Kiss Katalin: Industrial Monuments - Our Budapest (Budapest, 1993)

to enrich its collections in an appropriate way. In the halls of the former shipyard there would be enough space to develop an exhibition of European standard, which would also symbolize the increasing respect for Hungarian engineers of international renown, their work and technical developments. The museum could be complemented and also maintained by the presentation and marketing of goods representing modern technical developments. Thus mass demolition could be avoided, and the functional and architectural unity of the plant preserved.

Even among the inhabitants of Óbuda there are only a few who know that the western side of the island, where today there are only some enormous unused cranes, hides interesting secrets. Here once stood the Procuratorial Palace of Aquincum, the capital of the Roman province of Pannónia, its ruins, today hidden in the earth, are worthy of care for posterity. On the basis of its brick markings, votive altars and the style of its mosaics and frescoes, the palace was built during the Pannonian procuratorship of Emperor Hadrian, in the first decade of the second century A.D., and was abandoned in the sixties of the third century. During its existence it went through four building periods, enlargement and reconstruction. The significance of the palace derived from the fact that it had been built for the Procurator of Pannónia, the supreme governor of the province, the commander-in-chief of the legions in the province, and the chief judge in civil and criminal cases. Its significance was emphasized by its imposing appearance and inner decorations, and by the comfort of the building. A large number of the inner rooms had floors with rich ornamental and figurái decorations, and many frescoes from here have found their way to the Budapest Historical Museum. Every important room, including, of course, the bathroom, had underfloor heating. An excellent drainage system provided for sewage disposal. The facade of the building was both plastered and painted.

The Óbuda Shipyard, one of the most interesting and most significant sites of Hungarian industrial history, stands empty, sad and ransacked. There is still no final deliberation on the future destiny of the centuries old trees and buildings of this beautiful island.

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