Újlipótváros

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Újlipótváros is a neighbourhood in the 13th district of Budapest, Hungary. It is to the north of the innermost districts of Budapest, its direct neighbour to the south is Lipótváros, to the east is Terézváros, to the north is Vizafogó and to the west is the river Duna.

[edit] History

Previously an industrial area, it was rebuilt as a residential district from the late twenties. Almost all of the buildings were built from 1927 to 1944, so Újlipótváros is quite different from the other parts of the inner city, which were mainly built before World War I, mostly in the last three decades of the nineteenth century. The very first buildings of Újlipótváros (the so-called "Palatinus houses") are notable exceptions, these were built in 1910-1911, and represent an interesting mixture of art nouveau and other contemporary styles. 1

It has been a popular middle-class/intellectual residential district ever since it was built.

Between the wars it was especially popular among middle-class citizens of Jewish origin and this is partially true even today, according to recent sociological research. 2

The area closest to the river Duna is the most expensive, spacious and pleasant, especially the buildings around Szent István park, which is on the riverside. Some of these buildings (especially the so-called "Dunapark houses") are regarded by many as one of the best examples of modernist architecture in Hungary.

The style of the district is often described as "Bauhaus", though this is not precise (the inner parts of the district are very densely built-up, and this was sharply criticized by Bauhaus architects in the thirties as pseudo-modernist architecture, with buildings featuring modernist-like facades, but bad structure), it is true that in this district one can find perhaps the best display of modern Hungarian architecture.

Some of the building stock and the infrastructure has been renovated in the last fifteen years, including Szent István park. The district has quite serious problems with parking and over-crowdedness, especially in the narrower streets of its inner parts. Its main street is Pozsonyi út, a tree-lined street close to the river with a lot of restaurants, bookstores and shops.