Budapest, 1947. (3. évfolyam)

3. szám - BENEDEK ANDRÁS: Színházi esték

GALLWITZ The oldest shop in Budapest for smoking articles IV., PÁRISI-UTCA 9 • IV., KLGYÓ-UTCA 4 The bent lighters, pi pea, ivory carvings and gifts BUDAPEST ILLUSTRATED HISTORICAL AND SOCIAL REVIEW PUBLISHED BY THE CITY OF BUDAPEST THE STORY OF A STATUE It was Maurice Jókai, the great Hungarian narrator and author who remarked that the Petőfi statue, situated on the Pest bank of the Danube, was born of by the song of the violin. But few, even in Hungary, realise that this statue, devoted to the memory of one of the greatest historic figures in Hungary's struggle for freedom, owes its existence to Edward Reményi, the famous Hungarian violinist who counted Liszt.Wagner,Victor Húgo and Edison among his friends Like Petőfi, Reményi fought in the Liberty Wars of just over a century ago and when the patriot armies were forced to surrender he fled and sought shelter abroad. It was only in 1860 that Reményi was able to return Hungary where the brilliance of his art as a violinist and the bravery of his deeds durong the Liberty Wars made him the lion of the day. While touring on the provinces, Reményi recalled that no statue had as yet been erected to the memory of Alexander Petőfi, one of the great poet sons of Hungary. Reményi decided that this state of affairs must be remedied and a subcription opened. With the object of gaining popular support for his scheme, Reményi gave over a hundred concerts and became the head of the Petőfi Statue Commission. Owing to his absence on a tour in the United States, where he later died, Reményi was unable to attend the unveiling ceremony. In the course of his brilliant artistic carrieer, Reményi visited rf)i£tUf£ -Oil r

()ab üh up HO FF MM FERENC BUDAPEST, IV., OERLÓCZYUTCA 5 every capital of importance gaining much fame for his mother country. It was he was who drew the attention of the world of music to Brahms and it is largely to him the foundation of the Academy of Music in Budapest must be thanked. S. Lestyán THE SYNAGOGUE IN ÓBUDA The new Óbuda synagogue, built in 1820 according to the design of A. Landherr, was erected on the site of the former building which was demolished in 1817. The neoclassic style in which the building was erected made it in an unique art memorial in Hungary. The grandeur of the peristyle and the surrounding columnade, the delicacy of the southern facade alike reveal the handwork of a master craftsman guided by the inspiration of M. Pollack, one of the prominent Hungarian protagonists of the neoclassic style. It is only in the northern and western facades as well as the interior spacing that traces of a lack of practice in the constructions of monumental architectural works are to be seen. In 1900, the synagogue was totally restored according to the plans of G. Ullmann. Though much serious damage was done to the building during the war and particularly the seige of the capital, the fine original stucco decorations — attributed to J. Maurer — and the tora shrine survived the storm. In 1946, funds were provided by the Hungarian Government and the Hungarian Joint and the work of restoration is now in progress. It is intended to restore the original form of the facade. J. Csemegi BUDAPEST RISES TO ITS fIET It may be stated that Budapest has, perhaps, suffered the most of all the European capitals. Since the day in 1686 when the siege of Buda was lifted and the capital freed from Turkish occupation, floods, epidemics, conflagrations and even earthquakes have visited the town. Yet, however tragic those events were, they pale into insignificant beside the havoc caused by the siege of 1944. The mass of documentation in the »Budapest rises to its feet again« exhibition reaveals the full measure of the destruction and what untold efforts were required from the workers of the Hungarian capital for Budapest to have become a busy metropolis once more. It must be recalled that foür out of every one hundred buildings were totally destroyed, that twenty-three per cent of the buildings suffered major damage, and that forty seven per cent had to undergo repairs of one kind or another. The height of the work of reconstruction came in August 1946 when the competent authorities issued permits for the rebuilding of 265 houses, the demolition of 11 buildings and the reconstruction of 407 damaged appartments. The Municipal Water Works, which only recently celebrated their eightieth birthday, is now supplying three hundred thousand cubic meters of pure water daily to the population and the net-work of tramways will be functioning on prewar level by the end of the current year. Our achievements in the field of social reconstruction have already surpassed previous records. For example, there were only 339 infants creches in the capital in 1942 ; to-day, there are already 477. 87% of the school rooms have already been provided with windows and rapid progress is being made in the erection of pre-fabricated houses in the outskirts of the capital. The exhibition also refers in detail to the invaluable and generous help of foreign benevolent associations. The people of Budapest will never forget their debt of gratitude to those who came to their help in the hour of the greatest need. P. Vas-Zoltán SOUVENIRS OF THE LIBERATION Though it is somewhat premature to expect the time that has elapsed since the seige of Budapest to enable us to obtain a full historic perspective the past, the rapidity of the reconstruction and the progress of the work of rehabilitation have invested those days of only two years ago with an aura of historic "significance. It is this that we feel when visiting the exhibition held in the Károlyi Palace in Budapest, an exhibition devoted to telling the story of the liberation of the Hungarian capital by the Soviet Russian Army. The material shown in this exhibition will perpetuate for posterity some of the most heroic and at the same time most tragic chapters in the life of the Hungarian capital. The entire world has expressed amazement at the ingenuity and vitality displayed of the Hungarians in their efforts to rebuild their capital. The energy of the working masses, the determination of the population and the desire to live have each played their part in this great achievement. Who can forget the thrill of the first newspaper, the first tramway, the first postman, the day on which the public utility services began to function again, the first shop or coffee house to open its doors to the public? There will come a time when what to-day is still a living memory, will be of immense historic importance. S. Lestyán