Buildings Tell Tales
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Visegrádi utca 4: Unveiling Beauty Behind the Unappealing Facade
Nestled in the Újlipótváros neighborhood of Budapest’s 13th district, Visegrádi utca 4 may not catch your eye right away. Back in 1958, a newspaper bluntly called it one of the “ugliest and most neglected buildings in Budapest.” They complained about its bad conditions and the damages suffered 13 years earlier, predicting a gloomy future for…
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Thököly út 61: The Tale of the Statue of a Woman Waiting for Her Husband
If you have the opportunity to walk along Thököly út in Zugló, Budapest’s 14th district, take a moment to appreciate the grandeur of the facades. Stop at number 61 and observe a balcony without a door, adorned with a captivating statue of a woman gazing down at the street. Since the 1910s, this mysterious figure…
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Hidden Hungary : The Abandoned “Weisz-house” in Miskolc
An abandoned house in Miskolc located at Zsolca Kapu 7. It was built around 1909-1910 for the Weisz family. The ground floor housed shops, while the first and second floors had apartments. When I visited it for the first time in April 2023 the gate stood open but when I went back in November there…
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Hidden Hungary : Abandoned Shooting Range Building in Miskolc
This old building, located in Miskolc, is not an abandoned palace or mansion. In fact, it is not even as old as I expected; it was built in 1940-1941 as the shooting range of the Miskolc Railway Sports Club. This interesting building was not designed by an architect but by an engineer named Emil Bruckner,…
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My Collection of Old Photos
For a long time, my Saturdays kicked off at 4 am. I’d travel for about 2 hours to reach Bakancsos utca in the 17th district, home to my favorite flea market. There, I’d spend the morning hunting for old photos, especially ones of old buildings or Budapest street scenes. The “Bakancsos Piac” (Bakancsos Flea Market)…
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A Decaying Architectural Gem in the 14th District of Budapest
I used to live in Zugló, the 14th district of Budapest, for a few years, and this villa has always fascinated me. It is one of the oldest houses in the district and is located on Erzsébet királyné útja 27/a. According to a local journal published in 2020, the villa was built in 1850 for…
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Nagy Lajos Király útja 104 : the ‘Sing Sing’ house in the 14th district of Budapest
Some locals have given the name ‘Sing Sing’ to this apartment building situated at Nagy Lajos Király útja 104, drawing a parallel with the infamous prison in the United States. Sadly, this nickname depicts the atmosphere of this house quite accurately! The majority of its apartments remain vacant, with the entrance walled off to prevent…
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A “Romantic Castle” in the 14th District of Budapest
Is this a photo of a romantic little castle somewhere in Ireland? Not at all; this is a villa standing on Zichy Géza utca in Zugló, the 14th district of Budapest. However, it indeed has a direct link with Ireland: it was built for a famous portrait painter, Fülöp László, who wanted to impress the…
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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…
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Modernist architecture in Budapest : Nagy Lajos király útja 104
Located in the 14th district of Budapest, Zugló, this modernist apartment house stands on Nagy Lajos Király útja and was built in 1932. Designed by Gábor Krausz, who is known for his work on various modernist buildings in the city, this house was built for Henrik Klein and Ignác Beck. At the time of its…
Buildings Tell Tales 