Fabó Beáta - Gall, Anthony: I came from the East to a City of Great Palaces. Károly Kós, the early years 1907-1914 (Budapest, 2013)
Kós' First Steps as an Independent Architect
Ill Site plan of the old zoo, 1895 BFL XV.16.e.251/28 részlet, H Staff of the Zoo, after 1912 FÁNK fotógyűjtemény IS Drawing of the old Pheasent House FÁNK fotógyűjtemény Animal Species concluded negotiations and signed the sale and purchase contract on 26th September. It states that Mayor István Bárczy, on behalf of the Municipality, bought the animals and all movable goods to be found on the territory of the Zoo for 56,181.9 crowns. This is the inaugural date for the Municipal Zoological and Botanical Garden of Budapest. Mayor Bárczy, renowned for his urban development fervour wished to create a whole new institution. Another issue to be dealt with was that of staff uniform. Previously, wardens at the Zoo would wear their own suits, with only their caps being uniform. The new management would have none of this sloppiness, besides, the uniform caps were at this point somewhat the worse for wear. The council thus ruled that a new uniform be ordered, containing a pair of trousers, a vest, a coat and a cap for each member of the staff. The staff counted 29 people at the time, with Zoltán Rátonyi as director, 1 accountant, 2 clerks, 1 bailiff, 16 animal wardens, 1 gardener, 1 porter, 1 office help, 2 coachmen, 2 night watchmen and 1 maintenance hand. To study the structure and functioning of zoos abroad, Rátonyi set out on a study trip on 11 July, financed by the 600 crowns issued to him. At the same time the Mayor commissioned council member Dr Tivadar Body to study spas and zoological gardens in other countries. The two travellers decided to travel together and they spent altogether one month in different locations. The council meeting of 30th October dealt with issues of the zoo again. They decided to sublet one part of the plot of the former ‘Ancient Castle of Buda’ to buskers and circus attractions, while using the rest of it for the purposes of the new, modernised zoo. For the costs of planting trees, demolishing unused buildings and building new ones for the animals and all pertaining expenses the meeting offered a credit of 500,000 crowns and commissioned the council to order the plans of the works. They also called to the attention of the meeting the necessity to draft the zoo's management regulations. Tire amount offered by the meeting was spent on the most urgent tasks in hand, so they started to work on adding to the height of the iron railing around the Elephant House, building a sluice-gate to make it possible to empty the bed of the Great Lake, repairing and repainting the faulty cages, the deconstruction of the precarious stone battlements of the Owl Castle, repairing the eagle cage and the bear cage and immediately covering the Pheasants' house with tar-coated sheets. By the end of the year a new dog kennel was erected, the building of the Circus was renovated and its structure strengthened, while the waterproofing of the lakeside was also completed. The buildings of the by then rather ill-reputed Ancient Castle of Buda club were demolished and the management of the zoo was granted 5000 crowns 72
