PHOTOS: The Hungarian town where a cat is mayor

Frau Bürgermeisterin von Gödöllő, the mayor of Gödöllő. Source: Facebook/Frau Bürgermeisterin von Gödöllő

In Hungary, in Pest county, there is a town called Gödöllő. In Gödöllő, there is a mayor’s office. And in Gödöllő’s mayor’s office, there is a cat. And that cat has a job. She is the mayor of Gödöllő!

The Gödöllő office cat became famous as mayor. The four-legged dignitary has 12,000 followers on Facebook. Her full name is Frau Bürgermeisterin von Gödöllő and it means the Mayoress of Gödöllő. However, she is mostly called Bürgi, Femina writes.

The mayor cat of Gödöllő is famous on social media

Frau Bürgermeisterin von Gödöllő, the mayor of Gödöllő. Source: Facebook/Frau Bürgermeisterin von Gödöllő

Her Facebook page has more than 12,000 followers and she is now a tourist attraction in Gödöllő. She is the right hand of György Gémesi, Gödöllő’s (official) mayor. Mr Gémesi was not initially happy about her presence, and in fact didn’t even want to hear about her living in the office. However, he later changed his mind about her.

Bürgi’s story began when she followed Csaba Péteri, press chief, down the street and was almost hit by a car. She was scared and went into the building to rest. The office staff surrounded her with love and offered her temporary accommodation, and the then-clerk of the office soon allowed Bürgi to stay permanently.

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Everyone loves Bürgi

Frau Bürgermeisterin von Gödöllő, the mayor of Gödöllő. Source: Facebook/Frau Bürgermeisterin von Gödöllő

First, György Gémesi mayor wasn’t too happy about her stay. “I admit I was not happy about it. I didn’t know what the staff and customers would think, as it would be an animal in the municipality building. But in four years we’ve had nothing but positive feedback, Bürgi is loved by everyone. Even I love her,” admits Mayor György Gémesi.

Since then, Bürgi has received the Swedish ambassador and several members of parliament, and once the mayor of Riga sent him a letter of appreciation, Blikk reports. On busy weekdays, the colourful office cat roams freely around the building, sometimes taking a moment to walk into a conference, sit down, watch intently, pretend to care.

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Other times, she visits, for example, the events organiser Ágnes Ruppert in her office. “She is never in the way, always coming and going at the best time she sees fit. In the meantime, she gives me ideas and calms me with her presence,” Blikk quotes Ágnes as saying. She also gets on well with clients. And, unlike most cats, Bürgi is not scared of strangers, of whom there are plenty in an office.