Saturday, 14 June 2014

Gresham Palace

 

Gresham Palace is in the Liotvaros district on Szechenyl Istvan Ter. A magnificent Art Nouveau building, it was commissioned by a British insurance company in 1904 and is named after the financier Thomas Gresham.

The building was in an awful state when it was acquired by a hotel chain in 2001 but it has been lovingly restored: authentic materials and even the original workshops were sought out to do the job.




 
The whole building is a masterpiece
 
 
 

 
great attention to detail
 

 
 


and so representative of its period.




 
Fantastic balconies
 

 
  


beautiful bas-relief work




 
the top of the magnificent entrance
 
 
 
 
 
It looks great at night too
 



 
The lobby
 

 
 


one of the lifts
 
 

 
 

detail






Art Nouveau at its best
 
 
 
 

nice decorative touches






This area was reserved for a wedding reception
 

 
 
 

a closer look at the magnificent wrought iron peacock gates
 
 
 
 

 

a closer look
 
 
 
 
 
a view of the gates from the outside
 
 

 
 

 wonderful stained glass designed by Miksa Roth.



 

 
Wrought iron gate separating the private from the public areas
 
 

 
 


The restaurant
 
 
 

 
The entrance to the bar
 

 
 

 
the bar





Miksa Roth's windows at night.

An Art Nouveau masterpiece.



4 comments:

  1. Is there no end to these stunning buildings?

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    Replies
    1. Olga, basically, no. That's the wonder of Budapest. And there was lots we did not see.

      I keep telling myself that I have posted too much on Budapest and that I should stop, but, who knows, we might never go there again, there are so many place to visit, and I want this record of what we did and saw - I don't look at my photographs anymore, I just look at my blog posts, and I want to have this record, so, there will be a few more.

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    2. The problem with writing comments is that you cannot hear my tone of voice. I should have added an explanatory following sentence at least. I do not wish your posts on Budapest buildings to cease; I am simply amazed at how much intact wondrous architecture of that period there still is. How rich the city must have been at that time, and how astonishing that so little, if any, was destroyed by a regime which must have seen the buildings as bourgeois and therefore anathema.
      My comment was meant to be an exclamation of wonder. Your blog is a fascinating way for me to see a city which I am not likely to visit myself, so thank you.

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    3. Total misunderstanding, Olga. I took your comment in the spirit it was intended and the first line was my answer.

      I then voiced my own thoughts about my posts on Budapest, I feel there have been too many and with hindsight I would have organised them in a different way. I am basically ready to start writing about something else, but feel that I should finish with Budapest, that's all my comment was really about: me, just thinking out loud, so to speak. So, apologies if it made you feel uncomfortable. I really appreciate your input and enjoy reading your comments and would hate it if you started feeling self-conscious in any way.

      Delete