A referendum will decide the fate of Budapest’s party district

Inner city Budapest, specifically the area that during World War II served as the Budapest ghetto for as many as 70,000 Hungarian Jews, is today party central for scores of British men on stag weekends and other western European millennials who take discount flights to the Hungarian capital, in search of a cheap getaway. The area attracts some 150,000 to 200,000 party-goers each weekend during peak season. But the bars and night clubs aplenty in Pest’s inner core may soon have to shut down at midnight, thanks to a local referendum scheduled for 18th February 2018, proposed by Jobbik politician János Stummer. The largely elderly residents of Budapest’s Bulinegyed (party district, in Hungarian) may vote ‘yes’ to a proposal that would require all bars, restaurants and clubs to remain closed between midnight and 6 AM. It’s not hard to tell that this would spell the end of the district as a party destination.

Hungarian march in the party district with a banner that reads: “Enough. Silence.” Photo: Népszava.

It’s no secret that life in this district is often intolerable for the elderly residents who have called it home for many decades. Budapest Airport is now served largely by discount carriers, particularly Wizz Air and Ryanair, and this often makes Budapest a cheap destination for a ‘quick and dirty’ holiday, as well as a hen or stag night. And while some of Budapest’s main boulevards are dead as a door knob on a Friday night, just venture into any number of dimly-lit side streets in the inner city, and this is where you will find a bustling, ‘anything goes, ‘ alcohol-drenched, generally obnoxious and tawdry land of bars, night clubs, hostels and western visitors who have little regard for the city they are visiting and for their residents. According to many who grumble about this state of affairs, the area is starting to resemble Bangkok, though this comparison is undoubtedly overstated.

While many residents may be nostalgic about a quieter time in their neighbourhood (the area began to take off around 15 years ago), it’s also worth remembering how this part of Budapest looked like before its transformation into a hip, youthful party hub. The streets behind and around the Dohány Street Synagogue were grim, dirty and economically disadvantaged–at night home to prostitution, drug deals and petty crime. It was a tired neighbourhood, home to an older population who lived in poorly maintained apartment buildings pockmarked by old bullet holes, with few restaurants, cafés, bars or shops of any kind. This was not at all a destination for young Hungarians or foreigners in search of a lively Friday or Saturday night. The local population was ageing and dwindling, leaving scores of half-empty buildings. In 1960, the 7th District as a whole was home to 120,000 residents. By 2001, this had fallen to 64,000.

It was the rise after the year 2000 of a quintessentially Hungarian phenomenon, the so-called “ruin bars” (romkocsma), that began to breathe life into this part of the 7th District. Interestingly, it was alternative Hungarian cultural groups and “underground culture” that began this transformation a little over 15 years ago. But today, most of these circles have moved on to the more affordable and still mostly run-down 8th District, as gentrification and businesses catering to foreigners have taken over their previous haunt.

Gentrification has not led to a rise in the district’s overall population (in 2011 it stood at 56,000, and was more diverse than before), but it has led to renovated and restored buildings, funded through private investment and commerce and the opening of new hotels, hostels and entertainment establishments. It is a good destination for the visitor inclined to party into the wee hours, but not a great place to live. In recent years, the behaviour of many western European tourists has been particularly cumbersome.

One letter to would-be visitors goes like this:

“We understand. You want to have a good time, but you need to understand that this is a place we have been living for centuries, and we plan to do so in the future as well. Our streets are not your toilet (…)It happened to me personally several times that you walked up to me, and pointed to your junk, asking if I was interested in having sex with you. Well to be honest, you didn’t quite used the same words. When I excused myself, telling you, that I maybe wish to finish the conversation with my mom first, you got offended that I didn’t work the same way the girls you saw on the movies you consume. Eastern-European girls are not (just) porn-category. So no, we are not part of your party. (…) This is not a beach town. Please-please wear T-shirt when you are crawling on the streets. It’s not that hot, and well, neither are you.”

The Ryanair passenger looking for a cheap Eastern European thrill may be disappointed if the party district vanishes after the referendum–although there is a good chance that it will simply move next door, to the 8th District.

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