Sonnenberg House, 23 Munkácsy Mihály street

Source: MESZL Budapest Collection

One of the streets made out of the dirt tracks on the outskirts of Theresatown is the Munkácsy Mihály street of today. At the end of the 1860s, it was Epreskert street, then from 1879 it officially became Epreskert. Since 1900, the street has born its current name.

Now, the street is an oasis in the stone jungle of Theresatown, shady trees aligning it from Podmaniczky street through the northern edge of Epreskert up to Benczúr street. On each side, having survived the stormy 20th century, mansions stand proudly one after the other, reminding passersby of a bygone era of heyday and giving a burg atmosphere in the middle of a pulsing capital. The most famous house of the street, and consequently the area, has a light yellow colour after its last renovation, stands on the corner of Szondi street, visible from far away, and is known in the technical literature as the Sonnenberg House.

Source: index.hu

Famous, and less famous, yet interesting people lived here at the beginning of the century. For example, one of the pillars of the Hungarian publishing circles between the two wars, one of the founders of Singer and Wolfner Literary Corporation, Sándor Singer was registered here, according to the 1916 address registry.

The year of construction was 1904, the commissioner was Imre Sonnenberg tradesman, who bought the estate with his wife, Ilona Dietrichstein, in 1903. The plans were drawn up by the master of art nouveau mansion architecture, Kálmán Albert Kőrössy, who also planned the current Ferenc Kölcsey High School under number 32-26 of the same street. The most eye-catching element of the building is the entrance, where graceful art nouveau female figures stand above the arched doorway.

Source: egy.hu

For the decoration of the facade, the designer used the complete art set of the art nouveau: flowered stucco, with a "blessing" carved into them: „Itt nyújt az élet örömet, fájdalmat, tövist és rózsát” ("Here gives life happiness, pain, thorns and roses" - ed.), glass mosaics, sandstone angels, a waving gable and windows by Miksa Róth, which dressed the stairs and the facade into beautiful colours, transforming the side of Sonnenberg House facing Epreskert into something special. People came by to gawk at it since the beginning of its construction, it survived everything, wars, sieges and the following miserable decades.

After construction was finished, the Sonnenberg family moved into the flat that occupied the whole mezzanine floor and had a balcony with a view onto the street and the side garden. On each upper floor, two large, spacious rentable apartments were created, while in the wing to the side there was a huge apartment with a terrace and in the basement spacious, well-lit rooms were ready to be occupied by workshops.

  
Source: 24.hu, lathatatlan.ovas.hu

From 1936 on, the flat on the second floor on the left was taken by Dr. István Egri mechanical engineer and his family, whose father, Izidor Egri, had founded a firm manufacturing medical equipment, named Egri and Son. Later, he upgraded his father's modest business into a company that took part in the execution of the most important constructions of the best architects of that age. They planned and installed modern central heating and water systems and hot-water supplies. The client circle of the year 1930 only was impressive: Dezső Freund, Lajos Medgyes and Béla Hofstätter, among others. In 1934, the company planned and installed the complete mechanical system of the Swimming Center on Margaret Island - today called the Alfréd Hajós National Swimming Center - planned by the architect Alfréd Hajós, the first Olympic champion of Hungary.

When moving into the mansion on Munkácsy street, the Egri apartment was designed by Lajos Kozma, the most modern thinking interior designer of the time.

In 1944, the building became a yellow-star house. The Egri family had to go into hiding, and they moved to one of the Swedish Houses on Benczúr street, but they didn't stay long, thanks to the good instincts of Dr. István Egri: the day after their departure the house was attacked by The Arrow Cross. Dr. Egri's eight-year-old boy, János, born in 1936, was kept in hiding by his governess, Mária Szabó. First she took him to Páhok, her place of birth, as her own child, even bearing the shame of being an unwed mother. The beauty of this story is that she also became the governess for the grandchild of Dr. István Egri, who was born after the war. In 1995, the Yad Vashem (The World Holocaust Remembrance Center) honoured Mária Szabó with the title of Righteous Among the Nations (non-Jews who took great risks to save Jews during the Holocaust) - as per the proposal of the family.*

  
Source: MESZL Budapest Collection, egy.hu

1970 was the year, when the awful state property manager, under the guise of renovation, basically attacked the Sonnenberg House. Every decoration was knocked down, the waving gable was pulled down and smashed. The rest of the facade was drastically changed, the once rich ornamental decoration was mostly gone and the building was disfigured by a shabby third floor. The entrance and its immediate surroundings, the fence and the insides, the gorgeous front hall and the staircase, even the diverse and special window-shapes of the facade and the basement windows between the rustic stone footing, fortunately, are still the same.

 
Source: lathatatlan.ovas.hu, 24.hu

50 years after this unprecedented destruction disguised as renovation, an active residential community set a noble goal for themselves: not only are they going to renovate their famous house, but they are also going to restore its grandeur preceding the rampage of the '70s.

 
Source: 24.hu

This won't be an easy task, however, since they have to win over the rare representatives of mostly extinct professions, and last but not least, they need to raise the funds as a condominium for the exceptionally expensive work. Only drawings remain of the lost windows and the demolishing of the unorthodox third floor is no longer possible. At least, the manufactured stairs cutting the art nouveau staircase in half can be replaced with a more fitting one for the historic environment.

 Source: 24.hu

Source: meselohazak.hu, egy.hu, lathatatlan.ovas.hu
*Clarifications (in parenthesis) sourced from yadvashem.org