-Meet you at Moszkva Sq tonight? -Yeah, great! We 'll be up at Bisztro till like 11pm, that we're heading to Ötkert. -Ötkeert?? Where is it? -You never been there? Wanna come? It's just a little walk to the left at Roosevelt Square towards the Basilica. -I see... Then just go without me! I gotta pick up my sister at Ferihegy and there is always such a long jam at Lágymányosi bridge, I won't be able to make it...

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However it seems like an ordinary conversation, the insiders already knows that four of the above mentioned public names have already changed. It takes a good tourist with a simple guidebook not to get lost in the city, even us aboriginals have trouble sometimes locating ourselves. If you missed the changes, want to know the background story or just memorize your fresh knowledge, join us in our little tour in the “new” Budapest from John-Paul II to Elvis Presley. Just a brief intro: The eventful history of the 20th century has made renaming an ordinary phenomenon at Budapest. Almost every inhabitant of the city have lived through at least one system-change and the hassle of memorizing the new names. After the glory of the Empire, the founders of the Communist Republic were the first plate-changers in 1919. In the 1930s and ‘40s the far right and from the 50’s the socialist ideology determined the street names. During the big system change of 1989-90 hundreds of streets and squares have regained their pre-war names and it seemed that the brainstorming has finally reconciled. Just an example: the city’s most famous street, Andrassy Avenue has changed its name fivefold during the past 125 years. No matter what, even 20 years after the system change, the watchful clerks still found 28 inappropriate names on the Budapest-map, so the Capital decided to change them in 2011, we selected from these as well.

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Moszkva (Moscow) Sq ⇒Szell Kalman Sq

The Moscow Sq is the grey, raunchy center of the green and rich Buda hills. Thousands of people run across this concrete jungle every day, the cultic meeting point of the Buda side youth with its overhead clock, bistro and Korean missionaries. The depressingly socialist-realist atmosphere was perfectly justified by the old name that somehow survived the 1989 renaming-wave. Its old-new name is Szell Kalman Sq. Till 1951 the square bore the name of the ex-prime minister with a unique facial hair who was an advocate of the stable budget. Szell’s biggest achievement was the founding of the Austro-Hungarian Bank and in the meanwhile he seduced the daughter or Mihaly Vorosmarty, one of the most famous Hungarian poets. Due to the Russian diplomacy’s disapproval, currently the location of Moscow Sq in on the search, but the “genius loci” stays at Buda, no matter what!

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Margaret Bridge, Buda ⇒Elvis Presley Park

Budapest, Margit híd
Több infó

If we jump on the tram at Szell Sq, it takes only three stops till a brand new place. The capital’s leadership has been quite hard on the Buda side of the Margaret Bridge, it didn’t have a name so far. To comfort this problem, the square bears the name of Elvis Presley from spring. The apropos of the change was thet on the 6th of January, 1957 Elvis sang Peace In The Valley at the Ed Sullivan TV Show to express his solidarity with the Hungarina freedom fighters of 1956 by calling Americans for public charity. The program was watched by a crowd of 35 million Americans who donated 26 million Swiss Francs to Hungary. Funfact: the council of the 2nd district ordered two extra plates, supposing that it will be a popular souvenir among Elvis-fans.

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Koztarsasag (Republic) Sq ⇒John Paul II. Sq

Halfway across Blaha Sq and Keleti Station, we can find the biggest square of the Nyócker, the infamous Ghetto of the 8th district. Besides being big, there is nothing special about the place. The Erkel Theatre stands at the north corner (being closed for many years), in the south the Nepszinhaz St station of metro 4 is under construction, and the Socialist Party’s ex-building is also found here. The new denominator is the most popular pope ever, John Paul II. whose great mission was connecting cultures and religions of the world, preaching peace. He visited Hungary twice: in 1991 and in 1996.

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Lagymanyosi Bridge ⇒Rakoczi Bridge

This is the second newest bridge in the city, inaugurated in 1996. The fast development of South-Pest and Buda accounted for a new bridge in the area. Giving a name to this bridge has always been a tough one. In the beginning St. Laszlo, later on Zoltan Latinovits (the famous actor), Lajos Kossuth, St. Stephan, and King Mathias have been discussed, but finally the politically neutral Lagymanyos borough turned out as winner. The name-change arose alongside the “street-rebaptizing project” and currently the Rakoczi family is about to win. The name of the family that “produced” numerous Princes of Transylvania is closely related to the Rackoczi Uprising of 1703 which aimed independence from the Habsburg Empire. The most famous figure of the noble family, Francis Rakoczi II is also featured on the 500 Ft banknote.

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Ferihegy ⇒Franz Liszt International Airport

1185 Budapest, BUD Nemzetközi Repülőtér
Több infó

The testing of the tourist begins at the moment of landing. You think you’re well informed? If you thought that you’ll land at Ferihegy you’re wrong! Since march, the official new name is Franz Liszt International Airport. Actually the name Ferihegy (lit. Fred Hill) was a total mixup. Who was this Fred, and what kind of Hill does the name refer to, because it is totally plain all the way around. According to urban legends the first beer brewer of Kobanya, Ferenc Mayerffy was the denominator of the airport, whose work created the founding of the Hungarian beer-industry, later represented by Antal Dreher in the area. The new name though, Franz Liszt doesn’t need any explanation, he was the best piano-virtuoso of all times and one of the most famous composers of the 19th century Romantics. In 2011 we’re celebrating the 200th anniversary of his birth, hence the new name of the airport, where the inauguration of the new developments was overlapping.