Matits Ferenc: Protestant Churches - Our Budapest (Budapest, 2003)

for four years. The parish raised the money needed for reconstruction by selling some of its property. In the 1950s the church was deprived by the state of its original functions and over the course of fifty years the interior, although not the exterior, was transformed to fit its new, profane functions. In a most inappropriate manner, the premises were turned over to Hungarian Television from 1965, which used them as a tailoring unit and costume storehouse. The church space was vertically divided into several floors and a freight lift was installed.

As a result of negotiations started in 1996, the German-speaking Calvinist congregation regained possession of its church in 2001. The expenses of the reconstruction which began in 2001 were covered from the damages payable to the parish as well as donations made by Hungarian banks and companies together with their German and Swiss counterparts operating in Hungary. Thanks to all that support, restoration work was completed in ten months. A guiding

■ The main fapade of the church

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