Our latest article on the #rothmuzeum blog was inspired by our city walks; we have put together a one-hour walking route for you that is both manageable and exciting even without a guide. On our various guided tours you can explore the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and soon the 9th districts, visiting the wonderful works by the Róth workshop at various locations. But for now we present you an inspiring, free summer walk, which you can do whenever you have a free hour to spend.
1st. Stop: VII. District, Dob street 85.
Located in the heart of Erzsébetváros, at Dob street 85, the Erzsébetváros Hungarian-English Bilingual Primary School and Art High School (Erzsébetvárosi Magyar-Angol Két Tanítási Nyelvű Általános Iskola és Művészeti Szakgimnázium) is perhaps one of the most beautiful school buildings in the capital. The building was planned by Ármin Hegedűs (1869-1945), who was born almost at the same time as Miksa Róth. The architect, whose name will come up again later in this article, designed several other school buildings of the period. Even if one does not know the function of the Dob Street building, built between 1905 and 1906, they could easily work it out by looking up at the facade thanks to the magnificent mosaic decorations executed by the Róth workshop. Standing in the narrow street, the Dob Street School almost towers over us, astonishing the passers-by not only with its size but also with its colourful, playful Art Nouveau elements. The mosaic was created in Miksa Róth's workshop, based on the plans of painter Zsigmond Vajda, and features small and large groups of children studying, singing and reciting, as well as the attributes of the school subjects. In addition to scenes depicting boys and girls playing and learning, reading, doing embroidery, singing or having arithmetic lessons, the mosaic also features the capital's coat of arms.
2nd Stop: Church of St. Elisabeth of the House of Árpád (Árpád-házi Szent Erzsébet plébániatemplom) (8. Rózsák Square)
Our next stop is the church of St. Elisabeth of the House of Árpád at Rózsák Square. Construction of the church began in 1893, the foundation stone was laid in the presence of Franz Jospeh in 1895 and the church was consecrated in 1901. Regarding the building’s architectural style, Imre Steindl was inspired by early French Gothic, with reliefs above the entrances and a statue of Elisabeth on the pediment by György Kiss1. Above the main entrance, a rose window may also catch your eye framed by the attributes (symbols) of the 4 evangelists2. Above the rose window you can see sculptures (St. Lazarus on the left, the Virgin Mary in the middle, St. Stephen on the right) by Miklós Köllő. The church was specifically designed using the work of only Hungarian craftsmen, so the terracotta was made by the Zsolnay factory, the wooden furniture was made by the Lingel factory,and Gyula Jungfer and the Walla factory also contributed to the building. The windows were made by Walther Gida, József Palka and Miksa Róth.3 The church was bombed during the Second World War. After the siege of Budapest ended, reconstruction of the roof was began. Since the windows got destroyed in the blast, the original glass work is no longer visible. At the same time the windows got re-done, the restorers carried out work in other parts of the church as well, which were in a particularly bad state.4 The complete restoration of the church was still a long time coming, finished only in 1995. The church welcomes visitors, however it is best to check their opening hours in advance on their Facebook page.
3rd Stop: VII. District, Rákóczi street 54.
Thousands of people walk past our next recommendation on Rákóczi street every day, which is less conspicuous, but has an exciting history. The Athenaeum building, now a hotel, once displayed the very early glass mosaic works of Miksa Róth’s workshop. Unfortunately, the building, which was severely damaged during the devastation of the World War, required major restoration work, including the mosaics. However, they certainly originated in the Róth workshop.5 The former owner of the building, the bookshop that grew into the Athenaeum Book Publishing House, was founded in 1841 by Gusztáv Emich, whose growing company became a joint-stock company in 1868. Gusztáv Emich worked on the publication of the works of the most important literary figures of the era like Mór Jókai, Sándor Petőfi, János Arany, Imre Madách and several periodicals. Completed in 1898, the mosaics of the Rákóczi street building depict famous figures of art and history, such as Anonymus, Mihály Táncsics, Gutenberg, Rembrandt, Mozart, Senefelder and A. Dürer. The figures are associated with printing, the press, reproductive graphic techniques, writing and composition. On the top of the building you will see a sculpture of Pallas Athena, goddess of wisdom and the arts, patroness of the arts and crafts.
4th Stop: V. District, Károly Boulevard 14.
Our next building is located between Astoria and Deák Ferenc Square, at Károly körút 14, on the Little Boulevard (Kiskörút). This is the Szevera-House, named after its former owner, Károly Szevera. Few people know that the building, which is located in the heart of the city, has beautiful Art Nouveau depictions of women on the fourth floor of its facade, reminiscent of Alfons Mucha's Seasons series. The mosaics, which are linked to the Róth workshop, were done at the turn of the century; a woman representing spring in a sky-blue dress with poppies, a woman representing summer in a linen dress with a parasol, autumn with a wreath of leaves and bunches of grapes, and winter in a fur coat brings us the typical atmosphere of the seasons of the year. The floors of the building are separated by a stone moulding pattern and the house is crowned with a cast-iron dome. It's interesting to think how many people pass by the Severa-House every day?
5th Stop: Török Bank House (Szervita square 3.)
Our next stop is the Török Bank House on Szervita Square, with its unique glass mosaic facade. The huge artwork definitely makes the building stand out from the rest of the houses, which was a major requirement when it got built in 1906.6 The building was designed by Henrik Bőhm and Ármin Hegedűs. Although they were only awarded 3rd place for their plans called „Grand Prize„ (Főnyeremény)7, they were chosen to build the palace of the bank, which became necessary, as the Török Bank House got very popular for the distribution of class lottery tickets8. The Török Bank House was a modern building of the time, as all its rooms were equipped with plumbing and central heating, and even fire protection was taken into account, with water taps and sprinklers. People could enter the building through an American revolving door, and the cellar was lit by Luxfer crystal lamps. The building also had an elevator for both personnel and goods.9 The facade of the Török Bank House features, among other things, building sculptures of Mercury (god of merchants and messenger of the gods) by Simon Ney, and a monumental glass mosaic by Miksa Róth and Zsigmond Vajda, depicting Patrona Hungariae, the Virgin Mary, seated on her throne, surrounded by the great figures of Hungarian history (Rákóczi, Kossuth, Széchenyi, etc.). According to Miksa Róth's original design, instead of the Virgin Mary, there would have been an archangel in the middle, surrounded by putti throwing gold among the people, representing the function of the building. The building was once topped by an Atlas group, by sculptor György Kiss, complemented with a glass globe that at night cast its colorful light on the surrounding buildings. Unfortunately, the sphere hasn’t been part of the building since the 1930s10.
+1 Párisi Courtyard (Ferenciek Square 10.)
Our last stop is the Párisi Courtyard, built to house the headquarters of the Downtown Savings Bank (Belvárosi Takarékpénztár). A design competition was held for the building in 1908, and three architects11 were awarded prizes for their designs, but in the end the commission was given to a fourth architect, Henrik Schmahl. The palace’s style is Neo-Renaissance, supplemented with Gothic elements.12 The ground floor of the building housed the cashier's office and shopping arcade passageway, reminding clients and employees of the former building’s function13. The mezzanine and the first floor housed the Savings Bank's management and offices, while the upper floors were used as apartments.14 The cast iron doors of the building were shipped from Carl Flink's factory in Mannheim, and the Art Nouveau cashier's hall was covered with faience tiles by Villeroy & Boch. The ceramics on the building and in the building are the works of the Zsolnay factory. Above the passageway there is a Luxfer prismatic glass roof made by the Haas and Somogyi Company15, and with the exception of this glass roof, the glass works were made by Miksa Róth and his workshop. A plan of one of the overlights of the building can be found in the Róth Miksa Memorial House and Collection (Róth Miksa Emlékház és Gyűjtemény).16 Later, the Párisi Courtyard housed the offices of the IBUSZ and the famous Ice Buffet (Jégbüfé), and is now a hotel, which means that it is less accessible.
Notes:
1 Gerenday Ágnes: Budapest. Árpád-házi Szent Erzsébet plébániatemplom. Bp. 1993. 1-5.
2 The 4 evangelists are Matthew, Luke, Mark, and John. Matthew is usually depicted as a man or an angel, Luke as a bull, Mark as a lion, and John as an eagle. According to one interpretation, the man symbolizes the incarnation of God, the bull represents Christ's sacrificial death, the lion represents the resurrection, and the eagle represents the ascension. (https://lexikon.katolikus.hu/E/evang%C3%A9lista%20szimb%C3%B3lumok.html (Last accessed: 02.05.2025.))
3 Gerenday Ágnes: Budapest. Árpád-házi Szent Erzsébet plébániatemplom i.m. 3.; 5.
4 Gerenday Ágnes: Budapest. Árpád-házi Szent Erzsébet plébániatemplom i.m. 9.
5 Építő Ipar 1898/22. 42-1137. 260.
6 Gábor Eszter: Az építészeti feladatok és épülettípusok változása. In: Magyar művészet 1890-1919 I. Szerk. Németh Lajos. Bp. 1981. 58-79. 73.
7 Among the competitors for the Szervita Square building of the Török Bankház, first place was won by Géza Aladár Kármán and Gyula Ullmann with their design titled Styx, while 2nd and 3rd prizes were won by Artúr Sebestyén and Sándor Mezey with their entry titled Helios, alongside the Bőhm-Hegedűs duo. (Magyar pályázatok - A török-bankház és a trummer-féle bérház pályatervei. Magyar Építőművészet 3. (1905. április) 4. sz. 1-32. 1.)
8 The class lottery ticket can be considered the predecessor of the lottery.
9 Budapesti Hírlap, 1906. november 11.
10 Kerekes Margit: Bőhm Henrik (1867-1936) és Hegedűs Ármin (1869-1945). A szecessziótól a neobarokkon át az art decóig. In: Építőművészek Ybl és Lechner korában. Szerk. Rozsnyai József. [Bp.] 2015. 292-317. 304.
11 Korb Flóris és Giergl Kálmán Vis-Á-Vis jeligéjű, Hübner Jenő és Mészner Sebestyén Párosan jeligéjű, valamint Bálint Zoltán és Jámbor Lajos Méhkas B. T. jeligéjű pályaművét díjazták 6000 koronával. (A Belvárosi Takarékpénztár pályatervei II. Magyar Építőművészet 6. (1908) 6. sz. 12-31. 31.)
The entries of Flóris Korb and Kálmán Giergl titled Vis-Á-Vis, Jenő Hübner and Sebestyén Mészner titled Duo, and Zoltán Bálint and Lajos Jámbor titled Beehive were awarded 6,000 korona.
12 Kelecsényi Kristóf - Torma Ágnes: Schmahl Henrik (1846-1912). Egy német kőműveslegény felemelkedése a dualizmus kori Budapesten. In: Építőművészek Ybl és Lechner korában. Szerk. Rozsnyai József. [Bp.] 2015. 92-133. 122.
13 Before the Párisi Courtyard got built, the so-called Brudern-ház stood on Kígyó Square (now Ferenciek Square), which was built in 1817 based on the plans of Mihály Pollack. The building had 2 floors and housed shops, and the owner himself, Baron József Brudern, lived here, after whom the house got its name. After Baron Brudern's death (1831), the Teleki family bought the building, and after the turn of the century it became the property of Count Árminné Mikes (Clementina Bethlen), from whom the Belvárosi Takarékpénztar bought the building, and then it got demolished so that the new, still-standing Párisi Courtyard could be built in its place. (Végváry Annamária: Ferenciek tere 10. In: Adalékok a Belváros történetéhez I. Szerk. Mészáros György - Vízy László. Bp. 1993. 186-199. 186-189.; 192.)
14 Végváry Annamária: Ferenciek tere 10. i.m. 195-196.
15 Kelecsényi Kristóf - Torma Ágnes: Schmahl Henrik i.m. 126.; 128-129.
16 https://www.museumap.hu/record/-/record/oai-aggregated-bib9541931;jsessionid=E6EF0C11BF793D60859EFE09B2157396 (Last accessed: 01.05.2025.)
Literature:
- Gábor Eszter: Az építészeti feladatok és épülettípusok változása. In: Magyar művészet 1890-1919 I. Szerk. Németh Lajos. Bp. 1981. 58-79.
- Gerenday Ágnes: Budapest. Árpád-házi Szent Erzsébet plébániatemplom. Bp. 1993.
- https://lexikon.katolikus.hu/E/evang%C3%A9lista%20szimb%C3%B3lumok.html (Last accessed: 02.05.2025.)
- Kelecsényi Kristóf - Torma Ágnes: Schmahl Henrik (1846-1912). Egy német kőműveslegény felemelkedése a dualizmus kori Budapesten. In: Építőművészek Ybl és Lechner korában. Szerk. Rozsnyai József. [Bp.] 2015. 92-133.
- Kerekes Margit: Bőhm Henrik (1867-1936) és Hegedűs Ármin (1869-1945). A szecessziótól a neobarokkon át az art decóig. In: Építőművészek Ybl és Lechner korában. Szerk. Rozsnyai József. [Bp.] 2015. 292-317.
- Végváry Annamária: Ferenciek tere 10. In: Adalékok a Belváros történetéhez I. Szerk. Mészáros György - Vízy László. Bp. 1993. 186-199.
Sources:
- A Belvárosi Takarékpénztár pályatervei II. Magyar Építőművészet 6. (1908) 6. sz. 12-31.
- Budapesti Hírlap, 1906. november 11.
- Építő Ipar 1898/22. 42-1137. 260.
- Magyar pályázatok - A török-bankház és a trummer-féle bérház pályatervei. Magyar Építőművészet 3. (1905. április) 4. sz. 1-32.
