The turn of the century marks
one of the most important epochs, the golden age of Budapest. After the
revolution and the war of independence (1848-49), which were followed
almost twenty years later by the period of national resistance, the city
reached the crowning point in its development in about 1900. Budapest,
the capital of Hungary, evolved from the old towns of Óbuda (Old-Buda),
Buda and Pest, six years after the Austro-Hungarian agreement and the
establishment of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In the last quarter of the
19th century, the city grew to a surprising degree. During this period,
its population tripled, rising from 280,000 to 933,000, whilst the
number of its buildings almost doubled. These constructions were planned
and supervised by the capital's Council for Public Works, the central
organisation responsible for city planning. They turned Budapest into a
metropolis in the truest sense of the word.
The buildings display two noticeable styles, those of Historicism and
Art Nouveau, or rather several variants of Art Nouveau. In contrast to
Historicism, Hungarian Art Nouveau is based on the national
architectural characteristics. Taking the eastern origins of the
Hungarians into account, Ödön Lechner (1845-1914), the most important
figure in Hungarian Art Nouveau, was initially inspired by Indian and
Syrian architecture, and later by traditional Hungarian decorative
designs. In this way, he created an original synthesis of architectural
styles. By applying them to three-dimensional architectural elements, he
produced a version of Art Nouveau that was specific to Hungary.
Turning away from the style of Lechner, yet taking inspiration from
his approach, the group of 'Young People' (Fiatalok), which included
Károly Kós and Dezsö Zrumeczky, were to use the characteristic
structures and forms of traditional Hungarian architecture to achieve
the same end.
Besides the two principal styles, the town also displays local
versions of trends originating from other European countries. The
Sezession from Vienna, the German Jugendstil, Art Nouveau from Belgium
and France and the influence of English and Finnish architecture are all
reflected in the buildings constructed at the turn of the century. Béla
Lajta initially adopted Lechner's style, subsequently drawing his
inspiration from English and Finnish trends; after developing an
interest in the Egyptian style, he finally arrived at modern
architecture. Aladár Árkay took almost the same route. István Medgyaszay
developed his own style, which differed from Lechner's, using stylised
traditional motifs to create decorative designs in concrete. In the
sphere of applied arts, those chiefly responsible for promoting the
spread of Art Nouveau were the School and Museum of Decorative Arts,
which opened in 1896.
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