Csepely-Knorr Luca: Barren Places to Public Spaces. A History of Publick Park Design in Budapest 1867-1914 (Budapest, 2016)

Public Park design in Budapest during the second half of the 19th Century

Another major project was the creation of the Nagykörút (Grand Boulevard), the outer ring road. By the mid-1880s, the majority of the road was already being used by the public, although the Board of Public Works only opened it officially in 1896, and the last construction work was only finished in 1906. The road is of primary importance in terms of infrastructure, but less elegant in its architectural appearance than Sugárút. The precursors to the road were Reitter’s previously-mentioned canal, and later ‘promenade-road’ plans. Tire canal, with its boulevards and embankments, would have been significant in terms of the urban green infrastructure, and even the ‘promenade-road’ would have been ecologically important, but the Board of Public Works decided to create a cheaper solution. Instead of these ideas, the boulevard was built mainly without parks or squares. The only maj or green area was the already-discussed Rákóczi Square.267 This shortcoming was already discussed in the contemporary newspapers. As they wrote: “While other European cities are struggling to create open spaces even with major sacrifices, especially London and Paris who spend millions on expropriationfor this goal, in our capital narrowmindedness aims to build on the existing squares as well."26*

Creating a public green space on Baross Square, which is a major opening on Kerepesi Street, and the entrance area for Keleti Railway Station, became important due to the erection of the statue of Gábor Baross. It was one of the few public spaces of the turn of the 20th century where a design competition was announced. The main principles of the judgement panel included the creation of an as-big-as-possible green area, and the establishment of various functions.269 The competition was won by Béla Jenik with his entry ‘Haladjunk’, a motto which translates as ‘Let’s progress!270 The plan included the design for eight play areas, and intended to create a major pedestrian zone by excluding traffic from the centre of the square.

Keleti Railway Station with the landscaped Baross Square in the foreground, photograph by György Klösz in the 1900s HU BFL XV.19.d.l 8/34

Statue of Gábor Baross with Keleti Railway Station in the background, postcard from around 1910 HU BFL XV.19.d.2.c 102

Baross Square after its landscaping on the 1908 cadastral map of Budapest HU BFL XV.16.e.2Sl/32

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