Faurest, Kristin: Ten spaces - Our Budapest (Budapest, 2010)

Hunyadi tér

Sieges, and minor renovations in the 1950s. By the 1980s it was nearly completely vacant. Today it’s only partially occupied - even on a Saturday morning, the busiest time of the week for a market hall, it feels more than a little vacant. Still, there are a lot of great wares available, with vendors from such families as the Reiners and Szigetis, who have been there for decades. Of the five market halls constructed nearly simultaneously at the end of the 19th century in Budapest, it was assigned the number 4. All the others have been renovated in the last 10—15 years. A couple of them have been rendered somewhat sterile by the process — that is, most or all of the vendors moved out, and a supermarket dominates the space, thus the spontaneity, cacophony and chaos that make a farmers' market what it is are lost forever. It would be wonderful to do this hall proper architectural justice, and fill it to the walls with more vendors.

Outside on the square is, actually, what Hunyadi tér is probably just as well known for — the local producers’ market, in run-down corrugated metal-roofed stands lining the side of the square closest to the market hall. If going to this market, the way to approach the evening's meal is to wait and see what looks the best at Hunyadi, then plan accordingly. Because the selection can be wonderfully random, very cheap, and for the most part,

■ In a busy urban square, there’s still time to quietly commune with a friend

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