Buildings Tell Tales
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The Rebirth of an Art Nouveau Gem in Budapest
On the afternoon of February 21, 2024, I visited Munkácsy Mihály utca 23 to capture some photos of the beautiful entrance of this Art Nouveau house. As soon as I set up my tripod and camera, a very kind man approached and invited me to take a look inside the house. It’s a building I’ve…
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The Jews of Budapest During the Holocaust : Yellow-Star Houses
Between June and November 1944, the 1,944 compulsory places of residence for Jews in Budapest were designated, from where they were either sent to the ghetto or to “protected houses.” This network of yellow-star houses comprised almost 1,950 designated compulsory places of residence for approximately 220,000 Budapest Jews from June 21, 1944, until late November…
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The Forgotten Jazz Singer : Tibor Weygand’s Budapest Residence
This charming apartment house, constructed in 1931-32 by architect Tibor Hübner, is situated on Tas Vezér utca in the 11th district of Budapest. Our visit to this building was prompted by its association with Tibor Weygand, who resided here after World War II. While his name may not be widely recognized today, even in Hungary,…
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The Műteremház: An Art Nouveau Haven for Hungarian Artists
The Art Nouveau ‘Műteremház’ (or ‘Atelier House’) is building designed by Gyula Kosztolányi-Kann and completed in 1903. Located at Kelenhegyi út 12-14 in the 11th district of Budapest, this house was initially used solely as an art studio, and the living spaces were separated from the studios after the war. Typically, galleries were established within…
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Unusual Facades of Budapest : Vak Bottyán utca 6
This uniquely designed building is located at Vak Bottyán utca 6 in the 11th district of Budapest. I could not find much information about its construction, but based on a source I found, it was designed by Miklós Nászay. According to the flat data sheets (these were forms that had to be filled out for…
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Unusual Facades of Budapest : Budafoki út 53
This apartment house is located at Budafoki út 53 in the 11th district of Budapest. A plaque on the facade indicates that it was designed by Lipót Weil, an architect known for creating other impressive buildings, such as Nyúl utca 9—a house I’ve longed to visit. Although the exact year of construction eludes me, newspapers…
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Hidden Hungary : Discovering Sásd, a small town in southern Hungary
In January 2024, I spent a weekend heading towards southern Hungary to explore Dombovár and Sásd. Since I had some time, I decided to spontaneously explore a random place between the two towns, and this is how I ended up spending a few hours in a small town named Sásd. Sásd is a town in…
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Abandoned Art Nouveau in Budapest : The Schöpf-Merei Hospital
An early morning in December, I was photographing the abandoned Schöpf-Merei hospital on Bakáts tér when an elderly man approached me. He shared that he used to work as an architect and was delighted to see someone appreciating the beauty of old buildings and documenting them. He then asked if he could take a photo…
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The Budapest of the early 1980s through the lens of Benjamin Makovecz
A few years ago, I used to wake up early to explore Budapest’s flea markets, searching for vintage photos. I donated most of my discoveries to Fortepan, a copyright-free and community-based photo archive. One day, amidst my treasure hunt at Bakancsos flea market, I stumbled upon a collection of captivating black and white prints showcasing…
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Honvéd utca 3 : Perhaps Budapest’s most Beautiful Art Nouveau House
A few photos I took in the enchanting Honvéd utca 3 showcase an Art Nouveau gem designed by Emil Vidor for Béla Bedő in 1903. Béla, a wealthy factory owner, resided there until his passing in 1916. Following his death, his son Rudolf inherited 50% of the property. In addition to his success in business,…
Buildings Tell Tales 