Hajós György: Heroes' Square - Our Budapest (Budapest, 2001)
national independence”. The cenotaph, which is raised above the level of the square, is girdled by an ornamental chain made of wrought iron. The Exhibition Hall The southern side of the square is closed by the building of the Exhibition Hall. (Exhibition halls are, as a rule, buildings housing occasional exhibitions displaying, in groups or individually, the works of living artists.) After the Compromise of 1867 the institutional network of fine arts also began to take shape. The various associations united artists and art-sponsors, their objective being to stage exhibitions, award prizes and grants, and to arrange for purchases made by the state. In their work they endeavoured to help the arts flourish on the one hand and to represent the interests of artists on the other. The National Fine Arts Association of Hungary was called into being in 1861. The organisation had no funds at its disposal, which is why it invited wealthy patrons to join its membership. The number of artists returning from schools or study trips abroad, and with that the number of artworks, increased. What was missing was an appropriate building and floorspace to exhibit their works. The National Museum and the rooms of the Hungarian Academy of Science had not been meant for these purposes (and suffered from a lack of space themselves). The National Fine Arts Association of Hungary had its first hall built in 1877 at 69 Andrássy út to plans by Adolf Lang. The building soon proved to be too small, and there was inadequate light, too. Another building in the style of an exhibition hall was erected for the 1885 National Exposition in the City Park, but this was mainly used as a museum and was eventually pulled down. In its preparations for the Millenary celebrations, the Association intended to put on a major exhibition and made a proposal for the building of a new and modern Exhibition Hall. In 1892 a preparatory committee was set up of the Association’s leading members, all of them well-known artists and architects. The committee drew up a memorandum with a list of requirements that the new building was to meet. In the docu36
