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115 years of the Hungarian Parliament
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The Parliament of Hungary was built in 20 years, using 30,000 square meters of stone and 40 million bricks. The building was completed 115 years ago on 8 October 1902, according to Pestbuda.hu.
After the Ottoman Empire conquered the southern parts of Hungary — including Buda — the national assembly was relocated to Pozsony (Bratislava) for almost two centuries. The idea of moving it to Pest came up in 1843.
The city was situated in the middle of the country and it was also an intersection of trade routes, so it was a splendid spot for establishing a true capital.
When the assembly agreed on the location of the building, they appointed József Lechner and Lajos Zerger as respondents of constructing the Parliament. 42 entries were submitted for the competition. The plans were not evaluated by the deadline for a mysterious reason, so they were sent to the National Archive, where they suffered some damages during the Revolution of 1848-’49.
The construction of the building was decided in 1880, and an embodiment was established to conclude the plans. Master architects Antal Weber and Miklós Ybl were among the members. Prime minister Kálmán Tisza got his hands on the designs of two other European parliaments that were under construction at that time: the one in London and the other in Vienna.
The new competition was announced in April 1882, and by February 1883, 19 entries were submitted. Four plans were awarded: Imre Steindl, Alajos Hauszmann, Albert Schikedanz and Vilmos Freund, and Otto Wagner were the winner contenders.
The embodiment decided to build the National Assembly’s headquarters in Neo-Gothic style like the English Parliament.
This meant that Steindl’s design came true, and Milkós Ybl also participated in the progress.
The plans were developed for almost one year before introducing them to the embodiment in 1884. The new designs put the building 72 meters North and the structure became narrower but taller.
After the council accepted the plans, the maquette of the Parliament was revealed to the public. Critics did not wait long. Most of the controversy originated from the Gothic style which many considered German and anti-Hungarian. But not only the commoners criticized the plans: the National Embassy was also divided by the question whether this building was worth the high expenses or not.
