Library splendour

There are libraries and there are libraries. I discovered this hidden gem on a recent trip to Budapest and was blown away by its breathtaking surroundings. You can come here to read, work or simply, like me, just take it all in.

The Ervin Szabo Metropolitan Library is housed in a former palace, built by Count Frigyes Wenckheim, a well-known aristocrat at the end of the nineteenth century. Wenckheim commissioned an architect from Saxony, Arthur Meining, who became the most fashionable architect of the Hungarian aristocracy. 

Looking around, well, what an inspiring place to write, dream and be inspired. There are about a dozen interconnecting rooms—formerly a saloon, a large and small ballroom, several boudoirs, a smoking room and dining room—each one more breathtaking than the other.  Five hundred guests could be entertained in its ballrooms simultaneously and it was spatial enough for royal visits. Hanging elegantly from the ceilings are glittering chandeliers and the walls are beautifully wallpapered or wood-panelled with intricate carving designs.  It was like stepping into bygone era and yet it is also utterly modern. 

Juxtaposing the old-world charm are the laptops, kindles, iPads and phone chargers dotted about that remind us we are firmly in the twenty-first century.  Yet, strolling from room to room, it’s easy to imagine the library’s former glory as a palace. My favourite room (formerly the smoking room) is gothic in style compared to the light and airy white and gold interior of the others. The room features dark wood wall panelling, a charming spiral staircase and handsome bookcases. Its cosy, cocooning atmosphere was the perfect spot to settle down with a book and if I’d had the time, I would have done exactly that. Alas, I had a flight to catch.  

Reading aside, I think the Ervin Szabo Library would be a wonderful place to bring my laptop, notebook and get some writing done.

All it needs is a coffee bar to help fuel all those ideas.

*Before the palace was converted into a library, it was home to the Association of Joiners, then the Museum of the Proletariat. It was then taken up by the Romanian army’s occupation of Budapest. Following that, the club of political parties—later journalists and artists—was housed in the building. The City Council purchased the building in 1927 and the library was opened in 1931.