History of Krausz Palota

On the plot of Krausz Palota a twostorey residential building was built in 1870, but it was demolished by the Capital when the Sugár út (now Andrássy út) was established.

In 1884, Lajos Krausz royal councillor and politician, founder of Krausz-Mayer Malt and Distillery Company, commissioned architect Zsigmond Quittner (designer of Gresham Palace and many other landmark buildings in Budapest) to build a three-storey residential home for his family.

Several famous artists of the era participated in the construction, the interior murals were painted by Károly Lotz, the facade sculptures were made by Gyula Donáth and József Róna, and the mosaics was installed by Luigi Depold. Built in 1885, the palace was home to many famous entrepreneurs, doctors and politicians, alongside the Krausz family. In 1912 the building was purchased by the Budapest Commercial Board.

On the ground floor, the Hungarian office of Equitalbe Life Insurance Co. operated, then Austro-Hungarian Fairbanks Company. The famous Salon Cafe (later Piccadilly) moved to the premises in 1898 and between 1922 and 1930 it housed the Hungarian Crown Café.

The café was visited by the editors and writers of Nyugat the most famous Hungarian literary magazine, as well as famous writers and poets like Ernő Osvát, Endre Ady, Mihály Babits, Milán Füst, Tibor Déry, Gyula Illyés, Sándor Radnóti, Dezső Kosztolányi and Zsigmond Móricz.

After the Second World War, the Krausz Palota became the property of the Budapest Police Headquarters, the heavily degraded building’ partial renovation between 1960-62 and then rejuvenated in 2002, when it was restored to a modern office building.

Krausz Palota underwent a renovation in 2002 to meet art historical standards. In 2023 the building was refurbished and now offers 4,600 sq m of high-quality office space across five floors.