Liget Budapest

Orbán cabinet insists on Budapest assembly’s ‘clear position’ on state projects

Liget City Park Budapest Construction of House of Hungarian Music to start soon

The government will continue in its commitment to state-financed projects in Budapest if there is concensus between the central government and the municipality concerning those investments, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office told his weekly press conference on Tuesday.

Gergely Gulyás said that the government had reviewed and expressed its support for the projects under way, but indicated that “a clear position by the municipal assembly is essential”.

The government will strive for a “fair partnership” with Budapest’s new leaders and will “observe the principles it has followed in the past nine years”, Gulyás said.

He added that a strong and prosperous capital was in the interest of the government, which has served as a basis for their cooperation in recent years. He noted that

combined value of state-financed projects completed since 2010 in Budapest reached nearly 2,000 billion forints, while projects under way were worth another 4,400 billion forints.

For example, Gulyás mentioned the renovation of the third metro line, construction of two sports stadiums, and work under the Liget Project, and said that the government would continue supporting those projects “if Budapest so wishes”. Concerning the Liget Project, Gulyás said that

the government was awaiting the new assembly’s position on the works under way and said that “if possible, we won’t demolish projects already completed” and noted that the new National Gallery and the House of Innovation buildings were still in the design phase.

Answering a question, Gulyás said that 20,000 housing units were being built in Budapest in 2019, and the construction authority had issued 18,000 building permits for next year.

“We cannot say that there is any less spirit for construction,” he added.

Concerning another question if the prime minister has answered an invitation for talks with Gergely Karácsony, Budapest’s new mayor, Gulyás said that his office had not received a written invitation. He added that the answer will first be sent to the proponent of the talks and the public would be informed later. He also said that “there is a point in having talks only when the city knows what it wants to achieve”. He added that the government’s recent decisions will “help the mayor determine what he and the city want”.

Commenting on remarks of Johann Wadephul, the parliamentary group leader of Germany’s CDU party, on Hungary’s stance regarding Turkey, Gulyás said Wadephul “should acquaint himself more with the standpoint of his own government which is very close to the Hungarian stance these days”. Another migration wave of three to four million people would harm Germany the most, he said.

Regarding Fidesz’s membership in the European People’s Party, which was suspended in March, Gulyas said a full membership for Fidesz currently had “a fifty percent chance”. The question is whether the direction of the party and the EPP are compatible, he said.

On the nomination of commissioners into the new European Commission, Gulyás said that the government’s pick, EU ambassador Oliver Várhelyi, has not received any criticism. The Hungarian government does not have to nominate a female candidate along with Varhelyi, he said, as it had announced its nomination well ahead of Ursula von der Leyen was elected EC president.

Gulyás said US media reports claiming the Orbán had influenced US President Donald Trump regarding Ukraine were “fake news”. He added that Hungary trusted Ukraine’s new leaders would be better than their predecessors.

Budapest’s new museum quarter’s facilities to open by 2023 – VIDEO

New mayor Karácsony vows to block further construction projects in City Park

One of the new Budapest municipal assembly’s first decisions will to block any future construction permits for new buildings in Budapest’s City Park, Gergely Karácsony, the city’s recently elected mayor, said in an interview on Wednesday.

In his interview to news portal Index, the mayor who was jointly backed by the opposition parties in Sunday’s local elections, said he would reduce the cost of season tickets for public transport, terminate a contract for the city’s pest control, and scrap earlier decisions concerning a planned mobile dam along the River Danube in northern Budapest.

Concerning the City Park (Liget) project, Karácsony said the assembly was scheduled to change the city’s building code in its first session, and no further construction projects would be allowed in the park. It was through recent press reports that he had learned of a building permit issued for the Ethnography Museum in the park.

But no permit for a new National Gallery has been granted, he added.

Karácsony said he was happy about a new playground and the renovation of Olaf Palme House, a 19th century edifice — the completed parts so far of the Liget Project — but added that erecting new buildings in the area would be “colossal stupidity”.

Answering a question about an earlier pledge to ban the construction of new sports stadiums, Karácsony said the mayor of Budapest had a right of veto, and he would make use of it.

On the subject of rat control in the city, Karácsony said the current contract should be terminated, and until a new public procurement procedure is completed, the earlier service provider could do the job. He warned that the rodents were causing a public health emergency in Budapest.

On the topic of parking regulations, Karácsony noted that many district authorities had outsourced the collection of parking fees to private companies.

Karácsony said he would work towards issuing a municipal decree forbidding districts from prolonging those contracts.

Regarding fare prices of Budapest public transport firm BKK, Karácsony said they were aiming to make public transport free of charge up to the age of fourteen, depending on BKK’s financial status, “which is not yet clear to us”. He said the price of season tickets should not be raised, and indeed should be cut, to motivate travellers to buy annual tickets.

Regarding the reconstruction of Budapest’s iconic Chain Bridge and the surrounding areas, Karácsony said that his predecessor, István Tarlós, had “probably made the right decision” when he called off the tender “because it was overpriced”. The same goes for the tender on revamping the middle section of metro line 3, he said.

Karácsony said that downtown Budapest should gradually be made car-free.

The first steps would be to build P+R parks and to “start a public discussion” on a congestion fee for cars in downtown Budapest, he said. This, he added, should be introduced temporarily before a referendum is held on whether it should remain a permanent arrangement.

Regarding Lokal, a freesheet, Karácsony said he would instruct BKK to immediately terminate the contract with the paper. They will also prohibit public dissemination of “hatemongering propaganda” in the streets of Budapest as far as that is possible, he said.

The mayor said the conditions of homeless shelters would be improved ahead of the winter. The aim is to significantly reduce the number of people living on the streets of the city by the end of his term, he said.

He said all current directors of municipal theatres should complete their mandates, and new directors would be selected through a public competition.

The mayor backed by Momentum, the Democratic Coalition, the Socialist Party alliance with Parbeszed and LMP will govern as part of a coalition and he said he planned to work alongside 3-4 deputy mayors.

Budapest’s City Park will be family-friendly with seven new playgrounds

Liget-Budapest-CIty-Park

The project to transform Budapest’s City Park (Liget) into “a cultural and recreational space unmatched in the whole of Europe” is proceeding apace, László Baán, the government commissioner for the project, said in interviews to MTI and the daily Magyar Nemzet.

The park occupying more than 13,000sqft features around 50 playground installations, including a three-level climbing feature inspired by Paul Szinyei Merse’s painting Airship, all opening towards the end of the month. The playground, Hungary’s most complex and state-of-the-art, comes on the heels of the inauguration of the renovated Millennium House (formerly Olaf Palme House), he told MTI.

Baán emphasised that the City Park would be family-friendly, with a total of seven new playgrounds.

The state’s investment in Liget Budapest, the large-scale project that will also transform the Liget into a museums quarter, could be recouped in 15 years,

Baán told Wednesday’s Magyar Nemzet.

“From 2023, after the renovation of the City Park is completed in a manner befitting the 21st century, the country will have a new cultural attraction of such a scale that state monies spent on the project are expected to be recouped within 15 years through the extra revenue from tourism it generates,” Baan said.

He added that

the Liget, “a cultural and recreational space that will be unmatched in all of Europe”, will serve its most frequent visitors first: Hungarians.

Baán, who is also the director of the Museum of Fine Arts, an anchor of the Liget Budapest project, said that Hungarian museums drew an annual 20 million visitors in the 1980s, but that number was halved in the 1990s as they were forced to compete with other attractions for visitors’ time and money. He said Hungarian museums were late to adapt to the international trend among such institutions to become less academic and “speak a language intelligible to everybody”, but said they “have become and are becoming more visitor-friendly”. He also noted the Museum of Fine Art’s “ground-breaking role” in getting this process rolling in Hungary some 15 years earlier.

https://dailynewshungary.com/news_to_go/check-out-the-renovation-process-of-budapests-city-park-video/

Hungary’s first smart city to be created in the City Park

Budapest green spaces coronavirus

Within the framework of the Budapest Smart Liget Project, Hungary’s first smart city zone will be realised by 2023. Thanks to its solutions which are considered to be unique within the European region, the city is going to be one of the most environment-friendly, zero-emission areas – reported Benedek Gyorgyevics, CEO of City Park Inc. to MTI.

“Smart ICT developments and special solutions of future City Park result in energy-efficient and economical operation, by which energy consumption of local buildings, and ecological footprint of institutions can be decreased significantly”– he added.

According to the Hungarian news portal hirado.hu, new features of the Smart Park system will be delineated within the framework of Emobility Forum 2019 national conference – by István Tarlós, Major and László Palkovics, Minister for Innovation and Technology. The forum will be held at Millennium Park Event Center on 18th and 19th September.

Connection between the different digital services of the area provides – besides 21st-century visitor experience – efficient and sustainable operation and security.

Additionally – due to non-car zones, vegetation and restoration of renewable resources – City Park will become a zero-emission zone, by which the greenest place of the capital will be created.

“By 2023, new institutions will be opened, the renewed green park area will get realised by all its beauty, so the new city park will be one of the most dynamically developing part of Budapest” – said Benedek Gyorgyevics. During the design of the Smart Park, Vienna‘s smart city developments were taken into consideration; solutions were created based on those experiences.

All the services of the new City Park – no matter whether it is sporting, cultural, recreational or transport-related – will be available on a smartphone application or City Park’s website; it can be quickly and easily used, or even customised.

By way of example, he highlighted that the wi-fi network would cover the whole zone; the primary system will easily connect to Google Maps, Waze or Bubi, by which drivers will be able to check free parking places around the area and the possible routes. For electric cars, several charging stations will be created in the new underground garages.

The smart system supports accessibility as well – including blind and visually impaired people. “This is a priority for the City Park Ltd., as several institutions can be found in the vicinity of the area which are dedicated to the assistance of partially-sighted people”- said Benedek Gyorgyevics.

Featured image: www.facebook.com/varosliget.budapest/

Budapest – New circus will be built close to Nyugati Railway Station!

Circus Budapest

According to the Hungarian government’s decision, a new building will be built for the Hungarian circus art next to the Nyugati Railway Station. Until the termination of The National Circus Art Center’s construction – which is realised within the framework of Liget Budapest project – the institution is operating on its current site, in the City Park, in the vicinity of Budapest Zoo.

Based on the government’s decision – the two times greater National Circus Art Center will be built on a five times larger territory – announced by Péter Fekete, Cultural Secretary of Human Resources Department.

He also added: construction of The National Circus Art Center will be realised in one of the most valuable areas of ​​Budapest, near the Western Railway Station; and will reflect the size and quality of the world-famous Hungarian circus art. Additionally, the centre will not only serve as a circus but will operate as a school, museum and research centre. Further good news is that during the new building’s construction, Capital Circus of Budapest will smoothly operate in its present location, in the City Park.

As the Hungarian news portal magyarnemzet.hu describes, government decision on the implementation of the project appeared in the Official Gazette on Friday night. The centre will be built within the framework of the Liget Budapest project; it will be realised next to Nyugati Railway Station, bounded by Eiffel Square, Podmaniczky street and Ferdinand Bridge areas. According to the Cabinet’s decision, circus facilities of Zugló and Cinkota will be maintained and even renovated. In December 2015, government decree of Liget Budapest project concluded the construction of the new building. Two years later, the government decided to build the complex in a new place.

Péter Fekete, former director of the Capital Circus of Budapest already emphasised in 2015 that – a site next to Nyugati Railway Station would meet main demands, as it would be visible from 4 and 6 trams as well; furthermore, an appropriate floor space could be created for the future circus art centre.

Featured image: www.facebook.com/nagycirkusz/

Budapest’s new museum quarter’s facilities to open by 2023 – VIDEO

All of the new facilities designed under the Liget Budapest museum quarter project will be opened by 2023, adding substantial green areas to the City Park, the ministerial commissioner for the project said on Monday.

The construction of two-thirds of the buildings has either been completed or is under way, László Baán told MTI.

Next to open will be the House of Millenium in the autumn with an exhibition presenting “The First Golden Age of Budapest and the City Park”, in the fully restored, 130-year-old former Olof Palme House, Baán said.

The construction of the new National Gallery, the House of Hungarian Innovations and the Városliget Theatre, an Art Nouveau building demolished in 1952, will begin at the end of this year and in early 2020, he said.

The construction of the House of Hungarian Music and the new facility for the Museum of Ethnography will be completed within a year, Benedek Györgyevics, the director-general of the project company said.

Below, you can check out all of the facilities that have been inaugurated in 2019 so far:

UNESCO: Budapest’s MOL Tower and Liget Project are distressing

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation released a report on 21 June 2019 about world heritage locations, upcoming projects, and their concerns and opinions regarding these future plans. The report includes the Hungarian capital as well, emphasising the situation about the futuristic MOL Tower and Liget Project in the City Park.

The report includes the efforts and plans about protecting Budapest’s world heritage sights: the coast of the Danube, City Park, Andrássy Avenue, and the Castle District of Buda – reports HVG. Although some steps forward happened, UNESCO believes that there is a severe lack of important procedures. For example, there is no one representative of the projects undertaken on these world heritage sights, and there is no complex plan about improving the Hungarian capital.

According to the report, the Hauszmann-plan – in the Castle District – includes renovations and building new objects which are dangerous and have high risks.

“It is recommended that the Committee express its concern regarding the lack of an appropriate approach for the ongoing and proposed works being undertaken as part of the Hauszmann Plan for the Buda Castle Quarter which involves substantial reconstruction and new construction of the Royal Palace and adjoining civic district and represents a specific and imminent threat. The general policy to reconstruct buildings or parts that have been destroyed during World War II or in the Communist period in order to recover an idealised older history is leading to an important and cumulative loss of authenticity of the property” (WHC Add 3, p. 6).

Buda Castle Kastély Vár

The report focuses on the plans of the Museum of Ethnography planned to be built in City Park. They believe that the project should be halted as soon as possible, but the project, to UNESCO’s disappointment, had not been stopped. The same concerns and points were written down about the Biodome as well.

Museum of Ethnography
Photo: Museum of Ethnography

Furthermore, the Committee believes that the plans of the MOL Tower (District 11) would also have a negative impact on Budapest’s view.

“New stricter regulations were introduced in July 2018 that require buildings higher than 65 metres to receive the planning council’s approval on the ‘architectural and technical plan documentation’. However, it is clearly stated that the permission for the MOL building cannot be reversed. A detailed study of the impact of high-rise buildings on OUV of the property is planned for District 11” (WHC Add 3, p. 6).

MOL Tower, future, plan, building
Photo: www.pinterest.com

The report expresses the concerns about other ongoing projects in the capital, such as “reconstruction works ongoing in the property and buffer zone for which the World Heritage Centre had no previous information, including a demolition at 52 Paulay Ede Street and a renovation of the Opera house” (WHC Add 3, p. 6).

The Committee required the Hungarian state to stop the projects which would have a negative impact on world heritage sights and to work on a complex plan about how to preserve the city’s view if these buildings and objects are born in the future.

The UNESCO Committee also required a full report until February 1, 2020, from Hungary to sum up the possible solutions for their concerns.

CLICK HERE for the full report

Featured image: www.facebook.com/miligetunk

Orbán inaugurates national museum facility

orbán Orban attends unveiling of newly purchased Renoir painting

“The identity of a nation and its civilisation is mostly reflected in culture,” Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Tuesday at the opening ceremony of the National Museum Restoration and Storage Centre.

“We are proud of Europe’s Greek, Roman, Jewish, and Christian heritage” and of the contributions Hungarians have made over the past one thousand years to that culture, Orban said. “When we see that culture endangered there is an instant red light flashing in our mind and we will take immediate action.”

“Hungarians cannot be made an ethnic or cultural minority in their own cities,” Orbán said, adding that “whenever they think that their cultural identity is challenged, alarm bells ring.”

National Museum Restoration and Storage Centre
National Museum Restoration and Storage Centre, photo: MTI

Concerning the new centre, Orbán said that

Europe had only two similar facilities, one operated by the British Museum in London and the other by the Ermitage in St. Petersburg.

The project has been “the greatest museum-related development in Hungary in recent decades”, he said. The centre will conserve over one million items and the building “makes Budapest even more beautiful, more modern, and greener”.

Referring to the collections, he said those one million items “are our living cultural heritage” rather than “dusty objects of a dead white culture as described by the left wing”. “Without the foundations of the past, we would be drifting rootlessly away in the storms of history,” Orbán added. Museums and their auxiliaries are “compasses of the mind”, he said.

National Museum Restoration and Storage Centre
National Museum Restoration and Storage Centre, photo: MTI

Orban said that Hungary’s economy “has probably in the past one hundred years has never done as well as it is doing now”. Economic achievements call for long-term cultural changes, he added.

The new centre has been built as part of the Liget Project, a huge museum complex in and near Budapest’s City Park. It will serve the collections of the Museum of Ethnography, the Museum of Fine Arts, and the National Gallery.

Orbán attends unveiling of newly purchased Renoir painting

A painting by Auguste Renoir was unveiled in presence of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in the new complex of the National Restoration and Storage Centre (OMRRK) in Budapest today.

Renoir painting
Renoir painting, photo: MTI

The Female Nude Lying was recently purchased by the Hungarian state for the Budapest Fine Arts Museum, Orbán said. The OMRRK is part of the Liget Project, a new museum quarter in City Park. A facility like OMRRK has never existed here before, Laszlo Baan, director of the Fine Arts Museum and the National Gallery, said at the event.

The storage center that contains tens of thousands of artefacts from three museums is among the world’s top facilities in terms of its size and quality, he said. The Renoir was purchased for 12.3 million dollars and will be put on display in the Fine Arts Museum from May 24.

The secret and success of the future House of Hungarian Music – Photos & Videos

Diller Scofidio + Renfro to design Hungarian Museum of Transport

Hungarian Museum of Transport

The US architecture firm of Diller Scofidio + Renfro has won an international tender to design the new Hungarian Museum of Transport in Budapest.

The new museum will be constructed on the site of an old railway maintenance depot in District X.

Hungarian Museum of Transport
Photo: www.facebook.com/Diller Scofidio + Renfro

Diller Scofidio + Renfro said its architectural plan for the museum would juxtapose the industrial heritage of the site with modern exhibition spaces.

During an earlier visit to the brownfield site, Diller Scofidio + Renfro partner Benjamin Gilmartin called the depot a “thrilling, exciting building”, one that is “heroic and dramatic”.

Hungarian Museum of Transport
Photo: www.facebook.com/Diller Scofidio + Renfro

Diller Scofidio + Renfro was one of thirteen foreign and Hungarian architecture firms to submit designs in the tender.

Hungarian Museum of Transport
Photo: MTI

Featured image: www.facebook.com/Diller Scofidio + Renfro

Exciting! one of Europe’s most complex playgrounds to be built in Budapest

liget budapest project, playground

The next phase of the Liget Budapest Project is to be focused on family-friendly additions. Hungary’s biggest and most modern playground will be built in City Park, on a designated area of over 13 thousand square metres. Located on the south-eastern part of the park, the playground will be secure and available for children and families from autumn 2019.

As part of the Liget Budapest Project, there will be seven new playgrounds in City Park. According to ligetbudapest.hu, construction of the first one – that will be the biggest out of the seven – is going to start in the next few days.

Apparently, it will not be just an ordinary playground – the special equipment and the specific elements designed to urge children to explore and learn about nature and the environment is going to be one of a kind in the capital. For instance, there will be an area with sand and water where children can learn through the fossil-copies that will be hidden in the sand, waiting to be discovered.

This is just one example of how those behind the plans want to inspire children to let their imagination loose but also to learn something in the process.

The plans reveal that the playground will be suitable for both younger and older children. The small ones can play in a secure area that parents can supervise from the nearby benches, but the older ones can also have fun – this playground caters to all needs. Children can learn about Physics by checking their speed on the slides or by seeing how far they can jump – and what animal’s abilities that distance resembles. The older ones can enjoy a skate park, a climbing wall and an area designated for rollerblading and scootering, while there will also be a pump track for the BMX-enthusiasts.

It is interesting to note that, besides landscape architects, teachers and psychologists, children also took part in the designing of the playground.

liget, budapest, playground
Photo: MTI/Városliget Zrt.

The centrepiece of the playground will be a multi-level climbing frame inspired by a painting of Pál Szinyei Merse, portraying a hot-air balloon. This also helps with the art education of children, encouraging artistic associations.

According to Benedek Gyorgyevics, the CEO of the company responsible for the Liget Budapest Project, inclusion was an important goal when making the plans.

“It is an important goal to make sure children with various health conditions and impairments can play with non-disabled children, so we aim to plant several playing devices that are made accessible for everyone.

It is one of our goals to ensure that the entire park and all its equipment reflects the societal needs, meaning the playing devices and items must represent the values of sustainability, equality and the integration of those whose development is not necessarily typical, such as children with disabilities.”

The playground is designated to be a diverse place where the young can meet up, get to know people from different backgrounds and learn about the current social structures. Gyorgyevics added that

“The concept of the playgrounds is founded in the cultural and scientific heritage as well as the folk traditions of our country.

With the new City Park, we can also contribute to ensuring the youngest citizens of Budapest can lead a healthier lifestyle than what is common right now, since the park gives them the opportunity to be active and enjoy the fresh air in a way that is a true alternative to playing video games or spending time inside, just sitting around.”

Watch the video below to get a better sense of what the playground will look like:

Since spring and good weather are fast approaching, check out this article about Budapest’s hidden parks and recreational sites worth visiting.

Featured image: MTI/Városliget Zrt.

The secret and success of the future House of Hungarian Music – Photos & Videos

ouse of Hungarian Music, music, City Park, architecture

Without a doubt, music is a cultural field which is the most successful one in Hungary and which gave exemplary musicians and singers to the whole world. But unfortunately, Hungary does not have a complex institution where people could learn about the history of Hungarian music and to get closer to our music culture.

Luckily, part of the Liget Budapest Project is the building of a brand-new institution which brings people together with music. Liget Budapest described every amazing detail about the future House of Hungarian Music.

We might ask ourselves the question: why does Hungary need another concert hall if we already have the Opera, Erkel Theatre and the Palace of Arts? András Batta, who is a Hungarian music historian, emphasised that this new building is not going to be another concert hall. It is going to be an institution which convinces people to go to concert halls and listen to classical and other music concerts in Hungary.

Before establishing the plans of House of Hungarian Music, musical experts examined another concert hall to get inspiration and ideas, like the concert hall in Vienna, Paris, and Barcelona, which are not only concert halls but museums as well.

House of Hungarian Music, night, building, architecture
Photo: www.facebook.com/magyarzenehaza

The House of Hungarian Music will not be a museum. This institution’s main task will be to provide comprehensive information about music, musical genres, instruments and musicians while coping with the hardships and modernisation of the 21st century. It is also important that this house will not only be opened for people who have musical experiences but for everyone in the country and in the world.

Another aim of this project is to provide new information for visitors in a playful way and not in a way as the ordinary museums do. This institution will combine music and experience, providing a fun way to learn about music.

The House of Hungarian Music – besides learning about music – will provide lots of colourful programmes for adults, children, school groups and elderly people. The project would like to establish a connection between every generation and music because they believe that the contemporary music halls and museums are unable to do that. That is why this new house is going to be built in the heart of the Budapest City Park.

Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto, who established and created the plans for the House of Hungarian Music, believes that harmony plays an important part in building. Fujimoto created a building which is close to nature and creates a bridge between artificial and non-artificial environments.

The exhibition in the House of Hungarian Music will provide an insight into the history of music through the past centuries until nowadays in an exciting and fascinating way.

House of Hungarian Music, City Park, building
Photo: www.facebook.com/magyarzenehaza

Besides the history of Hungarian music and musicians like Zoltán Kodály or Béla Bartók, visitors will also get an insight into the history of music in Venice, Paris, Berlin and London and internationally famous composers like Mozart and Beethoven. There will also be different kinds of games, workshops, screenings and other programmes. The options are truly endless.

Apart from classical music, the institution will focus on popular music as well and show people how the birth of the radio and popular music played a part in history through the life of true music icons like Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin.

Among the exhibitions and programmes, the institution will also welcome famous musicians and singers who will give concerts for visitors arriving in the City Park’s new establishment.

Spanish opera singer Placido Domingo expressed his enthusiasm and good wishes in a video:

www.zenehaza.com

Featured image: www.facebook.com/magyarzenehaza

Budapest Liget Project to continue next year

Museum of Ethnography, new, building

Several construction projects will be completed with new ones getting under way in City Park under the Liget Budapest Project next year, the director-general of the project company told MTI in an interview on Thursday.

Describing the project which will transform City Park into a museum quarter, Benedek Gyorgyevics noted the completion of the National Museum Restoration and Storage Centre (OMRRK).

The complex will provide world-class art storage warehouses and conservation-restoration facilities covering a total area of almost 37,000 square metres.

He further noted the completion of the Olof Palme House‘s restoration in the first half of the year and the complex’s reopening with exhibitions presenting “The First Golden Age of Budapest and the City Park”.

The construction of the House of Hungarian Innovations, “one of the Liget‘s most exciting elements”, will at the same time begin, Gyorgyevics said.

He said work on building a New National Gallery will also get under way and called the possibility to work on the gallery’s design with world-class architect firm SANAA “an outstanding opportunity”.

Photo: facebook.com/miligetunk/

New Ethnographic Museum design receives gong at International Property Awards

The design for Hungary’s new Ethnographic Museum, part of the Liget Project in Budapest, has been awarded the prize for the best public service architecture in Europe at the International Property Awards held in London.

The award was presented on Monday evening to Benedek Gyorgyevics, Managing Director of Városliget Zrt, which is responsible for implementing Liget Budapest.

Photo: www.facebook.com/LigetBudapest

Judged by the world’s top eighty international experts, the award was an important recognition of a public investment, Gyorgyevich said.

The prize, he added, is a commendation not only of Hungarian architecture but of Hungarian innovation and culture, too.

The new Ethnographic Museum, designed by architecture firm NAPUR, will be located in Budapest’s Liget, one of the oldest public parks in Europe.

Featured image: www.facebook.com/LigetBudapest

PM Orbán, Mayor Tarlós sign pact on Budapest cooperation

PM ORbán Mayor Tarlós

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Budapest Mayor István Tarlós on Saturday signed a pact on cooperation between the government and capital city.

A key provision of the pact is the establishment of the Budapest Municipal Development Council to be jointly headed by the PM and mayor.

Speaking at a ceremony marking the 145th anniversary of Budapest’s unification, Tarlós said

the agreement would “drive forward Budapest’s sources of funding”.

He insisted that Budapest’s elected mayor and the relevant public bodies would have an influence on the development of the capital “more significant than at any time in the past seventy years”.

“Budapest … is part of Hungarian nation-building and is one of its important achievements,” he said.

Meanwhile, Tarlós and Deputy Mayor Alexandra Szalay-Bobrovniczky handed out prizes for public service and outstanding sporting achievements at the ceremony.

The Pro Urbe Budapest Award was went to Sándor Deák, Deputy Director General of the Budapest Szabó Ervin Library, actress Enikő Eszenyi director of the Vígszínház, József Halzl, honorary chairman of the Rákóczi Association and Attila Vidnyánszky, director of the National Theatre, among others.

Orbán said Budapest stood at the gates of great progress and the next decade would be the most successful in the city’s history. By 2030, Budapest will be among Europe’s most liveable cities and one of its safest, he said at the ceremony marking Budapest Day. Noting the agreement regarding the Budapest Municipal Development Council, he said joint work would have to be carried out with grit and determination.

The prime minister noted the completion of various flagship projects in the capital such as the 4th metro line, the renovation of the Museum of Fine Arts, and sports-related developments such as the Danube Arena and new stadiums.

He also mentioned ongoing reconstruction of the City Park, the Opera House, the Museum of Applied Arts and the refurbishment of Metro 3.

The council will soon have to make a decision regarding construction of a new modern pentathlon centre and the restoration of historic buildings in the Buda Castle, Orbán said. Also, construction of the new South-Buda central hospital will begin, he added.

“It is a huge task we are undertaking,” Orbán said, referring to developments planned up to 2030. “Budapest must radiate dignity, pride and greatness,” he added.

Referring to the new arrangements, the green opposition LMP party said Budapest was being put under “guardianship” of the prime minister. LMP lawmaker József Gál told a news conference that

the development council was a way of depriving the Budapest Metropolitan Assembly and the city’s inhabitants of their right to decide what kind of city they wanted to live in. It would be better, he said, if people were asked about their desired direction of developments.

The opposition Socialist Party’s Csaba Horváth told journalists that Tarlós would be nothing more than a puppet. He censured the mayor for stating his unqualified support for Fidesz even if the government did not comply with the agreement. He said Budapest needed a genuine cooperation agreement to guarantee that the 20 billion forints Budapest taxpayers pay each day into the city’s coffers would finance public utilities in the capital in a proportionate way.

Prime minister Orbán opens renewed Fine Arts Museum

art museum Museum of Fine Arts

Hungary’s prime minister formally reopened Budapest’s renewed Museum of Fine Arts in a ceremony on Tuesday.

In his address Viktor Orbán noted the importance of preserving Hungary’s culture, identity and sovereignty “amidst a European culture fight”.

“We live in peace with our own culture and history which is a great gift in today’s world. This is something we must value highly. … We believe in ideals that have stood the test of time and hope that there will come a common order for which we can all strive; the Fine Arts Museum is an embodiment of that hope,” the prime minister said.

Orbán praised his government’s measures to promote culture and said that Hungary’s museums in 2017 had attracted more visitors than the country’s entire population.

“We have the courage and power to continue the millennial tradition,” Orbán said. Referring to the Liget Project, a programme aimed at building a museum complex in the City Park behind the Museum of Fine Arts, he said that the scheme would “heal (cultural) wounds” and help carry on traditions into the 21st century.

“There had been some who did not find the museum building beautiful or patriotic enough; they have not proven right,” he added.

The opening ceremony was also attended by Chief Public Prosecutor Péter Polt, Minister of Human Resources Miklós Kásler, Budapest Mayor István Tarlós, and members of the Budapest diplomatic corps.

art museum Museum of Fine Arts
Photo: www.facebook.com/SzépművészetiMúzeum

László Baán, the museum’s director, told MTI earlier in the day that the three-year upgrade project involved reconstruction of some 15,000 square metres, 40 percent of the museum’s total area. The works included renewal of the Romanesque Hall, which had been damaged in WWII and was closed for visitors ever since, Baán said.

He added that the roof of the building was replaced, new heating and air conditioning systems were installed, new exhibition halls, a restaurant, wardrobe and storage rooms were added to the earlier facilities.

The museum will open for the public on Wednesday, with access to its Egyptian and Greco-Roman exhibitions, as well as the galleries of antique statues and pictures, while all permanent exhibitions will open mid-next year, the director said.

Featured image: www.facebook.com/SzépművészetiMúzeum

This is how the House of Hungarian Music will look like

According to pestbuda.hu, the House of Hungarian Music – being built in the heart of the City Park – will not only be a new concert hall, but it will also serve educational and instructional purposes.

Máton Horn told Recorder that the architectural division of the building would reflect the multifunctional nature of the institution.

“Besides the ground floor representing performing arts, the upper stories will be home to museum and music pedagogy with the first ever popular music library that will also function as a research club, temporary and permanent exhibitions, and a sound dome in the basement.”

Photo: www.ligetbudapest.org

One of the main curiosities is definitely the sound dome, out if which there are only a few in the world. The one built in the House of Hungarian Music is basically a dome-shaped cupola equipped with almost 200 speakers that create “hologram-like” sound-fields.

“You will feel like you are standing in the middle of a symphonic band.”

The services will include a music pedagogy programme, which will guide the visitors through the house.

“Our other main target group is families, who we believe will be happy to welcome programme and event offers of the new venue. We aim to offer as many music-themed family programmes as possible. Naturally, we will also organise concerts for adults, and we will also have an outdoor terrace with a smaller stage” said Márton Horn, the director of the institution.

Photo: www.ligetbudapest.org

András Batta, the other director, explained that their goal is to present the multi-coloured world of music, to which children do not have access in school. Hence, they want the educational purpose to be the flagship of the project.

“We want to attract visitors who do not necessarily have a daily connection with music. We want to bring the importance of music closer to the everyday life of a wider audience.”

The directors expect to execute all of the abovementioned plans by 2020.

Featured image: www.ligetbudapest.org

Are you ready for a virtual tour in the new Museum of Ethnography?

Turizmus.com reports that those interested can take a virtual tour in the new building giving home to the Museum of Ethnography of Budapest the construction of which is going to start this year according to the plans.

The new building is going to constructed at Ötvenhatosok Square in Budapest that was previously used for processions and parades and up until now, it has functioned as a parking lot. The winner plan was chosen by a professional jury as part of an international design contest, where surpassing several world-famous architects, the unrivalled plan of the Hungarian NAPUR Architects Ltd. was judged the best.

MTI Photo: Városliget Zrt.

One of the most spectacular attractions of the new museum is going to be the garden covering the roof of the building giving the impression of a hillside.

This garden is going to be accessible to the public and serve as a cozy communal place of gathering. By walking up to its highest point, visitors can admire the breathtaking view overlooking the renewed City Park.

MTI Photo: Városliget Zrt.

The Museum of Ethnography is going to move into a modern building giving home to its library and archive as well, that is going to be worthy of the 145-year-old knowledge of the institution.

The building is going to serve the demands of the museum well, by providing opportunity for the comprehensive and thorough presentation of its whole collection.

In addition to this, below the ground, enough space is going to be provided for permanent and temporary exhibitions where much larger and much more spectacular displays can be visited compared to those in the previous years.

MTI Photo: Városliget Zrt.

Another eye-catching experience is provided by the special warehouse that is going to present 4,000 works of art, but the interactive space for museum education programmes is also worth mentioning.

Furthermore, to offer a more family-friendly surrounding, a children museum is going to be constructed in the same building where even the smaller ones can get acquainted with the world of ethnography in a playful way.

Take a virtual tour in the new building:

Featured image: MTI

Asbestos cement found in City Park not a health risk, says Városliget Zrt

The asbestos cement found at a construction site in the City Park does not constitute a direct risk to health, the company responsible for the site, Városliget Zrt., said on Thursday.

During demolition of the Petőfi Csarnok concert venue, all materials containing asbestos were removed by experts, the company’s statement said. During construction a new building, the new national gallery, all outdated building materials will be removed from the site, the statement said.

The head of the lab responsible for testing the material containing asbestos, Zoltán Czap of Kör Ker Kft., said that “the sample is not an inhalable, directly life-threatening variant of asbestos”.

Fears that the asbestos may be a danger to health were raised by the Ligetvedők NGO, which has protested against the government-backed project to redevelop the park. As we wrote on May, the police have put an end to an ongoing protest against a major construction project in Budapest’s City Park.

Also we wrote last year, the asbestos found during recent demolition works in Budapest City Park “does not pose hazard to people living nearby or to visitors of the park”, the company in charge of the contested Liget Project, a scheme under which a museum complex is planned to be built in the park.