, were curious to see what the complex of buildings looked like, which became one of the defining institutions of public food supply from 1872 and remained so for almost 100 years.

The free beach on the Római-part will open again this year From 15 July, you can swim again in the Danube, on the Római-part, Kossuth Lajos holiday beach 15-17. next to the Danube, in the Danube area. The free beach will be open until the end of August.

The development of Nyugati railway station won EU funds The National Transportation Center won 2.8 million euros, i.e. 1.1 billion HUF, in EU funds for planning the development of the Nyugati railway station. The development of the Southern Ring Road in the capital also received an excellent rating in the EU tender.

A new parking system is being introduced in Budapest The Capital City local council is introducing a new parking system consisting of four zone types, the area of paid zones is increasing, and parking fees are also rising. The new regulations will come into effect on 5 September.

Collapsed architectural values - The Jókai Street residential building The collapsed roof structure of the residential building on the corner of Jókai and Aradi Streets injured several people, and the parked cars also suffered considerable material damage, as bricks, pieces of plaster and other construction materials fell from a height of nearly twenty metres. The unfortunate accident drew attention to the building itself, which is a sophisticated work of the late 19th century.

Decorative painting on the walls was found in the renewed building of the Palace of Justice In 1949, the administration of justice was moved out of the Palace of Justice on Kossuth Square, opposite the Parliament, after which the building was divided into two parts, between which a wall was erected. The building is currently being restored, and in the process, original decorative painting was found in several places under the demolished walls.

French, Italian, German, Hungarian - The Royal Hungarian Ministry of Finance and its European counterparts Hungarian folk art played a major role in the magical interiors of the Szentháromság Square palace of the Hungarian Royal Ministry of Finance. Because at the time of its construction - at the very beginning of the 20th century - the national sentiment was on fire in our country, which was expressed in the language of architecture by reviving the people's ancient decorative motifs. A Ministry of Finance is an important institution in every country, but is the spirit of the given nation reflected on the walls elsewhere? By presenting some European examples, we are looking for the answer to whether this type of building was built based on this concept elsewhere.

The building of the National Archives is being reborn - There will be an observation deck in the new tower The renovation and expansion of the National Archives building in Bécsi kapu square will soon begin, and its iconic tower will be built again, where it will become a lookout point. A visitor and education center will also be created in the new building wing, and a garden and terrace will also be connected to the archive.

The drilling of the first tunnel under the Danube began 90 years ago It was an old dream to build a tunnel between Pest and Buda under the Danube, the idea already stirred the imagination of designers in the 19th century. But the first such construction took place only in the 1930s, namely on the northern border of Budapest, at the Szentendrei Island. This tunnel was not yet used for traffic, because water pipes were laid through it. Drilling began ninety years ago.

The archaeologists found a village in the city center from the 13th century, and the excavation is now continuing Archaeologists last worked 25 years ago in the courtyard of the downtown Károlyi Palace, under 16 Károlyi street, on the site of the home of the Petőfi Literary Museum. At that time, among other things, an 11th-12th century cemetery, 23 graves, a 13th century village and the stone cellar and food storage of a Turkish house were excavated. Excavations are now continuing again.

The construction of the National Museum began in 185 years The construction of the Hungarian National Museum began 185 years ago. Alfalfa was previously grown on the then suburban plot, which had already been purchased for the museum in 1813. The Parliament voted for a huge amount of 500,000 HUF for the construction, and it began on 22 June 1837.

The dome of St. Stephen's Basilica went up in flames 75 years ago The construction of the largest church in Budapest took a very long time in accordance with its size, it filled the second half of the 19th century and even extended a little into the 20th century. It was finished in 1905, but forty years later a scaffolding was put up again: the damage caused by World War II had to be repaired. However, the renovation caused even more trouble, with an accidental fire burning the entire dome.

The first “modern Déli” was built 60 years ago, but we can no longer see it today The Déli Pályaudvar [Southern Railway Station] has been serving rail traffic since 1861. The current one is its third station building since its opening. The most interesting was probably the second building, which was handed over 60 years ago, in 1962, and which stood in its original form for barely 13 years. We remember this first “modern Déli”.

From Customs House to Gerbeaud Confectionery - 240-year history of a legendary plot Between today's Vörösmarty Square and József Nádor Square, on the site of the Gerbeaud confectionery and its surroundings, there was a very valuable plot. 240 years ago, the Thirtieth Office (Customs House) was built here, which was considered old-fashioned and demolished after 70 years. After that, several people wanted to use the area: Count István Széchenyi would have built the National Casino, the city of Pest would have built the new town hall on the site. The plot was finally divided into four parts in the 19th century. The houses built here still stand today, valuable pieces of the architectural heritage of the inner city.

Ninety-five years ago, Normafa fell down - they tried to save it for decades 95 years ago, hikers in Buda surprisedly found on Svábhegy that their favourite, century-old tree had disappeared overnight. The excursion place without the beech tree called Normafa from 19 June 1927 was no longer the same as before.

Hűvösvölgy, which is only cold in its name Most people associated Hűvösvölgy with the cold, but today it is less cool, especially in summer than in previous centuries. Moreover, the cool is refuted by a very interesting natural monument. It is a fairly large area, so it is worth visiting the Hűvösvölgy and its surroundings on two excursion days. The part of the city is also rich in natural, built and cultural sights, which already gained special importance in the time of King Matthias.

András Mechwart, who made the Ganz Factory great, passed away 115 years ago András Mechwart died 115 years ago, and he created the Ganz Factory, a company that has defined Hungarian industry for decades, from a company of a few hundred people. Originally, the main factory was located in Buda, in the area between today's Bem József Street and Ganz Street, from where it expanded to Kacsa Street, Fény Street, and then to its Pest sites. The memory of the factory is preserved today by the Ábrahám Ganz Foundry Collection at 20 Bem József Street, and posterity pays tribute to András Mechwart with the 2nd District square named after him and the bust shown here.

Abundance of towers and reliefs - This is what the well-known tenement house on Károly Boulevard looked like In the huge tenement house in the centre of Pest, at the intersection of Károly Boulevard and Dohány Street, renovation works will soon begin: it will get its characteristic towers that were demolished after World War II. It is a building that is especially important from the cityscape point of view, and in addition to the interesting roof elements, there are also large reliefs on it. The huge facade of the house is a very high-quality work from the beginning of the 20th century.