Napoleon Court, 25 Hajós street

 
Source: kitervezte.hu

Source: MESZL Budapest Collection

One of the most beautiful buildings of the capital city is the lesser known Napoleon Court behind the Opera House. The large apartment house on the corner of Hajós and Zichy Jenő streets was finished in 1906, as per the plans of Gyula Fodor. The building has been waiting for a renovation for many long years and its entrance can be found under 25 Hajós street. The huge apartment house, speckled with bulletholes, bears about all of the problems similar buildings of Budapest have to deal with.

Gyula Fodor had an active architectural work period in his life from 1903 to 1914, during which he planned more than 30 apartment houses in the capital city, never took part in any tender projects and was hired by rich commissioners. His most known works are the Ernst Museum in Nagymező street, the Golden Eagle House at the beginning of Üllői Road and the Napoleon Court. Many company names are associated with his in documents mentioning the architect. After World War I broke out, dark times fell on architects: the constructions of apartment houses had basically stopped for a good 10-12-year-long period, up until around 1926. In 1914 Fodor was only 42 years old, in the prime of his life, when the sudden shutdown hit and the next time he could design a building was in 1931, which was very different from his previous works: a quite boring-looking apartment house in Vármegye street.

  
Source: MESZL Budapest Collection

The building permit for Napoleon Court was granted in 1905. This was the same year the construction of the Exchange Palace and the headquarters of the Hungarian National Bank was finished, both from the plans of Ignác Alpár; Béla Lajta started building the Jewish Institute for the Blind on Mexikói Road; the Babocsay Manor from Aladár Árkay on the corner of Andrássy Road and Heroes' Square was done; the Basilica was opened and the construction of Gresham has begun.

This house was commissioned by Ignác Pollák and his wife, and the City Council of the 6th District granted the building permit for a three-floor apartment house on 15 July 1905. On the original plans there was no gable on the Hajós street side facade, and consequently no Napoleon statue to (not really) give its name for the building. So this was more likely changed later. On the wall of the entrance hall there is an inscription in beautiful letters saying „anno dom. 1905-06”, so there was plenty of opportunities for multiple changes during the two years.

 
Source: kitervezte.hu

In the center of the facade stands the only statue of Bonaparte Napoleon I in Budapest. Its presence is the result of a misunderstanding: right on the corner of Hajós and Zichy streets, there was a café called Café Napoleon in the 1870s. Its owner was such a fan of the then popular, even in Hungary, Emperor Napoleon III that he named his café after him. However, the commissioner of 25 Hajós street had no idea that THIS Napoleon was not THAT Napoleon, so he had the statue made after the most famous Bonaparte, Napoleon I born in Corsica, and put it into a niche on the facade of the new building.

   
Source: kep-ter.blog.hu, kitervezte.hu

The wrought-iron gate of the entrance is impressive with its embossed copper plates and the name of the metalworking company of Gerő and Győry. The house is beautiful, the interior has been redone wonderfully. On the old swinging door the glasses are worn down, but the carvings are still intact and in good condition. The floor tiles on the galleries and the old clear green Zsolnay tiles in the entrance hall were replaced, the stained glass windows are bright and sparkling with colour. The wonderful chandelier, which has been an integral part of the entrance hall, was unfortunately stolen during the renovation.

   
Source: kitervezte.hu, kep-ter.blog.hu

The wrought-iron rails on the gallery are nice and the grates on the apartment doors and windows are the originals almost everywhere. The stained glass windows are from Miksa Róth, and although there are no official records, the embossments and the stucco ornaments are presumably from Simon Ney, who had worked before with Fodor on the Golden Eagle House and other buildings.

  
Source: kep-ter.blog.hu, lathatatlan.ovas.hu

The uppermost level of the bullethole-riddled facade, the roof and the corner towers have been covered with tarpaulin for years, reminiscent of a sheet on an outdoor exhibition piece. This doesn't stop passersby to admire the ornamented facades divided by rounded closed balconies or for example the rustic wrought-iron gate decorated with embossed copper plates.

  
Source: kep-ter.blog.hu, kitervezte.hu

Stepping into the elegant, large entrance hall with faux marble pillars, it's hard to decide what to take in first: Simon Ney's white stucco ornaments, the yet unsolved scenes on the reliefs, which symbolize either the arts or maybe the work itself, the coloured glass windows, the flower-patterned floor tiles that give the effect of a carpet, the butterflies on the wrought-iron railing of the staircase or the exceptional carpentry work.

 
Source: kep-ter.blog.hu

The apartment house, occupied mostly by Jews, was made into a Jewish compulsory residence in 1944, a yellow-star house. In 1997, the house designed by Gyula Fodor, bearing the works of the best masters of the era, has become a listed building.

Source: MESZL

Sources: kitervezte.hu, kep-ter.blog.hu, lathatatlan.ovas.hu