Staircases
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Balázs Béla utca 27/b : A Vanishing Old House in Budapest’s 9th District
Back in January 2022, I posted on my Facebook page about an old building located at Balázs Béla utca 27./b in Budapest’s 9th district. At the time, I was curious about the fate of this apartment house, given the recent demolition of many old buildings in this deprived area of Budapest. In June of the…
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József utca 3: The House of the Hungarian Association for Disabled and Retired Workers
József utca 3 is an apartment house located in the 8th district, originally built for the Hungarian Association for Disabled and Retired Workers, established in Budapest in 1893. This building, inaugurated in 1905, was constructed for the “Hungarian Association for Disabled and Retired Workers” (Magyarországi Munkások Rokkant és Nyugdíj Egylete), according to the plans of…
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Orczy út 27: Jakab Grünfeld’s Distillery
This house, situated at the intersection of Orczy út and Sárkány utca (specifically Orczy út 27), was once owned by the Grünfeld family, renowned for their success in the production and distribution of various alcoholic beverages such as pálinka, rum, and liquors. Jakab Grünfeld, the patriarch, operated a distillery and a tavern on this site.…
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Üllői út 14 : The Art Nouveau “Golden Eagle Court”
Üllői út 14 is an Art Nouveau apartment house built in 1907 and designed by Gyula Fodor. Interestingly, this house connects Üllői út with Baross utca and has the same door and relief at both entrances. In the past, these kinds of passages were quite common, and I once read an article published in the…
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Rózsa utca 29 : The Poet who Wanted to Die
Rózsa utca 29, a large apartment house in Budapest’s 7th district, is a lesser-known work by architect Gyula Fodor, renowned for his Art Nouveau building. Gyula Fodor,designed many amazing buildings in Budapest such as Csokonai utca 8, Hajós utca 25, Dózsa György út 64, or Baross utca 11, Falk Miksa 13. According to what I…
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The Service Stairs of Teréz Körút 9, Budapest
Teréz körút 9, an old apartment building constructed in 1887, is believed to have been designed by Sebestyén Messner and Rezső Arndt for Emil Lyka. One intriguing story from my research on the house’s history revolves around a burglar named Károly Ferencz. In October 1930, he targeted an office within Teréz körút 9. Surprisingly, on…
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The Atlantes of Salétrom utca 6
On the façade of this late Art Nouveau apartment building, meticulously designed by József Porgesz for Ármin Sauer at Salétrom utca 6, stand two distinctive figures known as “atlantes” (the plural of “atlas”). These atlantes draw their name from the Titan condemned in Greek mythology to bear the weight of the sky on his shoulders…
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Kossuth Lajos utca 4 : The Dreher-Palace
A few years ago, I used to enjoy drinking beer in summer before gradually switching to ‘fröccs’, a mix of soda water and white wine. Among the mass-produced Hungarian beers, my favorite was Dreher, especially their dark beer called ‘Bak’ But why am I writing about my taste for beer? Because this beautiful building known…
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Aradi utca 57 : the Art Nouveau “Platschek-House”
The “Platschek-House” is an Art Nouveau residential building located at Aradi utca 57 in the 6th district of Budapest. It was designed by the Löffler brothers, Béla and Sándor, and built in 1908 for Vilmos Platschek, the wealthy owner of a garment factory employing 250 people, with a store on Károly körút where the clothing…
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Naphegy utca 21 : “Built in 1914”
“Built in 1914” – another one of my favorite entrances in Budapest is located at Naphegy utca 21 in the 1st district. This house, designed by László Lipót Németh, stands as a testament to the resilience of the city’s architecture. Constructed just before the tumultuous times of World War I, it faced the challenges of…
Buildings Tell Tales 