Babocsay Manor, 129 Andrássy Road

Source: MESZL Budapest Collection

The Boulevard ("Sugárút") - now Andrássy Road - was handed over on 20th August 1876 and was close to the heart of the then-residing  Prime Minister, Count Gyula Andrássy. At this time, many city building projects were underway, which resulted in wide boulevards popping up all over Europe. The lots on Boulevard were not that large, though, and the government also regulated exactly how big the buildings can be on them - which was pushed to the absolute maximum by the buyers. Although many of the houses were designed by the Boulevard Construction Company, they didn't interfere in the owners' businesses, so the overall image had become diverse.

Bellevue House and Inn
Source: fortepan.hu

On 129 Andrássy Road, two beautiful buildings had stood once - one after the other, of course. First, the Bellevue-house was built on the corner by Heroes' Square in 1872, which had a tower and functioned as an inn. It was demolished, however, in 1905 to give space for something from the new style of the era. Unfortunately, not even the "Hungarian-esque art nouveau" Babocsay Manor could enjoy its time in the sun for long with its circular ornaments. The manor was built in 1906 as per the plans of Aladár Árkay architect, and the works were executed by the construction company of the owner, Hermann Babocsay. The building had no windows that looked the same and the bright colours, the geometric and folk-inspired ceramic ornaments and the novelty of art nouveau interior wowed the people of Budapest.

 
Aladár Árkay architect and the layout of the manor
Source: pestbuda.hu, mke.hu

On the ground floor were the reception room, the parlour room, the dining room, the smoking room and the kitchen. Upstairs were the suites, the attic held the construction offices and the basement was built to have servants' apartments and commercial premises. The furniture, the decorative glasses, the light fixtures and the wall decor were done according to the plans of Árkay. The description found in the paper "Magyar Pályázatok" (Hungarian Tenders - ed.), issue 4 year 1906, tells us that various types of wood and different coloured fabrics were used for the interior and mentioned the windows of the staircase as landscapes of the Great Plain with windmills and cranes flying past. The glass windows and the glass mosaic on the outside were made by Miksa Róth and the maiolica pieces were manufacturad by the Zsolnay Factory. The furniture was put together by the interior design and furniture company, Gelb and Son.

  
Source: mke.hu

An article was published in 1910 in the paper "Művészet" (Art - ed.) describing the manor: "You can instantly realize that you just came across the creation of an artist, who has an original vision and subtley for the Hungarian feel and style. Melodies, quiet but jolly, their rhythm lively and graceful, float towards us. We can feel the creation of harmony, because a commissioner with modern thoughts joined with an architect who understands the modern man, and from this harmony beauty was conceived" wrote dr. Béla Lázár in his praising review, in which he deemed the facade ornamentation and the interior design as elegant and modern.*

Source: MESZL Budapest Collection

In the 1920s, though, the unconventional look of the manor was judged to be too gaudy. In 1927, Jenő Padányi Gulyás - later known as Eugene Padányi-Gulyás in the US - was against the style called "Hungarian-esque" and mentioned the Babocsay Manor as one representative of it, showing a significant difference between the Hungarian and "Hungarian-esque" architecture. In 1926, when Babocsay got fed up with the constant criticism, he had his home redone in the new style, the Bauhaus, by Lajos Kozma architect. The building turned into a more objective house with a simpler facade and even the dome was removed.

 
Lajos Kozma architect and his reconstruction of the manor
Source: lechnerkozpont.hu, andrassy127.weebly.com

Since then, the ownerships of the building are hard to trace. On 2nd August 1932, the Yugoslavian Royal Embassy opened its doors here, but it is assumed that they just rented the building, or only bought a part of it. A legend among the embassy workers says that the poet Jovan Dučić had a rendezvous with an unknown Hungarian countess, who gifted him the manor, which he passed along to the Yugoslavian State. However, after some research, there is no proof to the validity of this legend.

The embassy had been in operation for a few years, when the auction notices let people know that the manor was owned by the Fönícia General Commodity Representation and Commercial Trade Co., then a few years later, in 1942 the Ministry of National Defense Propaganda moved in (while the embassy was still open and functioning). Many editorials also resided here, like the "Nemzeti Újság" (National Paper - ed.) and the "Országépítés" (Country Building - ed.) in the first half of the 1940s.

Memorial plaque for Imre Nagy and his companions on the embassy wall
Source: hu.wikipedia.org

But the most famous role the building had was in one sad episode of Hungarian history: between 4th and 22nd November 1956 members of the third Imre Nagy-government had sought refuge in the Yugoslavian Embassy. Since 7th February 2003, it has functioned as the Serbian Embassy of Budapest.

Source: valaszonline.hu

*The full article of Dr. Béla Lázár can be found in Hungarian here: Az Andrássy-úti Babocsay-villa (The Babocsay Manor on Andrássy Road)

Sources: Wikipedia, gentlemansreview.hu, gyujtemeny.imm.hu, mke.hu, ilyenisvoltbudapest.hu, fovarosi.blog.hu