Museum of Applied Arts
A green-roofed Art Nouveau building where the interior channels Hindu, Mughal, and Islamic ornament — the architecture is the first exhibit.
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The third-oldest applied arts museum in the world, founded in 1872 to sharpen Hungary's craft industries. Ödön Lechner and Gyula Pártos designed the 1896 building in Hungarian Secession style, and the contrast catches you off guard: the Ferencváros streetscape outside, then Mughal-inflected halls holding metalwork, furniture, textiles, and glass.
What to look for
- The vivid green roof, visible from the street before you reach the entrance
- Hindu, Mughal, and Islamic ornamental details covering the interior walls and ceilings
- The metalwork and textile collections, acquired from world's fairs and industry donations
Take metro line 3 to the stop near the southern end of the Grand Boulevard in Ferencváros; renovations were ongoing as of 2021, so confirm current access before visiting.
Museum of Applied Arts is one of 37 sights worth the detour in Budapest, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Budapest pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Budapest
- Hungarian Parliament BuildingA political manifesto in stone: Hungary's parliament was built to look like Westminster, on purpose, with 40 kg of gold inside.
- Buda CastleA palace first raised in 1265, severely damaged in the Siege of Budapest during World War II, and rebuilt by a communist government — the scars and the seams are the story.
- Széchenyi Chain BridgeThe bridge that stitched Buda and Pest into one city — designed in Britain, shipped in sections, and opened in 1849 as one of the world's longest spans.
- Heroes' SquareAt the far end of Andrássy Avenue, a monument built in 1896 fixes the Magyar conquest of 896 AD in stone — seven founding chieftains, national leaders, and the plaza where Hungary reburied Imre Nagy in 1989.
- AquincumMarcus Aurelius is believed to have written parts of the Meditations here — on the Roman empire's frontier, not in Rome.
- St. Stephen's BasilicaThe first King of Hungary's mummified right hand sits in a reliquary here — and the dome above you had to be torn down and rebuilt from nothing after it collapsed in 1858.