Arts & Culture
Hungarian Museum of Photography
Its collection contains over one million objects, the oldest one, a daguerreotype, was made in 1840,
and the newest one arrived only yesterday. This shows that despite the historic orientation in
building its photographic archive – the museum is not forgetting that contemporary pictures will
acquire a historic value tomorrow. The Hungarian collection aims to be as exhaustive as possible,
which means that we preserve photos of all ages, all photographic movements, all important
photographers, as well as entire legacies. The universal collection, on the contrary, cannot pretend
to be exhaustive, and due to financial restrictions, we only acquire new pictures through purchases
or exchanges from time to time. This collection contains the photos of prominent photographers,
such as Alinari, Eve Arnold, Mario de Biasi, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Imogen Cunningham, František
Drtikol, Walker Evans, René Groebli, Lotte Jacobi, Yousuf Karsh, Erna Lendvai-Dirksen, Helmar
Lerski, Robert Mapplethorpe, James Nachway, David Seymour, Edward Steichen.
Kecskemet Synagogue
Bulit between 1864-1871, designed by János Zitterbarth Jr. In 1911 the dome of the synagogue was
heavily injured by an earthquake (see archive postcard below), it was restored by Lipót Baumhorn
in 1913. In 1944 it was completely emptied and used for military purposes. In 1966 the building
was transformed as the local Centre for Science and Technology; the facade and outer ornaments
were restored, but all of the inner parts were changed. Recent refurbishment took place in 1997.
House of Science and Technology
Directly opposite the Citra Palota stands the former Synagogue, built in 1871 in the Moorish style
to the designs of János Zitterbarth. Since 1973 it has been the "House of Science and Technology"
(Tudomány és technika háza). The onion tower was destroyed in the 1911 earthquake, and the
building suffered further damage during the Second World War. Extensive renovations in 1973 to
plans by József Kerényi helped to restore it to its former glory. In the foyer stand copies of fifteen
Michelangelo sculptures.
1113 BUDAPEST • KOSZ TO L ÁNYI DEZSŐ TÉR 4.
P H O N E : 3 6 - 1 - 3 8 6 - 4 5 9 9 • FA X : 3 6 - 1 - 3 8 6 - 4 5 9 9 •
e-mail: • W E L L T R AV E L @ W E L L T R AV E L . H U
Big Catholic Church
Big Catholic Church which is the largest cathedral in the Great Hungarian Plain built in the style of
the age of Louis XVI of France. Looking down from the 73 meter tall tower you can see the
panorama of the town.
Calvinist Church
Calvinist Church built in early Baroque style in the 1680s, the only stone church in the region
during the Turkish occupation.
Cifrapalota
There are two famous buildings on the right of the New College: one of them is Cifrapalota
(Ornamented Palace), a unique piece of architecture, known as the masterpiece of Art Nouveau with
its wonderful ”waving” walls, shining roof tiles and ceramic ornaments of plants and animals. It
hosts the Kecskemét Art Gallery today.
Town Hall
Town Hall built by the plans of Ödön Lechner and Gyula Pártos.
The 150-year-old building of the City Hall was demolished in 1892. József Katona, the writer of our
national drama worked there for 10 years. He collapsed and died at the entrance. The cracked stone
monument set up at the scene of his heart attack in front of the building reminds us of this tragic
event. The notice on this monument says: „The heart of the son of Kecskemét broke here.”
Zoltán Kodály Institute
Zoltán Kodály Institute of Music Pedagogy in the building of a one-time Franciscan monastery.
Here you can see an exhibition showing the life story of the famous composer and music educator,
Zoltán Kodály (1882-1967). The institute was established in 1975, and it aims at teaching the theory
and the practice of Kodály's conception of music education.
1113 BUDAPEST • KOSZ TO L ÁNYI DEZSŐ TÉR 4.
P H O N E : 3 6 - 1 - 3 8 6 - 4 5 9 9 • FA X : 3 6 - 1 - 3 8 6 - 4 5 9 9 •
e-mail: • W E L L T R AV E L @ W E L L T R AV E L . H U