City Hall Of Kecskemét
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The City Hall of Kecskemét () is a
city hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...
building located in the Kossuth Square (town square), of
Kecskemét Kecskemét ( ) is a city with county rights in central Hungary. It is the List of cities and towns of Hungary, eighth-largest city in the country, and the county seat of Bács-Kiskun County, Bács-Kiskun. Kecskemét lies halfway between the ca ...
, in the
Bács-Kiskun County Bács-Kiskun (, ) is a county (''vármegye'' in Hungarian) located in southern Hungary. It was created by the merger of the pre-World War II Bács-Bodrog and the southern parts of Pest-Pilis-Solt-Kiskun counties. With an area of 8,445 km2, ...
,
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
. The current building was built between 1893 and 1897 in the
Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...
style. It was designed by
Ödön Lechner Ödön Lechner (born János Ödön Lechner; 27 August 1845 – 10 June 1914) was a Hungarian architect, one of the prime representatives of the Hungarian Szecesszió style, which was related to Art Nouveau in the rest of Europe, including the ...
and
Gyula Pártos Gyula Pártos (born Julius Puntzmann, 17 August 1845 – 22 December 1916) was a Hungarian architect.Pártos ...
.


History of the building

The former City Hall of Kecskemét was a Neoclassical building. By the mid-19th century, it was in very poor condition. The
city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...
wanted to meet an old demand when it announced a design competition for a new building in 1890. Of the five entries received, the jury awarded the first prize to
Ödön Lechner Ödön Lechner (born János Ödön Lechner; 27 August 1845 – 10 June 1914) was a Hungarian architect, one of the prime representatives of the Hungarian Szecesszió style, which was related to Art Nouveau in the rest of Europe, including the ...
and
Gyula Pártos Gyula Pártos (born Julius Puntzmann, 17 August 1845 – 22 December 1916) was a Hungarian architect.Pártos ...
for their design, which were nominated with ''not terrible height or depth''. In 1869 Lechner associated with Pártos and opened a construction office together. Of these, Lechner was the artist and Pártos was the entrepreneur. The building was constructed between 1893 and 1897 in the
Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...
style. In 1911, after an
earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...
, it was restored under Lechner's control. Between 1897 and 1996, the building hosted the
City Library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...
.


Description of the building

The statements of the art historian are not consistent in style. Some say Lechner was based on the early
French Renaissance The French Renaissance was the cultural and artistic movement in France between the 15th and early 17th centuries. The period is associated with the pan-European Renaissance, a word first used by the French historian Jules Michelet to define ...
, others say English Renaissance architecture, and there are also opinions that its most influential cities were those of
Upper Hungary Upper Hungary (, "Upland"), is the area that was historically the northern part of the Kingdom of Hungary, now mostly present-day Slovakia. The region has also been called ''Felső-Magyarország'' ( literally: "Upper Hungary"; ). During the ...
and
Zipser Germans The Zipser Germans, Zipser Saxons, or, simply, just Zipsers (, , , ) are a German-speaking (more specifically Zipser German-speaking as native dialect) sub-ethnic group in Central- Eastern Europe and national minority in both Slovakia and Roma ...
. So it was practiced
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
architecture of
Levoča Levoča (; ; ) is the principal town of Levoča District in the Prešov Region of eastern Slovakia, with a population of 14,256. The town has a historic center with a well-preserved town wall, a Gothic architecture, Gothic church with the talle ...
. In any case, Lechner say that its aim was to create a Hungarian style. ''"There was no Hungarian form language, but it will be. Because it has to be. This conviction leads me to a running in life, whose sole purpose is to pave the way for the formation of the Hungarian formal language"'', he wrote in the Művészet Journal in 1906. Thus, although the basic structure is based on an early Renaissance style, the decoration of the façade, however, is accentuated by the wall coverings
ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porce ...
, rooted in Hungarian soil and using the motifs of Hungarian folk art. (Lechner was progressive on this issue because the ceramics are rather durable, riched in color and washable than the gypsum castings. The building has four
lesene A lesene, also called a pilaster strip, is an architectural term for a narrow, low-relief vertical pillar on a wall. It resembles a pilaster, but does not have a base or capital. It is typical in Lombardic and Rijnlandish architectural building ...
s (narrow and flat vertical wall strip for partitioning the wall), its
avant-corps An ''avant-corps'' ( or , plural , , ), a French term literally meaning "fore-body", is a part of a building, such as a porch or pavilion, that juts out from the ''corps de logis'', often taller than other parts of the building.Curl, James Stev ...
in the main facade is highlighted, roughly rectangle. The statue of the founder of the House, the
prince Árpád A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The fema ...
was placed in the middle of its central rizal. The Kecskemét people, who were initially averse to the new town hall, called Árpád the ''Árpádka armor-plated warrior''. Portraits in relief of
Nikola IV Zrinski Nikola IV Zrinski or Miklós IV Zrínyi (, ; 1507/1508 – 7 September 1566), also commonly known as Nikola Šubić Zrinski (), was a Croatian- Hungarian nobleman and general, Ban of Croatia from 1542 until 1556, royal master of the treasury f ...
,
Emeric Thököly Emeric Thököly de Késmárk (; ; ; ; 25 September 1657 13 September 1705) was a Hungarian nobleman, leader of anti-Habsburg uprisings like his father, Count István Thököly, before him. Emeric was Prince of Upper Hungary, an Ottoman vass ...
,
Matthias Corvinus Matthias Corvinus (; ; ; ; ; ) was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia from 1458 to 1490, as Matthias I. He is often given the epithet "the Just". After conducting several military campaigns, he was elected King of Bohemia in 1469 and ...
,
John Hunyadi John Hunyadi (; ; ; ; ; – 11 August 1456) was a leading Kingdom of Hungary, Hungarian military and political figure during the 15th century, who served as Regent of Hungary, regent of the Kingdom of Hungary (1301–1526), Kingdom of Hungary ...
,
Stephen I of Hungary Stephen I, also known as King Saint Stephen ( ; ; ; 975 – 15 August 1038), was the last grand prince of the Hungarians between 997 and 1000 or 1001, and the first king of Hungary from 1000 or 1001 until his death in 1038. The year of his bi ...
,
Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...
are placed in the building. Outside and inside the building, are located the coats of arms of
Kecskemét Kecskemét ( ) is a city with county rights in central Hungary. It is the List of cities and towns of Hungary, eighth-largest city in the country, and the county seat of Bács-Kiskun County, Bács-Kiskun. Kecskemét lies halfway between the ca ...
and
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
.


Murals and frescoes

The building of the City Hall houses the
fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...
made between 1895 and 1897 by
Bertalan Székely Bertalan Székely (8 May 1835, Kolozsvár, Transylvania, Kingdom of Hungary (now Cluj-Napoca, Romania) – 21 August 1910, Budapest, Transleithania, Austria-Hungary) was a Hungarian history and portrait painter who worked in the Romantic ...
. This was the last secular work of the artist. There were two main aspects that played a part in choosing the theme: join to Kecskemét and be worthy of celebrating the 1,000 years of existence of the country. After several suggestions, two frescoes were finally realized: one depicting the blood oath, the most important event of the Pusztaszer assembly.
Seven chieftains of the Magyars The Seven chieftains of the Magyars (or Hungarians) were the leaders of the seven tribes of the Hungarians at the time of their arrival in the Carpathian Basin in AD 895. Constantine VII, emperor of the Byzantine Empire names the seven tribes ...
is like a frieze, the picture has a fabulous feel. Another characteristic is the emphasis on drawing, the lack of plasticity. The second image is the Depicts the coronation of
Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...
. Beside the figure of the king we can see the prince
Gyula Andrássy Count Gyula Andrássy de Csíkszentkirály et Krasznahorka (, 8 March 1823 – 18 February 1890) was a Hungarian statesman, who served as Prime Minister of Hungary (1867–1871) and subsequently as List of foreign ministers of Austria-Hungar ...
and
János Simor János Simor (23 August 1813 – 23 January 1891) was a Hungarian prelate of the Catholic Church who was Archbishop of Esztergom from 1867 until his death in 1891. He was previously Bishop of Győr from 1857 to 1867. He was made a cardinal in 187 ...
. The mural is a like portraits, emphasizing almost every character. The plans of the two sequences of events, which were far away from each other, were not realized, and instead, the other two wall surfaces, divided by windows and doors, were depicted in the form of the great figures of our history. On the wall divided by the door to the left: a mural depicts
István Széchenyi Count István Széchenyi de Sárvár-Felsővidék (, ; archaically English: Stephen Széchenyi; 21 September 1791 – 8 April 1860) was a Hungarian politician, political theorist, and writer. Widely considered one of the greatest statesme ...
,
Lajos Kossuth Lajos Kossuth de Udvard et Kossuthfalva (; ; ; ; 19 September 1802 – 20 March 1894) was a Hungarian nobleman, lawyer, journalist, politician, statesman and governor-president of the Kingdom of Hungary during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, r ...
, Ferenc Deák; in the door wall to the right: a mural depicts
Louis I of Hungary Louis I, also Louis the Great (; ; ) or Louis the Hungarian (; 5 March 132610 September 1382), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1342 and King of Poland from 1370. He was the first child of Charles I of Hungary and his wife, Elizabeth of ...
,
John Hunyadi John Hunyadi (; ; ; ; ; – 11 August 1456) was a leading Kingdom of Hungary, Hungarian military and political figure during the 15th century, who served as Regent of Hungary, regent of the Kingdom of Hungary (1301–1526), Kingdom of Hungary ...
,
Matthias Corvinus Matthias Corvinus (; ; ; ; ; ) was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia from 1458 to 1490, as Matthias I. He is often given the epithet "the Just". After conducting several military campaigns, he was elected King of Bohemia in 1469 and ...
; on the wall to the left of the window: depicts
Francis II Rákóczi Francis II Rákóczi (, ; 27 March 1676 – 8 April 1735) was a Hungarian nobleman and leader of the Rákóczi's War of Independence against the Habsburgs in 1703–1711 as the prince () of the Estates Confederated for Liberty of the Kingdom of ...
,
Gabriel Bethlen Gabriel Bethlen (; 1580 – 15 November 1629) was Prince of Transylvania from 1613 to 1629 and Duke of Opole from 1622 to 1625. He was also King-elect of Hungary from 1620 to 1621, but he never took control of the whole kingdom. Bethlen, sup ...
,
Nikola IV Zrinski Nikola IV Zrinski or Miklós IV Zrínyi (, ; 1507/1508 – 7 September 1566), also commonly known as Nikola Šubić Zrinski (), was a Croatian- Hungarian nobleman and general, Ban of Croatia from 1542 until 1556, royal master of the treasury f ...
; on the wall to the right of the window: a mural depicts
Coloman, King of Hungary Coloman the Learned, also the Book-Lover or the Bookish (; ; ; 10703February 1116), was King of Hungary from 1095 and King of Croatia from 1097 until his death. Because Coloman and his younger brother Álmos, Duke of Croatia, Álmos were undera ...
,
Ladislaus I of Hungary Ladislaus I (, , , ; 1040 – 29 July 1095), also known as Saint Ladislas, was King of Hungary from 1077 and King of Croatia from 1091. He was the second son of King Béla I of Hungary and Richeza of Poland, Queen of Hungary, Richeza (or Adela ...
,
Stephen I of Hungary Stephen I, also known as King Saint Stephen ( ; ; ; 975 – 15 August 1038), was the last grand prince of the Hungarians between 997 and 1000 or 1001, and the first king of Hungary from 1000 or 1001 until his death in 1038. The year of his bi ...
. On the 20th anniversary of
Miklós Horthy Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya (18 June 1868 – 9 February 1957) was a Hungarian admiral and statesman who was the Regent of Hungary, regent of the Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946), Kingdom of Hungary Hungary between the World Wars, during the ...
, the General Assembly decided to make another mural. First it was entrusted to the
Székelys The Székelys (, Old Hungarian script, Székely runes: ), also referred to as Szeklers, are a Hungarians, Hungarian subgroup living mostly in the Székely Land in Romania. In addition to their native villages in Suceava County in Bukovina, a ...
Ferenc Márton (1884-1940). However, with the unexpected death of Márton, the mural was commissioned to
Lajos Pándy Lajos () is a Hungarian masculine given name, cognate to the English Louis. People named Lajos include: Hungarian monarchs: * Lajos I, 1326-1382 (ruled 1342-1382) * Lajos II, 1506-1526 (ruled 1516-1526) In Hungarian politics: * Lajos Aulic ...
. The painting had to be placed on the wall to the right of the entrance opposite the Presidential Stand. The painting was completed in 1944, depicting Horthy's entry into Kecskemét, adapted to
Bertalan Székely Bertalan Székely (8 May 1835, Kolozsvár, Transylvania, Kingdom of Hungary (now Cluj-Napoca, Romania) – 21 August 1910, Budapest, Transleithania, Austria-Hungary) was a Hungarian history and portrait painter who worked in the Romantic ...
painting style. After 1945 the painting was not tolerated in the Great Hall, it was only covered with paper at first, and 1959 was whitewashed. At that time, the "Blood Oath" was threatened with its destruction, but this was covered with canvas in time and survived. The whitewashed mural of
Miklós Horthy Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya (18 June 1868 – 9 February 1957) was a Hungarian admiral and statesman who was the Regent of Hungary, regent of the Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946), Kingdom of Hungary Hungary between the World Wars, during the ...
in Kecskemét was restored in 2014, can be viewed in the ballroom.


Gallery

File:City Hall of Kecskemét painting.jpg, Old painting of the building File:Kecskemét 1955, Városháza. Fortepan 5740.jpg, Photo of 1955 of the City Hall File:Kecskemet City Hall - 1.jpg, A rear corner File:Kecskemét Rathaus 2.JPG, Exterior File:Kecskeméti Városháza ornamentika 003.JPG, Detail in the facade File:Kecskemét City Hall staircase, columns, 2016 Hungary.jpg, Columns


References


External links

{{commons category, Kecskemét Town Hall
City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...
City and town halls in Hungary Art Nouveau architecture in Hungary Art Nouveau government buildings Government buildings completed in 1897 Ödön Lechner buildings