National Museum The Garden of the Nation
Two Centuries of the Museum Garden in Pest
Since 2013 a stela in the garden of the Hungarian National Museum has proclaimed that the building and its surroundings constitute a location of national memory, which, enshrined in law, is among the few places which are of outstanding importance for the Hungarian nation. Thus the Museum Garden is not simply a public park, but much more – the Garden of the Nation.
The history of the garden dates back to the mid 18th century, when Fe-rencKlobusiczky (1707–1760), the archbishop of Kalocsa, had an urban mansion built on the site of today’s museum. Following his death the building and its land passed into the hands of Count JózsefBatthyány (1727–1799), who in 1776 became the archbishop of Esztergom. The land was inherited by Count AntalJózsefBatthyány (1762–1828), the archbishop’s nephew, who was abroad almost permanently. Those planning a Hungarian National Museum regarded Batthyány’s land as being suitable for the purpose. Thus in 1813 the Treasury bought it with the aim of constructing an impressive building.
The architect of the project, Mihály Pollack, had ideas about refashioning the surrounding area and on 4 October 1847 he informed the Palatine about them. He envisaged that the museum would have iron railings on three sides, while the fourth side would have an arcaded lapidarium. On two sides, he planned to have a small building on the axis of the gates, which would serve as entrances, as well as provide accommodation for attendants. For the garden itself he envisioned something on the lines of an English landscape park. These ideas were probably taken up by the Pest landscape architect KárolyMuszely, who prepared the design for creating a park around the museum. His unknown plans were never fulfilled, since history intervened – in 1848 the revolution broke out. After the defeat of the 1848-49 War of Independence, ÁgostonKubinyi (1799–1873), the museum’s director, initiated a public subscription in order to finance the landscaping. After the ceremony marking the planting of the first trees in November 1855, the large-scale work began in the following spring to the designs of ÁrminPetz. The Museum Garden was finally completed in spring 1857 under the direction of HenrikKallina, the first head gardener. After the area had been landscaped, it was looked after by the head gardener, whose lodge was behind the museum. The last head gardener was FerencBezdek, who even in the early 1950s lived with his family in the small edifice with Doric columns. Then in September 1953 responsibility for the garden was taken over by the Municipal Park Maintenance Company. Today its legal successor, Főkert, continues the work.