95 years ago today, on 20 November 1926, the mechanically cooled skating rink in City Park was handed over. Thanks to the artificial ice, the season has been extended, allowing ice skating even when the temperature does not drop below zero degrees. The one in City Park was the first artificial ice surface in the country and the second in Europe.
A fine example of historicist architecture is the Church of Saint Vincent de Paul at the intersection of Mester Street and Haller Street in Ferencváros, which was consecrated in 1936, 85 years ago. Its creator was Gáspár Fábián, who, as one of the most outstanding architects of his time, designed about fifty church buildings. The carved sandstone building, modelled on Romanesque churches in northern Italy, can accommodate up to 2,000 people. From the top of the 55-metre tower, an amazing panorama is a delight for those climbing the staircase.
Babits Mihály Promenade is one of the most romantic streets in Budapest. It runs along the castle wall of Buda, and although the tourist traffic is huge nearby, only a few are walking in this relatively hidden area. Yet it was created in the 1930s precisely because it opened up a magical panorama of the entire city, and it was hoped it would attract foreign visitors like sugar.
A special and closed world bordered by a fence where artists live and create. That's how it has been for110 years. With the support of Mayor István Bárczy, the country's first artists' colony was built on Százados Road in 1911 from the budget of the capital, with fifteen one-storey houses and 28 studios. From the beginning, renowned artists created here, including Ferenc Medgyessy, Zsigmond Kisfaludi Strobl, Bertalan Pór, Dezső Czigány. The area, which was still a suburb at the time of its handover, is now an integral part of Józsefváros.
One of the most colourful personalities in the heroic age of aviation was Guido Prodam. The adventurous pilot learned to fly in Rákosmező, and he was the first Hungarian to fly over the Budapest downtown 110 years ago. During his journey, he flew along the Danube, he also flew above the Chain Bridge, the Buda Castle and the Technical University.
In much of the world today, cars are on the right side of the road, and on the European mainland, this is the traffic regulation, wherever we go. However, this was not always the case: the right-hand drive in Hungary only became common 80 years ago, in November 1941, as one of the last countries on the European continent. However, several transport vehicle still operated according to the original order, the change in the Kisföldalatti [the small underground railway] only took place in 1973.
Virgil Nagy, who designed the structures that fundamentally define the view of Budapest, passed away 100 years ago, the architectural design of the Liberty Bridge and the aesthetic appearance of the old Elizabeth Bridg , which was blown up in 1945, are his works.
The Hungarian National Bank was established in 1924, and the institution's well-known building in Szabadság Square was actually handed over in 1905 as the headquarters of the Austro-Hungarian Bank in Budapest. The economic flourishing of the period of dualism is also reflected in the prestigious building designed by Ignác Alpár, which will hopefully be brought to the fore by the reconstruction that will begin soon. During the renovation of the monument, the original conditions will be restored in the interior and the whole building will be modernised and made energy-efficient.
1
The Újpest Railway Bridge is a stepchild among the bridges in Budapest because it does not even have a regular name. There is almost no mention of it, even though trains have been running here for 125 years, and it plays an important role in traffic around Budapest. Pestbuda now remembers the birth of the first structure, which was built in 1896 for the millennium but was destroyed in World War II.
The church of the Lutheran Parish of Kőbánya, consecrated in 1931, is located in the geometric center of the capital. The building at 14 Kápolna Street is a small "jewel box" of Hungarian sacred architecture between the two world wars. Its floor plan evokes the world of Baroque sacral buildings with a single nave, and in its external design it can be related to the Western European buildings of art deco.
The transformation of the Hungarian capital into a metropolis was formulated before the unification of Pest and Buda, when in 1871 a tender was issued for the preparation of a regulatory plan that would provide a framework for the planned large-scale constructions. The tender, which closed 150 years ago, received a number of proposals that contributed to the development of the currently known structure and cityscape of the capital.
Although the Szemlő-hegyi Cave has been discovered for more than 90 years, it has only been open to the public for 35 years. This is one of the most beautiful and interesting underground attractions in the capital, which is a great recognition, as there are several cave specialities below Budapest.
111 years ago, the idea of one of the typical societal media of the 20th century, Színházi Élet, was born in one of the 3rd-floor rooms of the house at 53 Andrássy Avenue. There were many shops and offices in the building, but nowadays the roof of the building is also interesting. A lot has happened in the last 135 years with the roof of the residential house on the corner of Andrássy Avenue and Eötvös Street - the most recently completed attic installation got an occupancy permit.
1
There is a place in Budapest that has almost gained world fame. In the end, however, it did not become world-famous, in fact, it does not even have a regular, honest name. In our current article, we will visit Népsziget [People's Island], which is beautiful even in its severe neglect and underutilization.
The bronze bust of István Bibó was lifted back to its place on the Széchenyi embankment by crane, which was moved due to the ongoing renovation works of the older József Antall embankement.
At the end of World War II, a permanent railway bridge over the Danube was rebuilt at record speed. One and a half years after the weapons were silenced in the country, and exactly 22 months after the bridge was blown up, the semi-permanent structure of the Connecting Railway Bridge was already standing, weighing half as much as the Chain Bridge which is much longer than this. Although it was demolished a few years later from its original location, it moved to Újpest, where it served traffic until recently.
Pro Architectura awards were presented in connection with several buildings in Budapest, the establishment of the Eiffel Workshop, the National Museum Restoration and Storage Center, the renovation of the Károlyi-Csekonics Palace, and the design ceramics restoration tasks of the Udvar Hotel in Paris.
The complete reconstruction of the headquarters of the Magyar Nemzeti Bank in Szabadság Square will start in November. During the works, the damage to architecture and the fine arts caused by post-World War II alterations, thus restoring the original splendor of the building. The end of the renovation is planned for 2024, the 100th anniversary of the founding of the independent Hungarian central bank.
The tender for the renovation of the station building of the Kelenföld railway station has been announced, the construction works may start next year. The Transport Museum will create a railway history exhibition space and field table in the house, but a new community space and a café are also planned.
According to the public procurement, the designer should take into account that the market hall, built in 1897 according to the plans of Győző Czigler, is a protected monument building in a world heritage area.
1
The Eiffel Workshop of the Hungarian State Opera House was officially handed over, and a total of 33,000 square meters and a 3-hectare park of the institution were renewed. The new cultural center opens up a great opportunity for opera performance.
2
The Franciscans of Pasarét renovated the monastery and church in the Parish of St. Anthony of Padua and created a new, modern community parish building. The church of Pasarét, designed by Gyula Rimanóczy Sr., was consecrated in 1934 and most recently underwent major reconstruction in the 1980s.
The shrine of the Virgin Mary, built in the 18th century and later demolished in Békásmegyer-ófalu, has now been rebuilt on the initiative of the local traditional association.
1
On the writer's birthday, on 5 October, the street sign of the Szabó Magda promenade was inaugurated in the 2nd district, in the area between Mammut Shopping Center and Széllkapu Park. There is also a bookcase on the promenade that anyone can add to and anyone can read from.
The Erzsébet Square bus station has not departed and accepted buses for twenty years now. For much of the 20th century, it was still natural for buses to depart from central spaces that were easily accessible to all, but due to changes in urban development considerations, bus stations were pretty slowly pushed out of the inner city core. The Erzsébet Square bus station in the 5th District was also closed down.
The sculpture composition called Garden of Philosophy has been standing on Gellért Hill for twenty years now. The work, which depicts the world's leading thinkers and founders of world religions, was donated to Budapest by Nándor Wagner, a sculptor of Hungarian origin living in Japan.
By the end of the 1950s, the existing trams in Budapest proved to be increasingly too small, so a new, more accommodating, articulated tram was built by Hungarian engineers, the Bengali. The recipe was simple, the type was spacious and shapely, yet the first articulated trams that appeared in Budapest were not clearly successful.
