Andrássy út 23
The building near the Hungarian State Opera was built by Mór Wahrmann at the beginning of the 1880s. The Flora statues on both sides of the main entrance are the work of the era’s most renowned sculptor, Alajos Stróbl. Wahrmann, a wealthy, successful businessman owned several companies and he is famous for being the first Jewish MP in the history of Hungary.
Aradi utca 57
This Art Nouveau apartment building is the work of architects Béla and Samu Löffler, whose most famous piece is the Kazinczy Street Synagogue. The elaborate portal has two peacocks watching over it. A recurring motif in Art Nouveau, peacocks were regarded as symbols of eternal life, based on the popular belief that their meat never turned sour.
Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út 36-38
We usually just rush by the building that houses the Toldi Cinema, but its gate is really worth checking out. The former Lipótváros Postal Savings Bank commissioned the building, intended to serve both as the bank headquarters and an apartment building. It is the work of Ignác Alpár, who is responsible for the nearby Anker Palace in Deák tér and Váci 1 in Vörösmarty tér.
Elephant House Originally named the Pachyderm House, this Art Nouveau building was designed by Kornél Neuschloss in 1912. With its blue, Zsolnay-tiled domed roof, it’s the most famous building in Budapest Zoo.
Geological Institute
The master of Hungarian Art Nouveau, Ödön Lechner, designed this building, whose blue colours, smoothly flowing curvy lines and folk-art motifs appear on the entrance too.
Fortuna utca 23
As with much of the Castle District, this apartment building had stood here since the Middle Ages until it was destroyed during World War II. It was entirely rebuilt in 1947.
Ják Chapel portal
In Vajdahunyad Castle, built in 1896 for the Millennial Exhibition, the most interesting element is the exact replica of the Romanesque-style portal of Ják Chapel, originally found in Vas county. This gate has six layered arches with sculpted figures of the 12 apostles.
Kelenhegyi út 12-14
This Art Nouveau building is easy to recognise from afar with its signature light blue façade. It was built at the beginning of the 20th century and was once home to many artist’s studios, including famous painters Béla Czóbel, Béla Uitz and Ignác Kokas. The architect, Gyula Kosztolányi Kann, is better known as a painter, and this is his only large-scale architectural work in Budapest.
Kozma Street Cemetery, Schmidl Mausoleum
The Schmidl Mausoleum in the Jewish cemetery in Kozma utca is an early work by Béla Lajta. You can still feel Ödön Lechner’s influence on the young architect; on the vault, covered with turquoise Zsolnay tiles, Hungarian Art Nouveau traits blend seamlessly with Jewish motifs and symbols.
Marek József utca 31
This ornamental gate, evoking steampunk décor, is the work of famous Hungarian craftsmen Gerő and Győri. The building served as an office, workshop and residence for them, with the uniquely designed gate as a trade sign.
Kunsthalle - Műcsarnok
Műcsarnok in Heroes’ Square, opposite the Museum of Fine Arts, is a richly ornamented, beautiful example of architectural eclecticism. The clinker brick-covered building has a colourful ceramic frieze running along the gate, too.
Munkácsy Mihály utca 23
The building was designed in 1904 by the master of Art Nouveau villa architecture, Albert Kálmán Körössy. The elaborate entrance catches your eye right away with its delicate female figures above the arched portal. The other elements of the façade have since been changed drastically, the once rich ornamentation is practically gone now.
Nádor utca 21
The building with its spectacular entrance was built in 1910 and served as the headquarters of one of the biggest timber companies in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Síp utca 17
Architects Sándor and Béla Löffler designed this building too – they used to have their office here. The blue, iridescent Zsolnay tiles above the entrance are beautiful details on the façade, but the renovated gate with the bird motifs is a real spectacle.
Széchenyi Baths Széchenyi Baths are one of the largest thermal spa complexes of Europe, favoured by all visiting Budapest. With this in mind, they may contain the most frequently examined entrance in Budapest.
St. Stephen’s Basilica The biggest neoclassicist church in Budapest is an awe-inspiring spectacle with its 96-metre-high dome. Majestic in every detail, one of the Basilica’s gates shows portraits of the 12 apostles carved in relief.
Szilágyi Erzsébet fasor 1
Peacock motifs ornament this wrought-iron gate, which is the most enticing element of the façade, a real hidden gem.
Úri utca 72
This building in the Castle District, dating back to medieval times, was bought by the Hungarian National Bank in the 1930s. Though somewhat ordinary-looking, it has its own secrets, though – 15 metres below, there’s a cave system which was transformed into a multi-level bunker. This was planned to be storage space for the gold supply of Hungary and the Holy Crown during World War II.
Vas utca 9
One of the most enthralling buildings in the neighbourhood, this school was designed by Béla Lajta. Apart from the beautifully designed gate, the footing of the building is worth noting, too, with its carvings of zeppelins and steamers. The entrance shows a sentence in Latin to motivate students: “Non scolae sed vitae discimus”, that is, “We do not learn for school, but for life”, which is a witty turn on a famous Seneca quote – in one of his letters, he lamented the fact that the opposite was true.
Vécsey utca 1
A wooden carving reads “Budapesti Műhely” (Budapest Workshop) above the Vécsey utca entrance of the building near Szabadság tér. This used to be architect and artist Lajos Kozma’s interior design shop; the portal was restored to its original form based on contemporary photographs.
+1 BKV - Budapest Traffic Control Centre
You probably have not examined in detail the monumental building between Üllői út and Baross utca. With its indented main door, it resembles a spaceship straight out of a sci-fi movie.
