Buda’s oldest market hall turns 120 years old – PHOTOS then and now!

After two years of construction, the oldest market hall on the Buda side of the Hungarian capital was opened to the public in April 1902 at Batthyány Square. Although the building has served many purposes over time, its architectural value still retains its former charm.

In the late 19th century, a large-scale programme for the construction of market halls was launched in Budapest to provide adequate supplies for the citizens. The aim of the project was to create indoor spaces where people could buy food in hygienic conditions.

As a result, in the 1890s, five halls were built on the Pest side, including the most famous Great Market Hall. A few years later, the construction of two market halls started on the Buda side.

One of them is the Batthyány Square market hall, celebrating its 120th anniversary this year.

As Hungarian news portal PestBuda reports, the buildings were built on reinforced concrete foundations, with steel frames and brickwork, in an appealing design. Despite the original plans, the Buda market hall has been the subject of much controversy. This included the size of the hall, whether it should have a cellar or not, and how ornate it should be. The construction of the building began in 1900 with the demolition of the houses at the site.

The new market hall was opened to the public in April 1902.

Due to the limited space inside, Buda vendors had priority to enter the building, while Pest vendors could only enter if there was space left. In addition, no crafts were allowed to be sold here.

This, or even the popularity of the market halls in Pest, may have been one of the reasons why Buda’s first market hall was initially unprofitable, with no visitors or customers. All this remained unchanged for decades, so in the 1930s, there was talk of turning the building into a tennis hall. Eventually, this did not get carried out.

The building survived the Second World War and underwent a complete renovation in the 1970s. Its former gallery was converted into an upper floor that was home to the large Budapest flower market.

The building was last refurbished in 2003 and is currently used as a shopping centre. Nevertheless, its architectural value still retains its former charm.

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Source: pestbuda.hu