Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony has welcomed the government’s willingness to consider renovating the long-abandoned Budapest Planetarium and the Népliget, while sharply criticising the previous Orbán administration for allowing the landmark educational attraction to fall into disrepair.
In a Facebook post published over the weekend, Karácsony said the Planetarium, located in the Népliget (People’s Park in English), had been an important place of learning for generations before closing in 2017. Since then, he said, the building’s condition has steadily deteriorated.
“Among the Orbán government’s many failures was allowing the Planetarium in Népliget to decay,” the mayor wrote.
Minister signals support for renovation
Karácsony revealed that he had recently raised the Planetarium’s future with Zoltán Tanács, Hungary’s Minister for Science and Technology, who announced on Friday that he intends to recommend to the government that the building be renovated and given a new purpose.
The mayor described the announcement as encouraging, arguing that the future of the Planetarium cannot be separated from the wider regeneration of Népliget. “The renewal of the Planetarium and Népliget is inconceivable without one another,” he said.
Hungary’s largest historic public park
Karácsony described Népliget as Hungary’s largest historic public park, stressing that its restoration is not merely a Budapest issue but a project of national importance encompassing urban development, environmental protection and cultural heritage.
The park, jointly owned by the capital, the state and the district authority, has suffered decades of decline despite its valuable tree stock and protected status as a historic garden since 2005. According to the mayor, the deteriorating condition of the Planetarium has contributed to the park’s broader decline.
Masterplan already prepared
The Budapest Municipality says it has spent several years preparing a comprehensive redevelopment strategy for Népliget as part of its Radó Dezső Plan.
The project has included public consultations, cooperation with government bodies and district authorities, the preparation of a strategic development plan and a landscape architecture design competition held in 2022. Based on the winning proposals, the city is now finalising an implementation plan that would guide the park’s gradual transformation.
The plans include renovating green spaces throughout the park, improving pedestrian, cycling and public transport access, expanding recreational and leisure facilities, calming traffic on roads that currently divide the park, demolishing abandoned pavilions, and resolving long-standing land ownership issues. Here are the original plans from 2022:
Transport improvements could transform the park
Karácsony also highlighted several major transport projects that could significantly improve access to Népliget. The Hungarian Museum of Transport will remain adjacent to the park, while the planned development of Budapest’s Orbital Railway (Körvasút) is expected to include a new railway station serving the area.
Combined with existing metro, tram, bus and cycling links, these investments could make Népliget one of the capital’s most accessible public parks, opening up new opportunities for recreation and tourism.
Funding dispute with previous government
The mayor argued that the first phase of the regeneration could have been financed through European Union funding, but claimed the previous government blocked the project for political reasons. He expressed hope that Hungary’s new government would instead become a partner in delivering both the Planetarium’s restoration and the wider renewal of Népliget.
Karácsony said he has already sent the detailed redevelopment plans to Science and Technology Minister Zoltán Tanács, seeking cooperation on what he described as a historic opportunity to restore one of Budapest’s most significant public spaces.
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A park with more than 120 years of history
Népliget’s origins date back to the late 19th century, when landscaping began on the site of a former sand quarry and landfill. Its development accelerated ahead of Hungary’s Millennium celebrations in 1896, providing new green space while nearby City Park was occupied by exhibition grounds.
The park enjoyed its heyday between the two world wars, featuring amusement attractions and entertainment venues, while prestigious motor races were held there until the 1970s. From 1977 until its closure in 2017, the Budapest Planetarium became one of the city’s best-known educational attractions, introducing generations of visitors to astronomy and space science.
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Hey Greg, you dips…, how about you first remove those small, stubby concrete disks in the middle of the sidewalk on the lower embankment, approaching Szabadsag hid from the Petofi hid, right by the bus parking?
They serve no purpose, are difficult to see, and are a trip hazard. I was running there the other day, tripped over one, and fell. Got injured pretty bad. I should sue his piece of s… administration for millions, and maybe I will. He’ll then see what it means to REALLY go bankrupt.