Post Tagged with: "Budapest"

Soviet-built metro cars currently in use on the M3 line in Budapest. This photo shows the section of the line between Határ út and Kőbánya, which runs above ground.

Russia’s Metrovagonmash and the Budapest metro refurbishment — A curious arrangement

The Budapest metro’s M3 (blue) line is undergoing a much needed upgrade. Budapest’s longest underground line (there are three other lines, all much shorter) spans 17 km, includes 20 stations and construction dates back to 1970. The line was opened in 1976 and the rolling stock to this day is comprised of the Soviet-built Metrovagonmash 81-717/81-714 type metro cars. The […]

by · May 17, 2016 · Focus
Iván Fischer. Photo: Péter Kollányi.

Conductor Iván Fischer pays the price for his criticism of Orbán regime

Hungarians received yet another reminder of the consequences of speaking out against the Orbán regime. The Budapest Festival Orchestra (BFZ), which is known for innovative, even experimental presentations of music, in order to promote what it refers to as “communal creativity, tolerance and equal opportunities,” saw its municipal funding from the Budapest City Council cut by two thirds, from 260 […]

by · May 7, 2016 · Politics
Budapest, as showcased in the city's 2024 Olympic bid video.

Budapest and the Olympics: Creating perceptions of an ultra-liberal, hipster city

Budapest submitted a bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. As a candidate city, the Hungarian capital is competing against Paris, Rome and Los Angeles. The bid was submitted jointly by the General Assembly of Budapest and the Hungarian Olympic Committee; the candidacy is supported strongly by Hungary’s Fidesz government and by Parliament. This week, the organizers published an English-language […]

by · April 17, 2016 · Politics
Béla Biszku

Treating a war criminal at the Budapest Jewish Hospital

Béla Biszku, who died at age 94 last week, was Hungary’s most infamous unrepentant hard-line communist and the only official of the former pre-1989 regime ever prosecuted for crimes against humanity. Biszku served in the Hungarian Workers’ Party (Magyar Dolgozók Pártja) from 1949, as well as in its successor, the Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party (Magyar Szocialista Munkáspárt – MSZMP), including […]

by · April 4, 2016 · Focus
A photo posted on Socialist MP Márta Demeter's Facebook page from the vigil held in front of the French Institute in Budapest.

Budapest residents light candles for victims of Paris attack

Hundreds of people gathered Saturday night at the steps of the Institut français de Budapest to light votive candles in memory of the 129 people killed on November 13th, when eight terrorists launched coordinated attacks in Paris. The French Institute, overlooking the Danube, was founded by France’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to promote the French language and culture in Hungary, and […]

by · November 15, 2015 · Politics
French photographer Bruno Bourel, who relocated to Budapest in 1993, created a series of photos on Jégbüfé.

Jégbüfé: Reflections on an authentically retro Budapest confectionery

Amidst all the kitsch, the tacky souvenir shops, the tourist traps and the overpriced “traditional Hungarian” restaurants along Váci utca, Budapest’s main pedestrian mall, there’s a little haunt called the Jégbüfé (Ice buffet), located just a block away, right near the foot of Elisabeth Bridge. When you go to the Jégbüfé, think more communist era retro, rather than old world […]

by · July 31, 2015 · Culture
Afghan and Syrian refugees arrive in Hungary by the hundreds each day. Photo: Molnár Edvárd/MTI.

Budapest residents organize aid for refugees through social media

Refugees from Syria and Afghanistan transiting through Hungary have become an everyday sight for Budapest residents, especially those living close to the Keleti railway station and major squares in the 7th and 8th Districts. Police seem to be focused on removing them as quickly as possible from these areas (out of sight, out of mind), but a growing civilian ‘army’ […]

by · July 26, 2015 · Focus
ELTE

Budapest university considers mandatory anti-racism course

Budapest’s Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), Hungary’s largest institution of higher education, is prepared to introduce a course on anti-racism, and is also considering whether to make this mandatory for all students enrolled in the Institute for Art Theory and Media Studies. Péter György, the institute’s director, said that the course would include Holocaust studies and that while faculty planned to […]

by · June 19, 2015 · Culture
The drawings depicting a proposed mega mosque and Islamic Centre in Budapest.

Will Budapest get its first “mega” mosque?

For the past several weeks, the story of a somewhat mysterious video produced by a Turkish foundation called Türkiye Diyanet surfaced on and off in the Hungarian press, suggesting that there were plans to erect a mega mosque, with four minarets, a restaurant and a hotel in the Kőbánya suburb of Budapest. Based on the released drawings and the video, the […]

by · May 30, 2015 · Culture
Mayor Máté Kocsis tours the House of Fates museum.

Budapest politicians tour new Holocaust museum, described as “shocking”

Historian Mária Schmidt introduced the mayor of Budapest’s 8th District and local city councillors to the almost completed new Holocaust museum, called the “House of Fates–European Education Centre” (in Hungarian: Sorsok Háza: Európai Oktatási Központ). The interpretive centre, housed in an abandoned train station and created with 6.6 billion forints ($25 million) in state support, relies heavily on personal stories […]

by · May 7, 2015 · Antisemitism