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The Gresham Palace (Gresham-palota) is a building in Budapest, Hungary; it is an example of Art Nouveau architecture. Completed in 1906 as an office and apartment building, it is today the Four Seasons Hotel Budapest Gresham Palace, a luxury hotel managed by Four Seasons Hotels. It is located along the River Danube, adjacent to Széchenyi Square and the eastern terminus of the Széchenyi Chain Bridge.
The site was once occupied by Nákó House, a neo-classical palace built in 1827. In 1880, the London-based Gresham Life Assurance Company bought the property, at a time when it was illegal for insurance companies in Great Britain to invest money in stocks, but rental income was an acceptable and legal investment. The company later decided to build its foreign headquarters on the site, and decided that they needed a grander setting for them. They commissioned local architects Zsigmond Quittner and Jozsef Vago to design the new structure, and in 1904, they began construction of the Gresham Palace, which was completed in 1906 and opened in 1907. [1] It was named after the 16th-century English financier Sir Thomas Gresham, the founder of the Royal Exchange in London.
Originally, the palace served as an office building as well as a residence for senior staff of the Gresham company. During the occupation after World War II, the Red Army used the building as a barracks. Eventually, it became decrepit and was used as an apartment building during the People's Republic of Hungary. In 1990, following the end of the communist regime, the national government presented the palace to the city of Budapest.
Oberoi Hotels entered into an agreement to manage a hotel in the building in 1991, but ensuing legal battles with residents of the building caused Oberoi to drop out in 1995. [1] In 1998, Gresco Investments Ltd acquired the building and received approval from the Budapest Heritage Board to reconstruct it as a luxury hotel while retaining its original Art Nouveau architecture. [2] Gresco raised $85 million for renovations and in 1999 Four Seasons agreed to oversee the reconstruction and manage the new property.
In 2001, the building was bought by the Irish investment company Quinlan Private. They extensively rebuilt the structure as a luxury hotel, restoring such original details as a large staircase, stained glass, mosaics, ironwork, and winter gardens. The hotel reopened in June 2004. [3] In November 2011, the hotel was bought by the State General Reserve Fund of Oman, though Four Seasons continues to manage it. It currently has 179 guest rooms, including 17 suites.
Budapest is the capital and the most populous city of Hungary, and the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits. The city has an estimated population of 1,752,286 over a land area of about 525 square kilometres. Budapest is both a city and county, and forms the centre of the Budapest metropolitan area, which has an area of 7,626 square kilometres and a population of 3,303,786, comprising 33% of the population of Hungary.
Art Nouveau is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts, known in different languages by different names: Jugendstil in German, Stile Liberty in Italian, Modernisme català in Catalan, etc. In English it is also known as the Modern Style. The style was most popular between 1890 and 1910. It was a reaction against the academic art, eclecticism and historicism of 19th century architecture and decoration. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and flowers. Other characteristics of Art Nouveau were a sense of dynamism and movement, often given by asymmetry or whiplash lines, and the use of modern materials, particularly iron, glass, ceramics and later concrete, to create unusual forms and larger open spaces.
Four Seasons Hotels Limited, trading as Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, is an international luxury hotel and resort company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Four Seasons operates more than 100 hotels and resorts worldwide. Since 2006, Bill Gates and Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal have been majority owners of the company.
Magyar Televízió or MTV is a nationwide public television broadcasting organization in Hungary. Headquartered in Budapest, it is the oldest television broadcaster in Hungary and today airs five channels: M1 HD, M2 HD, M3, M4 Sport and M5.
The Széchenyi Chain Bridge is a chain bridge that spans the River Danube between Buda and Pest, the western and eastern sides of Budapest, the capital of Hungary. Designed by English engineer William Tierney Clark and built by Scottish engineer Adam Clark, it was the first permanent bridge across the Danube in Hungary. It was opened in 1849. It is anchored on the Pest side of the river to Széchenyi Square, adjacent to the Gresham Palace and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and on the Buda side to Adam Clark Square, near the Zero Kilometre Stone and the lower end of the Castle Hill Funicular, leading to Buda Castle.
Lipótváros is a traditional neighbourhood in the city centre of Budapest, named after King Leopold II. It is one of the two neighbourhoods of District V, the other one being Inner City (Belváros), which is the old town of Pest. Lipótváros was established in the early 19th century, and became the political and financial centre of Hungary in the early 20th century when the Parliament was built on Kossuth Square. Many ministries followed in the later decades. After the 1989 change Lipótváros gradually became again the business centre of Budapest with many banks and office buildings. The neighbourhood is rich in listed historic buildings and landmarks.
The National Széchényi Library (OSZK) is a library in Budapest, Hungary. It is one of two Hungarian national libraries, the other being University of Debrecen Library.
The Baroque Revival, also known as Neo-Baroque, was an architectural style of the late 19th century. The term is used to describe architecture and architectural sculptures which display important aspects of Baroque style, but are not of the original Baroque period. Elements of the Baroque architectural tradition were an essential part of the curriculum of the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, the pre-eminent school of architecture in the second half of the 19th century, and are integral to the Beaux-Arts architecture it engendered both in France and abroad. An ebullient sense of European imperialism encouraged an official architecture to reflect it in Britain and France, and in Germany and Italy the Baroque Revival expressed pride in the new power of the unified state.
Lipót Baumhorn was a Hungarian architect of Jewish heritage, the most influential Hungarian synagogue architect in the first half of the 20th century. He drew blueprints for about 20 synagogues in the Kingdom of Hungary.
Miklós Ybl was one of Europe's leading architects in the mid to late nineteenth century as well as Hungary's most influential architect during his career. His most well-known work is the Hungarian State Opera House in Budapest (1875–84).
Ödön Lechner was a Hungarian architect, one of the prime representatives of the Hungarian Szecesszió style, which was related to Art Nouveau in the rest of Europe, including the Vienna Secession. He is famous for decorating his buildings with Zsolnay tile patterns inspired by old Magyar and Turkic folk art, which are combined with modern materials such as iron.
The Danube Promenade is located on the Pest side of Budapest, Hungary. The promenade itself lies on the left bank of the Danube, extending from the Széchenyi Chain Bridge to the Erzsébet Bridge.
The New York Palace is a luxury hotel on the Grand Boulevard of Budapest's Erzsébet körút part, under Erzsébet körút 9–11, in the 7th district of Budapest, Hungary.
Zsolnay, or formally Zsolnay Porcelánmanufaktúra Zrt is a Hungarian manufacturer of porcelain, tiles, and stoneware. The company introduced the eosin glazing process and pyrogranite ceramics.
The Oberoi Group is a luxury hotel group with its head office in Delhi. Founded in 1934, the company owns and operates 31 luxury hotels and two river cruise ships in 5 countries, primarily under its Oberoi Hotels & Resorts and Trident brands.
1049 Fifth Avenue is a 23-floor luxury condominium apartment building located in the Upper East Side, New York City. Built in 1928 as the Adams Hotel, the building underwent extensive renovation in its conversion to residential condominiums during the years 1990-1993. When the apartments were first offered for sale in 1991, they were the highest-priced residential apartments ever offered for sale in New York City. Their sale prices set city records in 1993 and 1994.
Casa Casuarina, also known as the Versace Mansion, is an American property built in 1930, renowned for being owned by and the place of the murder of Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace; he lived there from 1992 until his death in 1997. It is located at 1116 Ocean Drive in the South Beach neighborhood of Miami Beach, Florida, in the Miami Beach Architectural District. Since 2015, it has been adapted into and operates as a luxury boutique hotel known as The Villa Casa Casuarina.
Grand Hotel Aranybika is a four-star hotel in Debrecen, Hungary. Located in the city centre, its history dates back to the late 17th century, though the current building of the hotel was erected in 1915 according to the blueprints of Alfréd Hajós.
The Danube Palace is a Neo-Baroque concert hall located in the Inner City of Budapest, Hungary. It was built between 1883 and 1885 according to the plans of Vilmos Freund. It was known as the casino of Lipótváros – not in the sense of gambling - but an aristocratic club for entertainment. The Palace served as a place of culture, supporting many young artists. Bartók, Kodály, and Dvorák all played in its first-class concert hall. Since 1951 the building has been carrying out the cultural programs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It is home to the Danube Symphony Orchestra.
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Coordinates: 47°29′59.09″N19°2′52.73″E / 47.4997472°N 19.0479806°E
