Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Hungarian National Museum in 1919. The statue was erected in the 1930s, removed after
World War II, and reinstated by the Communists prior to President George Bush's visit in
1989.
Hungarian State Treasury
RightbehindtheUSembassyliesafineexampleofHungarianArtNouveau.Thetiledfacade
of the
HungarianStateTreasury
is patterned like a quilt, with swarms of bees symbolizing
thrift - this was originally the
Post Office Savings Bank
(Postatakarékpénztár). The poly-
chromatic roof with its beehives and dragon tails is the wildest part of the building. Its ar-
chitect, Ödön Lechner, once asked why birds shouldn't enjoy his buildings too, and amazing
roofs are a feature of his other masterpieces in Budapest, the
Geological Institute
and the
Ap-
plied Arts Museum
.
The interior is only open to the public on European Heritage Days, but
a small display of photographs of the interior gives you a taste of the design in the foyer, ac-
cessible during banking hours.
Belvárosi market hall
Vásárcsarnok • V, Hold utca 13 • Mon-Thurs 6.30am-5pm, Fri 6.30am-6pm
Diagonally across the street from the State Treasury is a wrought-iron
market hall
, one of
five opened on a single day in 1896 and which still serve the centre of Pest; it's much less
touristythanthe
GreatMarketHall
onVámházkörútandalsohasafewsimpleeateries cater-
ing for workers hereabouts. Its rear entrance will bring you out on Vadász utca, not far from
one of Budapest's least-known memorials to the Holocaust.
Glass House Memorial Room
Üvegház Emlékszoba • V, Vadász utca 29 • Daily 1-4pm • Free, donations accepted • 1 242 6964,
uve-
The
Glass House Memorial Room
was named both for the extensive use of glass in its
Modernist design and for its erstwhile role as a glass showroom. From 1944 to 1945, it was
one of many properties in Budapest that was designated as neutral territory by the Swiss con-
sul Carl Lutz (1895-1975) serving as a refuge for three thousand Jews and the underground
Zionist Youth organization. An
exhibition
(to the right in the courtyard) explains how Lutz
and other “Righteous Gentiles” managed to save thousands of Jews from the SS and Ar-
row Cross death squads by issuing Schutzpasses to Jews, attesting that they were Swiss or
Swedish citizens - a ruse subsequently used by Wallenberg. After the war Lutz was criti-
cized for abusing Swiss law and, feeling slighted, proposed himself for the Nobel Peace Pr-
ize. While their co-religionists from the provinces were transported en masse to Auschwitz,
the Jews of Budapest faced random executions in the heart of the capital, within full view of
Parliament
and their Gentile compatriots, who seemed more offended by the bloodshed than
outraged by their murder. Inside, exhibits include a letter to Lutz from Admiral Horthy, as
