One of the Városliget’s most beautiful buildings, the former Olof Palme House, has been renovated. Among the oldest structures in the park and formerly a venue for the “Hungarian millennium” exhibition, the building was opened to the public in October, 2019 thanks to the Liget Budapest Project. The house has been restored with a focus on tradition but in accordance with the standards of the 21st century, opening with a temporary exhibition showcasing the golden age of the Városliget. It will later hark back to the most successful period in Hungary’s modern history with a permanent, interactive display focusing on turn-of-the-century Budapest.
Designed by Ferenc Pfaff, the structure was built as an arts hall for the 1885 National General Exhibition, and the critics of the day felt that it was one of the most beautiful elements of the event thanks to the unique Zsolnay decorations. However, the house almost immediately proved inadequate for exhibitions, so the significantly larger Hall of Art was built a few years later and still operates today. The house later functioned as the Budapest Museum, but it was damaged during World War II and the original interior décor was destroyed. With the establishment of the Art Foundation in the 1950s, the building was used as a sculptors’ studio, before the Fine Art Production Company later moved its headquarters here and later came under the ownership of the Hungarian Creative Art Public Endowment, but a suitable artistic or cultural function was never found for it.
The restoration begun in late 2017 is taking place according to the original architectural blueprints, returning the building’s imposing spaces to their former glory.
(Source:
https://ligetbudapest.hu/en/renewed-varosliget/the-house-of-the-hungarian-millennium )
