Budapest’s Nyugati railway station got prestigious film award

A memorial plaque designated to the Nyugati (Western) railway station as a Treasure of European Film Culture was unveiled in the iconic building’s hall in Budapest on Friday.

The title was awarded to Nyugati by the Berlin-based European Film Academy (EFA) in 2022, said Csaba Káel, government commissioner for film and the director of the National Film Institute. The architectural design is the work of Austrian architect August W. de Serres, while the structure of the hall was designed by Gustav Eiffel’s engineering firm, Káel noted. One of Hungary’s oldest railway stations, Nyugati has featured in many international and Hungarian films, he said.

Among the foreign titles, it can be seen in Tony Scott’s Spy Game starring Robert Redford, Brad Pitt and Catherine McCormack, as well as in Steven Spielberg’s Munich and Tomas Alfredson’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy with Gary Oldman, Colin Firth and Tom Hardy, said the commissioner. Last year, it served as a venue for a Gucci commercial, he added. The Hungarian films featuring the railway station include Istvan Szabo’s Sunshine with Ralph Fiennes as well as Hanussen, Káel said.

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The Treasures of European Film Culture form a growing network of memorable places people can visit, reminding them of the great and remarkable history of European cinema, Matthijs Wouter Knol, CEO and director of EFA, said at the unveiling event. Claire Legras, the ambassador of France, said Nyugati railway station was a symbol of Hungarian-French cultural ties.