Dózsa György út 17 : Prewar Zsolnay tiles in the 14th district of Budapest

The apartment house at the corner of Dózsa György út and Abonyi utca has an impressive entrance adorned with tiles from the Zsolnay factory. This building, known as the “Goldman-house” after its first owner, was designed by Gyula Karvaly and constructed in 1911. It featured spacious flats that were sold to affluent residents. The exterior is further enriched with reliefs on the facade crafted by Géza Maróti.

The house was home to many notable residents, including the popular comedian and film actor Kálmán Latabár. Another distinguished resident was Endre Kabos, a fencer who competed individually and with the team at the 1932 and 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics, earning three gold and one bronze medal. During the war, Kabos was conscripted into a Jewish forced labor battalion. Tragically, on November 4, 1944, he lost his life when explosives placed on the Margit Bridge by German sappers prematurely detonated, resulting in the deaths of between 100 and 600 individuals.

If you observe attentively the wall on the Abonyi utca side of the building, you will spot an inscription in Cyrillic. This was left by Soviet soldiers in 1945 after they cleared the building of explosives. You can find photos and information about this type of inscription here.

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I have launched Buildings Tell Tales in 2019, and since then visited and photographed over 1000 old buildings in Budapest. My goal is not only to take photos but to uncover the interesting stories hidden behind the old walls. By linking the stories of ordinary people such as workers, students, merchants, and domestic workers to specific places, I want to make the past tangible. Old buildings should be preserved not only for their aesthetic value but also for the memories they hold and the stories they tell. If you’re interested in learning more about me, you can read additional details on this page.

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