Legendary stories about the world-famous New York Café in Budapest
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The walls of the more than 120 years old New York Café in Budapest, which was chosen as the world’s most beautiful café, have seen a lot of things… The regular guests included famous Hungarian poets, authors who always found inspiration at the tables of “Nyeho”. Below you find some intriguing legends and stories found on the official website of the café.
Ferenc Molnár and the key of the New York Café
Rumour had it that the opening of the café in 1894 was attended by the celebrated representatives of the cultural world.
According to the legend, in the heat of the moment, Ferenc Molnár and his mates threw the key of the New York Café into the Danube so that the café would never close again.
However, there are some flaws in the story concerning that Ferenc Molnár was only a teenager at the time, so most probably he was not invited. But it might be the case that the story actually happened at the reopening of the café, which remains a legend due to the lack of documentation.
What is certain that the Directorate of the café re-examined the story in 2014, but they did not find any evidence. Nonetheless, in order to stay true to the tradition, they threw the keys into the Danube so that the café would be open for at least 120 more years.
The Statue of Liberty fresco
Several legends are known about one of the most famous frescos of the café, which is found next to the entrance and depicts the Statue of Liberty.
Based on the legend, the fresco was made before the inauguration of the statue itself in New York.
But the truth is that the opening of the New York Café happened ten years later than the mounting of the statue.
