Gerle János: Palaces of Money - Our Budapest (Budapest, 1994)
in 1908 dwells on figures comparing the various Exchanges of Europe and arrives at the conclusion that ...the Budapest exchange halb haue a cubic capacity equalling that of their Berlin counterparts [where there are three regular-sized halls-J. G.]; if, however, the 1220 square metre floor space of the vaulted hall and the two foyers-rooms not included in the foreign bourses-b added to thb, then the conclusion to be drawn b that there is a total floor space of3860 square metres at the dbposal of the members of the Budapest Exchange, which b a size that no other European Bourse can boast In the eye of the contemporary public the construction of the Exchange Palace was a shining proof of Hungary’s having joined the ranks of Europe’s leading nations in commerce and trade half a century after it had taken the first practical steps towards catching up. The National Bank of Hungary The Budapest branch of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy’s joint ISSUING BANK After the futile attempts of the Reform Era and the Revolution of 1848, the bank was formed as the Budapest division of the Austro-Hungarian Bank which handled the joint finances of the Dual Monarchy. The mutual issuing bank only had its own building in Vienna, while the Budapest division operated at no. 3 József nádor tér. (This was pulled down when the building of the Credit Bank was erected.) At the turn of the century, when the importance of Hungary’s economy had grown and aspirations of national independence were gaining momentum, the construction of a prestigious head 30
