The National Archives of Hungary (Budapest, 2006)

NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND SPECIAL ARCHIVES OF NATIONAL COLLECTION - Hungarian National Archives by Géza Érszegi and István G. Vass

in 1874. Under his direction a far-reaching programme was instituted for reorganizing the documents of different organizations and creating of new references. Classification of documents was arranged according to historic periods. Once this process was completed classes of topics excluded from any organic correspondence would have been formed. Within these classes the documents were listed in chronological order. Its conception did not turn out to be modern and efficient, but its great success was that it developed a stable framework of the institution. From 1913, until his death in 1933, the institution was led by Dezső Csánki, (1857 - 1933). He was instrumental in modernizing the archives and was the one who directed how to move its materials. He founded and was the editor of the periodical of the archives for ten years; the title of which was Archive Publications. Győző Ember became the director-general after World War II, and for nearly three decades, from 1949 until his retirement in 1978, worked with enthusiam and with considerable professionalism. Not only the number of archives kept in the Hungarian National Archives was increased during his leadership; but he also enlarged its written materials, and sytematized them with references. As a result, the archives became more efficient and organized. In fact, so successful was the reorganization and overhaul, that to this day, the principles of organization he established bear his name. At present the documents of the archives can be found in three buildings. After the reorganization in 1874, the institution operated under harsh conditions for decades. One of its buildings was built between 1913 and 1917 at Bécsikapu square, (2-4 Bécsikapu square). This building is still considered modern by international standards even today. Vsitors can admire and appreciate it partly for its modernity and partly for its aesthetics. On the other hand, the building provides an appropriate place for the documents, that are user-friendly for the researchers. The building was taken over in 1923 during the time of director general Dezső Csánki, in the aftermath of World War I. The building was designed by Samu Peez (1913) in romantic (neo - roman) style . Its store-house was built of ferro-concrete and the study-rooms were built of bricks. The outer stone sculpture was made by Ferenc Mikula and its interior stone sculpture was made by Ignác Langer. The staircase, the research room and the hall of nights are decorated with historic frescos by Andor Dudits and with stained glass compositions by Miksa Roth. He also designed and painted the decoration on the ceiling and the walls. Several statues were placed here as well. Their artists were Ferenc Sidló, Géza Horváth,and Zsigmond Kisfaludy