Szatmári Gizella: Walks in the Castle District - Our Budapest (Budapest, 2001)

Part of the facade on the Sándor Palace

The building of the theatre itself overlooks Szent György tér, or St. George Square.

To the south, towards the Royal Palace, the former prime-ministerial residence known as Sándor Palace at No. 1-2 Szent György tér is an impressive building. The well-balanced, fine neo-Classical edifice was built by Mihály Pollack and Johann Aman for Count Vince Sándor (the father of Móric Sándor, nicknamed “the devil’s rider” for his prowess as a sportsman and trick rider). The reliefs on the fagade were designed by sculptor Antal Kirchmayer. Further reliefs above the first- floor windows depict the triumphal march of Venus, and the Helicon celebrations, while the one above the middle tympanum-topped projection is a sculptural rendering of how a Sándor ancestor was knighted. Restored to its place on the northern wall in 1989, there is now once again a relief depicting St. George and the Dragon (the memorial street-sign was made by Zsig- mond Kisfaludi Strobl in 1939).

As described by Ferenc Schams in 1822, the building contained a splendid ceremonial hall, a card-room, a comfortable bathroom (hardly a common feature at the time if the author felt obliged to emphasise its presence) and even a “central heating system”: hot air may have circulated via pipes. Attached to the eastern wall was a conservatory. The horses were fed from marble mangers in the stable. For the convenience of the owner, who was a great fan of the theatre, a covered corridor connected the palace to the Castle Theatre.

Having returned from Rome in 1825, sculptor István

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