Gerle János: Palaces of Money - Our Budapest (Budapest, 1994)
account sheet, has only characterised the history of the past one hundred years, the period that this book examines. There is no doubt, however, that this spectacular transformation has left a clear, vivid mark in our consciousness. Yet, if we are to discuss banks built some one hundred years ago in such a way that their artistic appearance is interpreted as social symptom and ideological pattern, then we shall have to dive deeper down the well of time. The origins of banking transactions can, of course, be traced back to theocratic societies. Treasure hoarding, minting and money lending were all activities that could only be practised under the strict supervision and control of the priesthood. Moses himself codified the “lawful” ways of collecting and lending money, charging interest and using credit. In ancient Greece it was the temples and the treasuries belonging to the temples, the “thesaurs”, that were the depositories of donations and of spoils of war. However, the “laicization” of banking transactions and the conducting of such transactions via privately owned networks had already reached 7
