The former Upper Trade School of the Capital City, 46 Izabella street

Source: MESZL Budapest Collection

Izabella street was the crossing road of the outskirts of Theresatown in the middle of the 19th century, no name yet. It became a landscaped street in the 1870s and its current name was given in 1872.

The building under nr. 46 was designed by Elek Barcza. The architect, after acquiring his diploma, took a longer trip of studying outside the country, then as he returned, he was hired into the office of Frigyes Schulek, and took part in the restoration works of the Matthias Church by his mentor’s side. Later he became independent and designed multiple public institutions as the architect and engineering consultant of the Engineering Department of the Capital City, the Izabella Street Upper Trade School being one of them.

Class photo in the Miklós Wesselényi Upper Trade School - 1934
Source: centropa.org

Miklós Radnóti, poet, a graduate of the Upper Trade School
Source: hirmagazin.eu

This corner house, designed by him and constructed at circa 1900, has multiple interesting facts around it. The tragic poet, Miklós Radnóti had attended here, his high school diploma issued in 1927 by the school, which was then named after Miklós Wesselényi.

     
Source: Wikipedia, pestbuda.hu

The building housed the Food Science Faculty of St. Stephen University starting from the 1960s, but currently it belongs to the Education and Psychology Faculty of ELTE. It underwent energetic and other structural improvement works, just like the other buildings of the university.

In front of the Izabella street façade of the house, a statue has been standing since 1937, in memory of the students, who died a heroic death in World War I. Its inscription was amended to include the deceased of World War II in 1990. This statue is a copy of another in Szombathely.

 
Source: pestbuda.hu, Wikipedia

In the 2010s, the renovation of the façade and the loft conversion has begun. These works were finished in 2018. Outside the change is very visible since the walls haven’t looked this new for a long time. If we compare the current look with a photo from 1913 (see at the top – ed.), we can easily see that the façade was restored almost exactly as the original.

     
Source: Facebook, Wikipedia, pestbuda.hu

Even though it wasn’t in as bad a condition before the renovation, the occasional plastering mistakes were smoothed out, and on the first-floor level of the Izabella street wall is a marble plaque in the once-empty frame, without inscription, for now.

  
Source: 6.kerulet.ittlakunk.hu, Facebook, Wikipedia

Although it’s barely visible on the outside, the loft has been converted, creating many new office spaces in the process.

Source: Wikipedia

Sources: pestbuda.hu, elkem.etk.szie.hu, Wikipedia