The fifth annual “Budapest100” event this weekend puts 60 hundred-year-old buildings in the spotlight, along with numerous programs. To celebrate the five-year milestone, not only those residences, schools, churches and public institutions built in 1915 will open their doors but also older buildings finished between 1911 and 1914.
Budapest is the child of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The construction boom was especially characteristic of the first two decades of the past century, blessing the city with many beautiful buildings that we can see today.
The social community project called Budapest100 launched in 2011 with the goal of presenting to the public each April those various buildings that are celebrating their 100th birthday. According to the project’s motto “Every house is interesting!” (the original Hungarian sentence goes: “Minden ház érdekes!”), so the historic buildings are presented with many colourful programs such as exhibitions, theatre, concerts and organised tours.
The luxurious Radisson Blu Béke Hotel in District VI will also open its doors for visitors
The history of a unique project
The history of the unique architectural event began as a joint initiative by the Open Society Archives (OSA) and the KÉK Hungarian Centre for Contemporary Architecture. The OSA celebrated the 100th birthday of Goldberger House in 2011, in which the organisation is seated. This gave the idea to start a civil urban movement that unites people from all generations and every social background to celebrate the centenary of the city’s architectural treasures.
Since then Budapest100 has presented a range of 100-year-old buildings each year, with great success. The number of visitors grows continually and so do the accompanying events. The project has received much praise not only from participants but in the Hungarian and international press too. The British daily newspaper The Guardian listed Budapest100 in its 2013 calendar of the best cultural events in Europe, and with good reason.
However, Budapest100 would not exist without the engagement of the numerous volunteers, local patriots, history fans and enterprising residents living in the many houses. Lots of the residents themselves help to research the history of their houses and contribute with personal memories to enrich the story. Everyone joins in where they can – it could even be baking cookies for a picnic in the courtyard.
The Petőfi barracks
What to expect this year
The birthday program this Saturday and Sunday contains, besides the usual visits and picnics, a broad range of cultural and family programs. For the little ones, many places will offer playing corners or craft possibilities. For those people interested in history and architecture professionally, special events will be offered, including presentations by historians and architects.
In cultural terms the program is offering a broad range of choices such as concerts, poetry readings, film presentations and exhibitions. A young fashion designer is organising a fashion show at District V’s Falk Miksa utca 3 with the slogan “(P)esti Nő!” (Woman from Pest / Woman of the evening), which will present different evening dresses actually worn by women from Pest.
Some of the especially interesting and unusual buildings this year are the seat of the Forensic Institute in 70-78 Fő utca, District II, the former royal, Hungarian tobacco factory in 59 Budafoki utca in District XI and the Petőfi barracks in 49-51 Budaörsi utca, District XI. The luxurious Radisson Blu Béke Hotel in District VI will also open its doors for visitors, as will many other less known but not any less impressive buildings.
This year’s event offers more possibilities for non-Hungarians than last year. Some of the guided tours will be held in English. A highlight of the foreign-language programs, for example, promises to be the tour through the architectural history of the District I quarter between Batthyány tér and Corvin tér, led by architect Péter Sugár this Sunday.
The former royal, Hungarian tobacco factory
Budapest100: five years in pictures
The Ervin Szabó Budapest City Library will present an exhibition about the five-year history of Budapest100. The Wenckheim Palace in District VIII that houses the library is already 111 years old, making it the oldest open building during the event. The neo-baroque palace has perhaps the most spectacular reading room in all Europe.
Where students now prepare for their exams, earls once enjoyed their cigars and ladies powdered their noses as they dined or danced at balls. The rooms with rococo decoration have housed many Hollywood productions, the most recent only this month when the US-American production “Casanova” shot a historic scene.
Although the tours and events are free of charge, it is necessary to register in advance online at www.budapest100.hu, which has basic information and short stories, often with historic connotations, about the participating buildings.