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

The development of Kossuth Square

“The magnificent building (...) on the one hand needs to stay detached, without question, and on the other hand an environment has to be created that suits its splendour."295

The building of the new Parliament was decided in an Act of 1880.296 The construction site, Tömő Square on the embankment of the Danube, was decided by the Board of Public Works. Earlier it was the location of the Shipping Office and the first waterworks, designed by William Lindley. The layout of the square before the building of the new Parliament shows a small grassy green space with informally-designed paths, similar to the promenades of the city centre, but less fancy.297

Besides the Board of Public Works, a national committee was responsible for the preparation of the new Parliaments building works, which was begun in 1881. This committee announced a design competition in 1882, and the entries submitted were reviewed on 28th January 1883. The result was that Imre Steindl was appointed to create the final plans, having also worked out the first plans for the layout of the square as well.298 Steindl altered his plans several times, but his main principle for the square remained the same. As he explained: “Behind and next to the building a proper triplet square to be created’’.199 The ‘triplet-square’ meant the open space in front of

the main facade of the building, facing the city, and the two smaller spaces in front of the side elevations, on the south and north side of the building. An important principle of his concept was that these three units would be stylistically similar. In the 1884 version of Steindl’s plans, the space in front of the main (eastern) facade was divided into three subspaces, created by an opening in the axis of Alkotmány Street. In the axis of the building, a paved area appeared, while on the two sides of these, two smaller green areas with plants, which were as symmetrical as the form of the square allowed. The symmetry was strengthened by two fountains. The regulation plan, which determined the main principles of the layout of the square, was created according to Steindl’s ideas. The main proposition of this was that the building had to be detached and surrounded by open spaces. The buildings to be constructed around the square, facing the Parliament, were supposed to be public institutions. The main entrance to the square was supposed to be on the axis of Alkotmány Street.300 After the regulation plan was finished, the design of the remaining buildings surrounding the square were also begun.301

The building of Parliament started in 1885. During the long-lasting construction work, the cornice was finished in 1894; in 1896 during the Millennium celebrations the ‘reception of the Holy Crown’ was hosted there, and the dome hall was also in use. This was the year when the first reports of the creation of the green spaces around the building were published. The journal A Kert announced that the Board of Public Works had accepted the

Lajos Rauscher, View of the Parliament Building with the planned landscaping surrounding it, 1900 / Parliament Library, Repository of Architectural Plans

Previous page: Parliament Square and Szabadság Square on an aerial photograph, 1920 / Siklóssy László, Hogyan épült Budapest? Budapest, 1931. p. 274.97