Benczúr House

The Egyedi Palace was built at the end of the 19th century in Budapest, in the Terézváros district, under number 27 Benczúr (then Nagy János) Street. The former Postás Cultural Center is now a cultural and event centre called Benczúr House.

It is the seat of the Postakürt Foundation, houses the Postal Museum and the Benczúr House cultural institution. Monument.

Background

The wealth of the Egyedi family was founded in the second half of the 19th century by Ignác Stern, owner of the Újpest distillery (Egyedi Lajos Spirits Factory). The distillery operated in Újpest at number 27 Árpád Road. Because the distilling industry was then extremely advanced and the factory was very profitable, Ignác Stern was able to leave a significant fortune to his two sons, Artúr and Lajos.

Artúr managed the several thousand-acre family estate in Egyed (Sopron County), while Lajos became the new owner of the Újpest distillery. In 1885 and 1889 the Stern brothers, after the location of the family lands, adopted the Hungarian family name Egyedi.

At the turn of the century the two brothers became known as talented athletes in aristocratic and bourgeois circles, playing an important role for 20–25 years in the life of national equestrian sport. Artúr was an excellent agricultural expert and horse breeder, who simultaneously took part in the breeding of 12–16 animals and founded famous horse families. Lajos’s carefully preserved stock was listed among the country’s most significant breeding lines, which Hungarian equestrian sport still acknowledges today. According to stories, one of the grandchildren of the famous horse Kincsem was buried in the garden of the Egyedi Palace (a memorial column behind the stage testifies to this).

In addition to equestrian sport and horse breeding, Lajos Egyedi never gave up his business activities either. He had a lavish palace built for residential and office purposes at 27 Nagy János (now Benczúr) Street. He was among the highest taxpayers of the era. However, the creation of the alcohol cartel in 1913 prevented further development of the distillery, which forced him to part with it the following year. After selling his factory, he launched a rayon (artificial silk) manufacturing enterprise on Árpád Road in 1916, investing a large capital in the purchase of modern factory equipment. Soon, however, tragedies cast a shadow over the family's everyday life, while the great economic world crisis made life difficult for the Egyedis; the contemporary press widely publicized the death of Artúr Egyedi, who was strangled by his son-in-law after he refused to pay the man's debts. Only fragments of the family's fortune remained, while the majority of the assets were acquired by the Magyar–Olasz Bank.

To prevent the demolition of the residential building on Benczúr Street, Lajos Egyedi committed suicide in 1927.

History

When a row of palaces was erected on Andrássy Street at the turn of the previous century, the construction of exclusive residences also flourished in the surrounding streets.

From 1928, according to a government decree, the pension contributions deducted from postal workers did not have to be transferred to the central pension fund. Instead, the Royal Post was allowed to establish its own separate fund, from which it could support various institutions assisting postal employees. As a result, the welfare fund (Hungarian Royal Postal Charity Fund) that managed the pension fund decided to create a club house for the association and, in 1930, purchased the palace at 27 Benczúr Street from the bank. In 1931, Dr. Gábor Szalay baron, president of the Postal Music and Cultural Association founded in 1925, recalled this in his article titled “The New Postman's Home”: “I do not say that if we had had to build a building ourselves, we would have built it like this and so splendidly, but let this beautiful exterior not deceive anyone. It was a rare, favorable opportunistic purchase, insofar as we managed to buy the house for a relatively small sum from a wealthy heir of an old world, a sum for which we could not have built even a part of a very modest house that would meet our very modest needs.... Let this house be the realm of peace, love and concord,... and may the future be as beautiful as we hope.”

An excerpt of the founding charter of the cultural association states in 1925: the association’s purpose is “...to awaken interest in professional and literary works, as well as in all branches of art, among the officers of the Hungarian Post, to promote culture by organizing scientific, professional and literary lectures, as well as performances for art lovers, to cultivate noble singing and music by establishing a vocal and symphonic orchestra, arranging choral and musical evenings, and maintaining a music school.”

The post office building suffered only minor damage during the Second World War, and from the 1950s it again served its original purpose; it was the cultural institution of the postmen.

Benczúr House

In the early 1990s the building became the headquarters of the Postal and Telecommunications Cultural Foundation founded by Magyar Posta Kft., Matáv Rt., and Antenna Hungária Kft. Following the goals formulated nearly a century earlier (now under the name Benczúr House), the foundation maintains a high‑level cultural centre by curating programmes for the capital’s general public.

In 2009 the founders decided to close Benczúr House (and later sell it), which also ended the guarantee of the building’s preservation. As a result, the 100‑year‑old Erkel Ferenc Music School had to move to another building in District VI.

In 2010 Magyar Posta Zrt. purchased 52% of the ownership from the other owners, thus becoming the 100% owner of the building. Subsequently, renewing its former activity, the Post Cultural Foundation was established in 2011 (now: Postakürt Foundation).

The second and third floors are the new location of the Post Museum (Budapest), which has been receiving visitors there since October 9, 2012.