Press Releases

Budapest, April 30, 2013 16:30

A street in downtown, bringing back different memories for everyone. Despite some special and popular efforts the state of this cultic part of the city is still unworthy of its past – two relevant municipalities and the committed civilian society try changing that. Magyar Telekom also joined them:  the company sponsors the renovation, re-interpretation of the internal facade leading over to the former "Splényi House" ghetto wall.

The facade of the building under Király street 15 is covered by scaffolding for years, the red marble well – once providing water – is in pieces, the old ghetto wall at the opposite side of the courtyard is a tourist pilgrimage site, in an unworthy state. KultUnio, the Contemporary Architect Centre, the Budapest Technical University and the 7th district municipality announced a brainstorming competition for higher education institutions to renovate the internal facade of the building used as the fence bordering the ghetto during the holocaust.

Magyar Telekom was awarded at a Civilian Auction to support the project. The facade of the internal courtyard will be renovated with the company’s financial and the associates’ voluntary physical contribution, reflecting upon the building’s fate and history – as defined by the plans of the winning application.

The jury selected the winners from among 8 competition entries, the award ceremony takes place on April 29 in the Telekom headquarters at Krisztina körút. Based on the winning competition entry, in the first phase the internal facade of Király street 15 starts already this year.

In the second phase, thanks to Telekom’s further aspirations a so-called „intelligent” courtyard will be established, blending technical and cultural values. Consequently, local residents and thousands of tourists visiting the historic site will experience receiving information instantly, using modern technology.

„This is an exemplary project for Telekom, as we consider it an extraordinary blend of financial support, voluntary work, cultural and technical investment, in other words both preserving values and innovation...” said Iván Rózsa, communication director of the company.

Majority of the special memories in the street are situated between Deák Ferenc square and Nagykörút. Buildings featuring the names of Alpár Ignác, Brein Fülöp, Pollack Mihály and Hild József include café Velence of Ungerleider Mór – the first place to show moving images in the late 1800 years – but fencing world champion Petschauer Attila and Szomory Dezső were also born here, and Krúdy Gyula also lived in the street for a while.

Ágost, the son of Pollack Mihály designed a three storey romantic residential building in 1852 located at the crossing of Király and Holló streets, for Baron Splényi József royal chamberlain. In the first part of the last century the building on Király Street 15 was still named Splényi House. At the street level this building housed the „Blue Cat” night club, frequented by rich businessmen and nobles. The plot borderline of the building at the corner became the borderline of the ghetto in 1944.

The section with troubled fate was a neglected, continuously deteriorating region until the change of the regime – well off dwellers moved out. From the early 2000 years ruin pubs popped up in vacant houses and their internal courtyards, while in the past ten years some buildings were totally reinterpreted, by housing high standard catering units and cultural centres. Numerous unused houses in poor state still wait for such „reinterpretation” though.

This year it is already the second programme supported by Telekom, targeting the development and innovation of Király Street:In the frame of the „hello holnap!” sustainability program the company donates HUF 3.2 million the „green shop” competition launched by shops in Király Street in 2013. During the one year competition cafés, family-friendly service providers and merchants set examples through their own commitments, by surveying „in-house” what changes they can make in their operation, partially reducing the environmental load and secondly saving costs. 11 shops from Király Street entered the competition. ( www.zolduzlet.hu)

As the leading info-communication service provider of Hungary, Magyar Telekom is committed to sustainable urban lifestyle. The sponsorship approach of the company is based on the conviction that setting an example is the best way to promote and contribute to a better living for everyone. https://www.telekom.hu/society_and_environment