Staircases
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Hegedűs Gyula utca 3: The House with a Synagogue on the Ground Floor
Designed by Béla Vajda and constructed in 1911, this apartment house has a unique feature: a synagogue is located on the ground floor. It is one of the several synagogues which were built within residential buildings including the former Jewish praying house on Káldy utca, the synagogue at Frankel Leó út 49, Dessewfy utca 23…
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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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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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Semmelweis utca 2: A Glimpse into Győző Czigler’s Architectural Gem
The apartment house of the Hungarian Royal University Fund (Magyar Királyi Tudományegyetemi Alap bérháza), located at Semmelweis utca 2, stands as a testament to the architectural brilliance of Győző Czigler. Completed in 1895, this edifice is one of many iconic creations by Czigler, a prolific architect whose life, though brief (born in Arad in 1850,…
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Nagymező utca 18 : The House of the Duna Insurance Company
Upon entering Nagymező utca 18, an apartment house located at the corner of Nagymező utca and Andrássy Avenue in the 6th district of Budapest, you will notice a large iron “D” that reflects the building’s history. The ironwork of this building preserves the memory of the Duna Insurance Company, which had its headquarters here. The…
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Lipót Baumhorn’s Forgotten Gem: Visit Szív utca 66
When I entered the building located at Szív utca 66, I was immediately struck by both its beauty and its deplorable state. After researching its past, I was surprised to discover that these crumbling walls, covered with graffiti, were originally designed by Lipót Baumhorn, the most influential Hungarian synagogue architect of the 20th century. Baumhorn…
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Akácfa utca 11: Stories Written on its Walls
This building did not seem particularly appealing from the outside, but the walls of the staircase were covered with graffiti that told tales of its past. My favorite one was written by tinkers/plumbers before 1990 (since it refers to Boulevard Lenin, which was the name of Erzsébet Boulevard between 1950 and 1990). Some other graffiti…
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Inside the former Hotel Tiger : a 19th-Century Gem in Budapest
These photos capture the interior of the former Tigris Szálló (Hotel Tiger) located at Nádor utca 5, in the 5th district of Budapest. Designed by József Hild, one of the most recognized Hungarian architects of the 19th century, the Hotel Tiger was inaugurated in 1840. Regarded as one of the most elegant hotels, it hosted…
Buildings Tell Tales 