City streets,  History,  Hungary,  Monday walks,  Photographing Public Art,  Street art

Another side (or sides) to Pest

July 21, 2026 / 53 Comments

Budapest is a prime site for dreams: the East’s exuberant vision of the West, the West’s uneasy hallucination of the East.

M. John Harrison

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries Pest saw a boom in its Jewish population. Unlike some other European cities, there was little anti-Semitism as the Hungarian aristocracy recognised the role that Jews could play in helping to modernise what had been a largely feudal country.

Of course this all changed in 1944 when the German army invaded Hungary. Although Hungary was a German ally, Nazi Germany worried that the country might switch sides as they were losing the war. In the winter of 1944, German and Hungarian Nazis relocated 70,000 Jewish people into the Jewish Quarter, which was turned into a walled-off ghetto. Thousands died there of famine and starvation. However, unlike rural Hungary, Budapest’s Jews were spared mass deportations to Auschwitz as in January 1945 the Soviet army liberated the ghetto.

Jewish Quarter sights

As I mentioned in my previous post about Budapest, we spent much of our time in the city exploring lively Pest. One morning was spent wandering the city’s Jewish Quarter. This had declined in the decades following the war as residents moved out to the suburbs, or fled Communist Hungary completely. But in the early 2000s it underwent a revival, with the famous ruin bars springing up in courtyards of buildings slated for demolition and a mixed community moving into the area to open shops and restaurants, create art or simply to live.

Please join me for this Monday Walk.

Our wanderings

We didn’t follow a very planned route through the quarter but instead zigzagged up and down its streets. However we made a point of taking a few sights, starting with the sculpture that commemorates Carl Lutz, a Swiss diplomat who saved many Jews during the Holocaust. The memorial was erected in 1991 and shows Lutz, in the form of an angel, descending to rescue a fallen victim.

The Carl Lutz Memorial

I was on the lookout for street art and found some great murals, including one dedicated to Rubik (inventor of the eponymous cube) and another depicting the famous 1953 victory of Hungary over England – thanks for rubbing it in guys!

Jewish Quarter street art

It was too early in the day to visit one of the famous ruin bars unfortunately, but we did peer into the courtyard of the most famous of all, Szimpla. Almost next door we found a great street food market tucked in among some buildings where we enjoyed a beer in the by-now hot sun.

Szimpla Ruin Bar and street art in the food market

Synagogues

We didn’t go inside any of the three synagogues in the quarter but did pass a couple of them. The reason there are three in such close proximity is that the Hungarian Jewish community split into three in 1869 due to differences of opinion as to how far they should go in assimilating into broader Hungarian society. The Kazinczy Synagogue was built by the city’s orthodox Jews in 1912-13, when they split from the more progressive groups. And the Rumbach Street Synagogue was built in 1872 by the moderately orthodox Jewish community. They were more liberal than those who worshipped in the Kazinczy Synagogue but considered the alternative, the 1850s built Dohány Synagogue, too progressive. While the Dohány and Kazinczy synagogues are still active, the Rumbach Street one is no longer so and today serves as a museum but with very limited opening hours.

Kazinczy Synagogue on the left and Rumbach Street on the right

Trash Art

We continued our wanderings towards the Trash Art Museum, a small but quirky museum in a basement which displays sculptures created from old car parts and other metal objects. We had fun checking them out and taking photos of our favourites.

In the Trash Art Museum

Around the Central Market

After spending some time in the Jewish Quarter, and conscious this was our last day in the city and there was more to see elsewhere, we took the Metro to the stop near the Central Market Hall. We had a stroll through the market, which has a mix of stalls aimed at locals and others very tourist-focused. I took a few photos, but we didn’t buy anything.

The Central Market Hall – spot Trump and Putin among the Russian dolls!

We then walked along the river bank, heading south from the Liberty Bridge, until we reached an area we’d spotted from the boat yesterday, with a row of inviting bars. The first one we came to, Esetleg, had a table in partial shade, welcome now the sun was pretty hot. We relaxed here over our drinks for a while, soaking up the atmosphere and the views.

Spritz in the sun

Liberty Bridge and Bálna

We finished today’s explorations with a quick look inside the modern glass building known as Bálna (‘whale’) which houses a convention centre, bars and restaurants. The exterior had struck us when we had seen it on the previous day from our river cruise, but the interior was rather empty and disappointing.

Edited to add a link to Natalie’s Photographing Public Art challenge

I visited Budapest in April 2026

53 Comments

    • Sarah Wilkie

      July 28, 2026 at 08:12 Reply

      I loved it too – a real contrast to the grand architecture elsewhere, although many of these buildings would also once have been pretty grand! Thank you Meg 🙂

  • leightontravels

    July 25, 2026 at 20:41 Reply

    You strike a lovely balance in this one, Sarah: opening with the weight of the ghetto’s history and then letting the quarter’s revival and colour come through without either undercutting the other. Your Budapest gallery reminds me of how long it’s been since I was last in Budapest and that it’s now virtually on our doorstep. They seemed to be going for a recurring theme with those dolls: Trump, Putin, Ronaldo…. But you know, I always try to keep my promise of never writing the c word on people’s blogs. The Trash Art Museum was a surprise!

    • Sarah Wilkie

      July 26, 2026 at 08:31 Reply

      Thanks so much Leighton 😊 The present-day appearance of the district certainly contrasts with its much darker past. I spotted the Trash Art museum on Google maps and it looked like it might be fun – it was!

  • Natalie

    July 25, 2026 at 19:24 Reply

    A great collection of street art, Sarah. I ike all the murals with faces and the entrance to the Szimpla Ruin bar with flowers on the balcony. Thank you for linking up and taking me back to Budapest. Natalie

  • Jackie

    July 25, 2026 at 13:17 Reply

    We did visit the synagogues in the area when we were there as part of a river cruise. I did love the vibe of the city. I would like to see the Trash Art Museum.

  • Annie Berger

    July 23, 2026 at 14:21 Reply

    I can hardly believe we visited the city as I recognized so little, apart from the Central Market, from your own foray, Sarah! Do you remember hearing that Budapest’s metro is the world’s oldest? I’d have gotten a huge kick out of the murals and especially the Trash Museum. I didn’t realize that Hungary defeated the UK in 1953 – I’ll have to look that up.

    • Sarah Wilkie

      July 23, 2026 at 14:51 Reply

      I’m glad to have shown you a different side to the city Annie 🙂 Budapest’s metro is actually the world’s second oldest – London can claim the oldest! The 1953 football match between Hungary and England was dubbed the Match of the Century and the defeat was a wake-up call for England who’d assumed that because they invented the game they were superior at it!

      • Annie Berger

        July 25, 2026 at 18:40 Reply

        I should have known that you were talking about football, Sarah! Don’t doubt you for a minute stating that the London Tube is the oldest metro. I reread the post I wrote in September of 2014 in which I stated that we took “… the M2 yellow line, the oldest metro in Europe.” I wonder if that’s how it was billed or described then or that I misread it – either is certainly possible!
        https://bergersadventures.blogspot.com/2014/09/budapest-on-914-drum-corps.html

        • Sarah Wilkie

          July 25, 2026 at 19:53 Reply

          Hi again Annie 🙂 I’m sorry, I should perhaps have specified football, but I thought it was clear enough in the mural with the huge ball and the old newspaper photos. The yellow Metro line in Budapest is the M1 line and is the oldest in the city. We took it to and from Vörösmarty utca when we visited the Terror Haus and the stations certainly looked old! According to Wikipedia it opened in 1896, while the first line in London dates back to 1890 😀 See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_metro_systems

          I had a look at your post about your day in the rain in Pest, and was interested to see so many photos from the Terror Haus as taking them was forbidden when we went and very strictly enforced by the staff in each room, much to my disappointment.

    • Sarah Wilkie

      July 22, 2026 at 18:35 Reply

      That’s true – like many cities Budapest has succeeded in revitalising areas with difficult pasts and bringing life and colour back to them. Thanks Margaret 🙂

  • Image Earth Travel

    July 22, 2026 at 12:58 Reply

    I enjoyed this walk through Budapest, which brought back memories of when I was there in 2009 (wow, that long ago!).
    Too many cool art photos to choose from in this post, as I like all of them.

  • Teresa

    July 22, 2026 at 00:06 Reply

    I know of many people who don’t like Budapest because it is a bit rough. But it is one of my favourites. You showed me why I like it so much. Thanks for taking me back there Sarah.

    • Sarah Wilkie

      July 22, 2026 at 10:51 Reply

      I can see that people might find parts of this area a little rough, though we were comfortable here, but the other areas we explored certainly weren’t 🙂 Glad you enjoyed revisiting with me – thank you Teresa 😀

    • Sarah Wilkie

      July 22, 2026 at 10:47 Reply

      Thank you Jude 😊 And apologies, I could have explained that. They’re pretty much what it says on the tin – bars set up in the ruins of derelict buildings in this district. They’re a famous part of Budapest nightlife and although we thought we are a tad old to have fitted in at night we did have in mind to go for a lunchtime drink, only to find that the one we checked out didn’t open until 3.00 PM.

    • Sarah Wilkie

      July 21, 2026 at 19:09 Reply

      Thank you Egidio 🙂 I’m glad you liked the memorial and also the Trash Museum – they don’t seem to be to everyone’s taste but we had fun at the museum and I found the memorial moving.

  • Rebecca

    July 21, 2026 at 16:48 Reply

    Thanks for sharing Jewish history in Budapest with us, Sarah. It’s a fascinating one, and it’s incredible to see how the Jewish Quarter has transformed since the darkest of times. I only passed through the area when I was last in Budapest, but I did see the colorful murals and did peek inside Dohány Synagogue. I’d love to return and see more of this part of the city, especially with my partner, who’s Jewish. I appreciate the post!

  • Sue

    July 21, 2026 at 16:36 Reply

    Absolutely fascinating wander, Sarah. The ruin bars appeared on the scene after we were there. Most intrigued to see your images… if you have any more, perhaps they can be in another post. The Trash Art Museum looks a fun place, though I did find that first sculpture rather disturbing. All in all a good mornings wander

    • Sarah Wilkie

      July 21, 2026 at 18:54 Reply

      Thank you very much Sue 😊 I’m so glad you enjoyed your wander! I think I’m about done with Budapest for now, though no doubts photos from there will surface in challenges from time to time.

  • restlessjo

    July 21, 2026 at 15:35 Reply

    Art can take so many forms these days, can’t it, Sarah? I thought that first sculpture a little odd, liked the Sinners , the Trash stuff not so much, though it’s clever. I do like visiting synagogues and you should find a few in Poland. I’m back in Kraków next May for a wedding and already looking forward to it. Budapest is still on my list, but not urgently so. Thanks for sharing xx

    • Sarah Wilkie

      July 21, 2026 at 16:07 Reply

      That sculpture looked better ‘in real life’ than in a flat photo – it was hard to capture the dynamism. I didn’t think the Trash Museum would be your sort of thing, but we rather admired the cleverness of creating art from what would otherwise have been rubbish!

  • Monkey's Tale

    July 21, 2026 at 14:54 Reply

    We just returned from southern Poland where the deeply Catholic country also had a surprisingly large Jewish population from the Middle Ages to the WWII. It looks like Budapest has done a great job of revitalizing their Jewish ghetto with a lot of different businesses and art to attract people. Maggie

  • ThingsHelenLoves

    July 21, 2026 at 14:49 Reply

    A wonderful wander. I do like the wooden nesting dolls, I wonder how many Putin or Trump dolls are actually sold? Can’t say it’s something I’d take home!

    • Sarah Wilkie

      July 21, 2026 at 15:11 Reply

      I wondered that! Maybe they’re designed to make people stop and look, in the hope that they’ll buy one of the others? If so, it didn’t work on us! Glad you enjoyed the wander, thank you Helen 🙂

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