The Story of the Wenckheim Palace

Construction of the palace began in early 1886, employing hundreds of

workers and the most outstanding specialized tradesmen of the time. Sculptural
and metalwork decorations were designed by prestigious masters such as János
Fadrusz and Gyula Jungfer. Construction commenced in May 1889. The splendid
mansion boasted 11 halls, 48 rooms, 5 vestibules, 5 kitchens, 3 serving rooms,
4 baths, a pantry, a cloakroom, stables, a carriage house, a feed warehouse, a
wine and ice cellar, and various other rooms. The count and countess’
apartments were in the Reviczky Street wing, on two floors above each other.
Representational halls were situated facing the square and on the Baross Street
front, while the service areas were located mainly in the perpendicular wing in the
back of the building. Servant’s quarters were situated in the basement of the
Baross Street wing and on the third floor of the Reviczky Street wing.
The count, the countess and their seven children lived in the mansion from
December to May. On weekdays they used the Reviczky Street entrance. The
main entrance was reserved for special occasions, when the number of guests
could be up to five hundred. “With its marvellous furnishings the most beautiful
private building of the capital is a highly favoured meeting place both in elite
circles and among prominent public figures alike,” wrote an enthusiastic reporter
of the paper Szalon Újság in 1904. Urban legend has it that Emperor Franz
Joseph I himself held a reception here. Gyula Krúdy Jr., son of the celebrated
writer, described the salon as being “…a smaller version of the throne room of
the Royal Palace. Since something in the new palace had not been finished,
Emperor Franz Joseph carried out his regal duties from the Wenckheim Palace
for three days.” Whatever the case may be, the only reliable contemporary
account at our disposal states that “Members of the royal family were entertained
within its walls on several occasions.”
The death of its builder (1912), World War I and the revolutions that
followed ended the palace’s first golden era. In the spring of 1919, organs of the
Hungarian Soviet Republic requisitioned the building first as offices of the joiners’
and sculptors’ trade association, later designating it the location of the newly
founded Museum of the Communist Proletariat. This collection included, among
other things, some of the enormous sculptures and paintings that had adorned
the capital during the May 1 celebrations of 1919. Following the downfall of the
short-lived dictatorship of the proletariat, personnel threw these artifacts into the
yard. Carting the debris away took weeks. For a while the building then housed
one of the command centres of the Royal Romanian Army that had invaded
Budapest. According to a contemporary account, it was at the time of the army’s
retreat that the tapestries decorating the parlour disappeared.
As the family’s financial status diminished, it resorted to renting out some
of the rooms to tenants, and the majestic halls to various political parties and
associations. Following the death of the countess in 1926, the heir to the building
sold it to the city administration of Budapest.

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A New Era: A Library in the Palace
The history of the Metropolitan Ervin Szabó Library reaches back to the 19th
century, even though officially it was only founded in 1904 by the unification of
the libraries of the Budapest city archives and the bureau of statistics. It primarily
served administrative officials and was housed in a wing of City Hall on Károly
körút that no longer stands. Between the years 1907-1910 the intent of its first
director, head librarian Ervin Szabó, was twofold: he strove to expand the
collection with a focus on the Social Sciences, while simultaneously developing
it into a modern public education library at the service of a larger audience. The
latter focus coincided favourably with the intent of the cultural policy makers of
the time, whose aim was to set up a network of public library branches in
Budapest, based on the successful British model. Mayor István Bárczy and a
group of social reformists succeeded in having plans for a “public education
institution” accepted. Alongside a library the multifunctional community center, to
use modern parlance, would have boasted a theatre, workshops, and even an
observatory. However, the architectural plans of Béla Lajta, considered quite
modern at the time, called for funding that exceeded the available financial
framework. Support for the program dwindled, and with the outbreak of World
War I, all further negotiations came to a halt.
The main branch of the library was temporarily housed in an unused school
building, which it rapidly outgrew. By the mid 1920s the stifling lack of space made
moving a necessity, and rather than continuing to force the previous idea of a
new building, the purchase and requisite adaptation of the Wenckheim Palace
proved a cheaper and less risky solution.
In adapting the building to its new function great effort was made not only to
preserve the original grandeur of the representative halls, but also to design the
necessary new furniture so that it would harmonize with the interior design.
Furniture, shelving, catalogue cabinets and counters were all manufactured
individually and tailored to fit the style of the interior architecture. Applied art
planning was divided between two winners of the competition, Béla Vass and
Károly Bodon. Several contractors, such as the celebrated Károly Lingel and
Endre Thék, carried out the tricky cabinetmaking tasks. The onetime private
apartments and the perpendicular wing of the palace were converted into
fireproof book storage areas complete with a book elevator and modern,
adjustable iron gantry prepared and fitted by the Ganz Works. A unique solution
to the problem of high ceilings in the storage areas was the instalment of elevated
floors of glass and wire mesh to ensure optimal space usage. This feature made
it possible to retain the building’s original façade and window placement, while
providing proper lighting at the same time.
The opening ceremony of the luxurious new house of knowledge was held
on April 21, 1931. Journalists of all the daily papers covered the event, as did
enthusiastic newsreel reporters: “What an uplifting experience to step from the
profanity of the street into this temple-like palace of books. (...) Everything
sparkles and shines, and everywhere there is evidence of the unprecedented

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effort with which we rich paupers raise the culture of Budapest towards
perfection.”
War and Peace
The palace suffered greatly during the Siege of Budapest in 19544-1945. A
delivery dropped by parachute to the surrounded German troops shattered the
glass ceiling of the main staircase, allowing the snow to fall in. German and Soviet
troops took shelter in the building at various times. Luckily, the German
ammunition vehicles parked in the yard did not blow up, and the main façade
suffered only two major hits during the fighting that destroyed Kálvin Square. The
Eastern Collection, which had been housed in the palace’s smoking room, was
hit from the other direction. The enormous bronze chandelier crashed to the
ground and the carved wooden spiral staircase and furniture was severely
damaged. The entire building was surrounded by debris up to the second floor.
During the Revolution of 1956, canon projectiles from the direction of Kálvin
Square lodged into the wall of the salon, this time not only destroying the walls
and the large mirrors, but the rare books on display and the library catalogues as
well. Following temporary restoration, the building underwent large-scale
renovation in 1964.
All, that is, except for the Eastern Collection. Its magnificent wooden
structures were deemed unsafe and almost completely dismantled. Fortunately,
the monument preservation authority prevented this from happening, as it did the
removal of the tiled stove in the Silver Salon. The exterior walls facing the yard,
however, were not so lucky. Overzealous alpinists hired to remove a few
crumbling ornaments took down more than half. Notwithstanding these
unfortunate interludes, it is clear that the librarians working in the building were
watchful caretakers of its architectural values for more than half a century, and
the building lived to see the reconstruction of 1998-2001 in relatively good shape.
Reconstruction, expansion
At the time of the building’s inauguration as a library, it was estimated that
the amount of available space would be enough for books and visitors alike for at
least fifty years. However, shelves filled up much quicker than anticipated, and
with major changes in library usage habits the original palace spaces were no
longer adequate. Plans for a new, modernized library complex were occasionally
picked up, only to be relegated to the realm of dreams with time. Meanwhile, the
buildings next door to the palace were acquired for auxiliary purposes.
As a matter of fact, it was just this that eventually made expansion
possible. Between the years 1998-2001, a new library complex was created with
the incorporation of surrounding buildings. The new facility houses 1.1 million
volumes and can accommodate 1,000 visitors on 13,000 square meters. The
grand halls of the palace have been restored down to the smallest detail and have
been delivered of functions that interfere with the enjoyment of their original
splendour. These functions have been relocated to a brand new eight-story
building erected behind the palace deliberately designed to be more puritan and

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contemporary in style, as well as to a series of reading and office spaces
constructed from an old neighbouring building. These three buildings, so very
different in architectural style, were brilliantly connected by opening the wall of
the palace’s perpendicular wing and structuring it with pillars, and by inserting a
spiral staircase. This way, not only are the various spaces permeable, they also
open into each other visually. Interior windows and glass surfaces provide peeks
into exciting neighbouring areas, inviting visitors to discover further. The
reconstruction received several prestigious architectural awards, such as the
Europa Nostra Award and the FIABCI World Prix d’ Excellence Award. And even
more importantly, it has won the undivided praise and unwavering acclaim of its
audience.