The history of the Budapest Metropolitan Court

The Palace of Justice in Budapest

Until the middle of the 19th century the Hungarian capital had few public buildings since most offices had their headquarters in Vienna, the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. In the third of the century, however, following the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, development accelerated and the growing host of civil servants had to be accomodated in a growing number of offices all over the country. Palaces were built one after the other to house ministries, offices and schools.

The law-courts were the last to be given a proper place in the last decade of the century. Until then, the royal courts of Budapest worked in tenements in various parts of the city. In August, 1890 they were eventually moved to the palace built in the Lipótváros (Leopoldtown) district of the Hungarian capital, one of the largest of its day. Tivadar Pauler, Minister of Justice in 1872-75 and 1878-86, launched the preparations for building the new palace of justice and his successor, Teofil Fabinyi, accepted the city's offer to build it in the district called Lipótváros on the site where circus tents used to be pitched.
A famous architect of the day, Alajos Hauszmann, Professor of the Technical University, was entrusted with planning the palace. Construction started on April 19, 1888 under the control of architect-contractor József Pucher and the palace was declared open on August 1, 1890. Planning the inner arrangement of the building was a hard task as it housed both the civil and criminal departments of the royal law courts, as well as the Common Jury, the Royal Prosecutor’s Office, the Commercial and Exchange Court, the District Court of District 5, and the Criminal District Court of Budapest. There were also accessory institutions like the Record Office and a prison for 320 prisoners. The palace had gates on all sides. The main entrance in Alkotmány street led to the Civil Department of the law-court and to the Commercial and Exchange Court. The gate in Markó street led to the Criminal Department, the Royal Prosecutor's Office, the hall of the Common Jury and the Criminal District Court. The gate in Koháry (present-day Nagy Ignác) street led to the District Court of District 5, and the fourth one in Sólyom (today’s Bihari János) street to the Land Registration Office.
Apart from the wings facing the streets around the palace there were two wings also inside. One of them connected the rooms along Sólyom and Koháry streets and housed mostly the archives. The other one was the prison, connected with the main building by a staircase so that the prisoners can be taken to the courtrooms by a sort and safe route. The windows had iron bars and the heavy iron doors had safety locks. The floor was covered with asphalt and the prison-yard served for taking the prisoners out to walk.
The Palace of Justice became after all the most modern building of its kind from the points of view of arrangement and security. The interior designer is also extraordinary. One of the most decorative courtrooms of the day was the Hall of the Common Jury and it is perhaps the only one to survive in its original form and beauty today. Its measurements are fascinating: it is fifteen metres long, twelve metres wide and nine metres high. It is lit by three large windows with coloured glass. Opposite the windows there are three boxes for the audience opening from the corridor of the third floor. The half columns proportioning the walls are of imitation marble. The doors, the oak panelling of the walls, the platforms and the benches are finely carved. The judges’ platform is 45 centimetres above the floor with the judges’ desk in the middle another ten centimeters from the level of the platform to emphasize the prestige of the leader of the panel. The prestige of the court is emphasized also by the beautifully carved background decorated with the arms of Hungary. In front of the judges’ desk, fifteen centimetres above the floor, stood the desk of the interpreter. Lengthwise, to the left there are two rooms of chairs for the jury. Opposite to them there are separate boxes for the prosecution and the defence, and the prisoner’s box below them.
The hall is decorated with six panel paintings by Árpád Feszty (1856-1914). The paintings represent characteristic stages of Hungarian criminal jurisdiction in chronological order:

1) an ordeal by fire,	2) King Coloman (1095-1116) abolishes the burning of witches,
3) the decisive duel,	4) King Matthias (1458-1490) grants the peasants the privilege to move,
5) Chief Justice Werbőczy presents his Tripartitium to King Wladislas II in 1514,	6) Ferenc Deák (1803.1876) presents the bill of criminal jurisdiction in Parliament.

The historical figures in the paintings portray contemporary jurists and politicians. In 1949 the paintings were removed from the walls and were returned to their place only in 1990, after the careful restoration work had been finished.
The staircases leading to the main entrances in Alkotmány and Markó streets have an especially rich architecture. Hauszmann wished to express the importance and dignity of the building by using extraordinary measurements and decorations. From among the four facades the one facing Alkotmány street is richly decorated with architectonic elements.

During the Second World War and the Revolution of 1956 the building suffered serious damage. Its roof and walls were gravely damaged and its outer decorations were almost annihilated. Renovation started in 1993 and the palace has by now regained its earlier glory.