Walter Rózsi-villa – Magyar Építészeti Múzeum és Műemlékvédelmi Dokumentációs Központ

About the museum

The Magyar Építészeti Múzeum (Hungarian Architecture Museum) was founded in 1968 on the initiative of professors Zádor Anna and Rados Jenő within the framework of the National Monuments Office, and in 1975 it received its operating licence as a specialist museum with a national collecting remit. Since 2017, under the maintenance of the Magyar Művészeti Akadémia (Hungarian Academy of Arts), it has operated as the Magyar Építészeti Múzeum és Műemlékvédelmi Dokumentációs Központ (Hungarian Architecture Museum and Documentation Centre for Monument Protection). Its collection preserves architectural drawings, models, photographs, documents and estates.

Its first permanent exhibition venue is the Walter Rózsi-villa on Bajza utca in District VII. The modern residential house was designed by József Fischer in 1936 for the opera singer Walter Rózsi, her husband Radó Géza and their little daughter; the reinforced concrete structure was designed by Pécsi Eszter, the first Hungarian woman structural engineer and Fischer’s wife. Built in less than half a year, the three-storey flat-roofed building is an outstanding work of Hungarian modern residential architecture.

After the Second World War the villa passed to the hospital of the Ministry of the Interior, and for decades a kindergarten and a children’s doctor’s surgery operated in it. The hospital moved out in 2009, and the villa was renovated between 2020 and 2022; today it is a museum exhibition venue and event location. The staircase leading to the garden, which was demolished after 1949, was rebuilt during the renovation.

Highlights

• Modernist villa of József Fischer and Pécsi Eszter from 1936
• “Fasori Históriák” (Avenue Stories), permanent exhibition on the history of the Városliget avenue
• Objects from the Breuer Marcell estate
• Roof terrace and garden (with guided tour)
• The only publicly accessible modern villa in Hungary

Permanent exhibitions

• Fasori Históriák – A Városligeti fasor és a Walter Rózsi-villa képes története – The exhibition on the ground floor of the villa presents the most important events and buildings of the Városliget avenue from the 1800s to the present day.
• Breuer Marcell-hagyaték – Permanent exhibition of objects from the Breuer Marcell estate.

Founded

1968

Operated by

Magyar Építészeti Múzeum és Műemlékvédelmi Dokumentációs Központ (Magyar Művészeti Akadémia)

Admission & discounts

Free admission: Free admission on 15 March and 23 October (national holidays), and on one day of the Kulturális Örökség Napjai (Heritage Days).

Tickets can be bought at the ticket office (by bank card only) or online, with a convenience fee. Free admission is granted, among others, to holders of a teacher’s pass, an ICOM pass, a press pass or a professional pass, a NOE membership card (holder and children), and a Magyar Igazolvány; eligibility must be proven on site. Tickets are non-refundable and cannot be exchanged.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The building is partly barrier-free. Visitors with limited mobility can enter from the street by a lift for people with disabilities; use of the lift requires staff assistance. The passenger lift works only between floor −1 and the 1st floor. Guide dogs may be brought in.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Stroller-friendly: not available

A child under two may enter the exhibition space only in a parent’s arms or in a carrier worn at the front; prams are not allowed. Under-14s may visit only under adult supervision. Museum education sessions and workshops can be chosen.

Getting there & parking

Cyclists can use the storage in the courtyard of the villa free of charge.

Amenities & dining

• Coat check
• Lockers

Use of the cloakroom is free and mandatory (lockable lockers). Food and drink may only be consumed in the designated areas (event room, dining room, inner garden). Bicycle storage in the courtyard.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent

The rooms of the villa can be rented.

Plan your visit