Zádor Anna: Neoclassical Pest - Our Budapest (Budapest, 1993)
of the Danube, and thus the two parts of the city, remains the most beautiful and most elegant bridge of the city. The proportions and the ornaments of the bridge designed by the English engineer William Thier- ney Clark represent a neoclassical approach. The laying of its foundation-stone and the completion of the bridge were such significant events that the most prominent painter in the country, Miklós Barabás, was commissioned to record the ceremonies. The splendid houses of the Kirakodópiac, which have unfortunately disappeared, manifested not only the builders’ and commissioners’ refined needs, tastes and outstanding talent for architectural design, but also mark the sweeping changes of the period. Mayerffy, Nákó or tlllman signalled the formation of a new class of merchants, manufacturers and bankers of varied backgrounds. At the same time they show the demand for representation, i.e. the ceremonial hall of the CJIlman House (later Hotel Europe) located on the first floor and articulated by columns. The walls of the hall were decorated with Marco Casagrande’s (1806-1880) reliefs; therefore, it was a worthy scene for entertaining guests and for a host receptive to culture to organise musical events. Fortunately, the one-time Kirakodó tér retained its row of elegant houses and much of its appearance shaped in the third decade of the nineteenth century until the siege of Budapest. The completion of the Chain Bridge meant an important change and the square gradually ceased to function as a landing market. The evenness of the row of houses was only broken by the colourful richly ornamented art nouveau facade (1905-1907) of the Gresham Palace built at the turn of the century (Zsigmond Quittner 1857-1918). Even though the siege of Budapest did cause serious damage; and even though these critically damaged houses could probably not have been saved (some of them were the houses of Police Headquarters until the siege), the biggest problem is the fact that an unsuccessful building, which did not suit the surroundings at all, took their place. Fortunately, quite a few of the numerous neoclassical buildings deserving attention in the vicinity of present- day Roosevelt tér can still be seen. The only modifications made in the 1910s and 1920s were the additions 34
