Budapest Secession

81. Apartment building on Mihálkovics utca 20

Jenő Hübner, 1911

This building with an open courtyard is located near Nagyvárad tér.

82. Water Tower of Margaret Island

Architect Rezső Vilmos Ray, engineer Dr. Szilárd Zielinski, 1911

The Water Tower of Margaret Island is 57 metres high. It also functioned as a lookout tower. It was one of the first reinforced concrete structures built in Europe. It is now a protected UNESCO site.

83. Palatinus Houses

Pozsonyi út 2-18, Újlipótváros
Emil Vidor, 1911

The plot of land between Pozsonyi út and the Danube embankment was owned by the Palatinus construction company. In 1911, Emil Vidor designed three huge buildings here, covering entire blocks. Vidor, who had thoroughly studied German Jugendstil, included several of its features in these buildings. The most beautiful of them, the one closest to the Margaret Bridge, has remarkable corner towers. The interiors hide many treasures as well. The apartments were very spacious. The bathrooms were supplied with thermal water from the Margaret Island. Today these are among the most expensive apartments for sale and rent in Budapest.

84. Apartment building on Krúdy Gyula utca 9

Sándor Dezső Bukovics, 1911

This building stands on the site of an older Neoclassical building. It was demolished in 1911. The architect also lived here later.

85. Márkus Villa

Abonyi utca 29, Istvánmező
Andor Wellisch, 1911

This late-Art Nouveau building has a beautiful fence decorated with geometric and floral motifs. There are also small flower mosaics on the façade.

86. Apartment building on Kresz Géza utca 32

József Vermes, 1911

This building is similar to the National Romantic buildings in Riga.

87. Kőbánya Synagogue

Cserkesz utca 7-9, Kőbánya
Richárd Schöntheil & Antal Sorg, 1907-1912

This building, located in the popular suburb of Kőbánya, began its existence as a Neolog synagogue. It is heavily rusticated and has small towers and a dome. It formed a complex together with a building for the rabbi, charity institutions, and a school.

The synagogue was closed in 1964. In 1991 the building reopened as a church, under the name of the Church of Everyone.

88. Budapest Zoological and Botanical Garden

Állatkerti körút 6-12, Városliget
Károly Kós, Dezső Zrumeczky & Kornél Neuschloss, 1909-1912

The Zoological and Botanical Garden of Budapest is among the oldest in the world, opening in 1866. The current buildings are from 1909-1912. They were, for the most part, designed by Károly Kós and Dezső Zrumeczky in Transylvanian and Art Nouveau styles. The most interesting structures – the entrance building and the Elephant House – are by Kornél Neuschloss.

The main entrance of the Budapest Zoo is flanked by reliefs of elephants. There is a colorful mosaic above them and higher up sculptures of polar bears and mandrills. The dome is decorated with Zsolnay tiles.

The Elephant House of the Budapest Zoo has a colourful dome and a 31-metre-high minaret, which made me think, when I first saw it, that it was a mosque. In 1915, the tower was demolished at the request of the Allies in World War I, because Ottoman diplomats had expressed disapproval about the profane use of a Muslim symbol. The eosin, pyrogranite and enamel tiles are from the Zsolnay factory.

89. Leitersdorfer House / Rózsavölgyi House

Szervita tér 5, Belváros
Béla Lajta, 1910-1912

One can clearly see that this building was made by the same architect who designed the Parisiana Orfeum. The lower floors were used for business purposes, on the upper floors there were apartments. This division is also clear on the façade. The horizontal planes of the upper part of the façade are emphasised by ceramics from the Zsolnay Porcelain Manufacture. The motifs are from Lajta’s ethnographic collections. Lajta used bricks here as in several of his other buildings of the period.

Gyula Rózsavölgyi was the founder of a music publishing company famous in the second half of the 19th century.

90. Kasselik House

Vörösmarty tér 3, Lipótváros
Kálmán Giergl & Flóris Korb, 1910-1912

The building of the former luxury department store does not get as much attention as the Gerbeaud on another side of the Vörösmarty Square. Its façade is sophisticated and seems to be made of precious materials.

91. Förster House

Szilágyi Dezső tér 4, Víziváros
György Kopeczek, 1910-1912

In this beautiful building, practically invisible from the street, lived Béla Bartók. Amrita Sher-Gil, an eminent Indian painter, was born here as well.

92. Ernst Museum

Nagymező utca 8, Terézváros
Gyula Fodor, 1911-1912

This building hosted a private museum established by Lajos Ernst, a collector of historical items and art and a patron. The museum was an important cultural institution in Budapest until the late-1930s. The hall was designed by Ödön Lechner and the stained-glass windows are by József Rippl-Rónai. It is now home to Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center.

93. Magda Court

Mátyás tér 4, Józsefváros
Sándor & Béla Löffler, 1911-1912

This corner house has remarkable glass-enclosed bay windows and large Ionic pilasters, giving it a vertical accent. It hosted the Mátyás Cinema from 1913 until at least the late-1920s. The upper floor was added in the 1960s.

There is no clear agreement about the origins of the name of the building. Some think that the inscription under the decorative figures was added after the suicide of the daughter of the owner. Others believe it housed a shelter for mothers.

94. Apartment building on Honvéd utca 16

Emil Vidor, 1912

This building has a colourful little balcony attached to its façade.

95. Modern & Breitner Building

Deák Ferenc utca 23, Belváros
Sámuel Révész & József Kollár, 1912

This late-Art Nouveau building with solid vertical lines has a prominent corner tower that everyone visiting Budapest must have noticed at some point because of its prominent location. It was a department store with apartments.

96. Cziráky Court

Erzsébet tér 3 / József Nádor tér 10, Lipótváros
Károly Rainer, 1912

This late-Art Nouveau building was constructed for Count Béla Cziráky, who built up the fire brigade network of Constantinople.

97. General Loan Bank of Hungary

József Nádor tér 2-4, Lipótváros
Ignác Alpár, 1909-1913

This eclectic Art Nouveau building houses the Ministry for National Economy of Hungary.

98. Árkay Villa

Alma utca 1, Városmajor
Aladár Árkay, 1910-1913

This Finnish-looking building was the home of the architect. He designed several villas in the area.

99. Fasori Reformed Church

Városligeti fasor 5-7, Erzsébetváros
Aladár Árkay, 1911-1913

This is one of the most outstanding ecclesiastical Art Nouveau buildings in Budapest. The box-like entrance area is covered with majolica tiles, produced in the Zsolnay Porcelain Manufacture. The massive tower and side entrance make it look like several structures in the contemporary Helsinki. Inside there is a dome of 14 metres in diameter. The main windows are a work of Miksa Róth, the greatest master of stained glass in Hungary.