Rózsa György: The Palace of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences

I. The history of the palace's design and construction

Pest in trust. Although this was not related to the original function of a learned society, it provided a temporary solution for the showing of an art collection of basic cultural importance through the financial sacrifice of Hungarian society. The Gallery was opened on December 12th, 1865 in five rooms on the second, and nine rooms on the third floor of the palace. In 1871 the Hungarian state purchased the whole collection which became the foundation of today's Museum of Fine Arts under the name of Országos Képtár (National Gallery). After a fire which broke out in the building on February 5, 1869, Ybl replaced the wooden roof with a steel construction. Between 1865 and 1876, until its own place was built on Népköztársaság Road (formerly Andrássy Road), the Art Society also operated in the building. After 1906, on completion of the Museum of Fine Arts, the vacant exhibition halls on the third floor of the Academy were assigned to house the Historical Picture Gallery, founded in 1884. It was open between 1907—1914 and from 1923 until the outbreak of World War II, when the collection was moved to the National Museum. Contemporary pictures of exhibitions of the Esterházy Gallery and of the Historical Picture Gallery are valuable documents showing the methods used to organize fine art exhibitions in the past. In addition to the above institutions the palace housed, for varying periods, the committees of the Houses of Parliament, Benczúr's master class of painting (from 1883), the State Painting School for Women (from 1888), the Kisfaludy Society (from 1865), the Society of Natural Sciences, and the National Board for Architectural Monuments in the 1870s. During World War II the building suffered severe damage. It was restored in several phases. Between 1948—49 the exterior and the ground floor premises, in 1950 the first floor and the Department of Manuscripts, in 1954 the frescoes of the Assembly Hall and in 1958 the second floor premises were restored. In 1963 external restoration became necessary again. 10