The Developer’s Home: An imposing turn-of-the-century bourgeois apartment, adorned with stained glass by Miksa Róth, is for sale.

Few apartments in Budapest have survived that still preserve their original character almost intact, even after more than a century. Located on the first floor of one of Rákóczi Square’s most impressive historicist apartment buildings—complete with an elevator—this 77-square-meter apartment with a 5.5-square-meter balcony was originally designed as a prestigious residence for the developer. Today, it welcomes visitors with the same elegance as it did at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Built in 1897 according to the plans of Antal Sivirsky, the building was commissioned by József Hűvös Botfai, a lawyer and economist, as his own home. The name of the builder, József Hűvös, is not only linked to the history of the house: together with Mór Balázs, he founded the Budapest Municipal Tramway Company, which played a pivotal role in the development of Budapest’s tram system. To this day, the house retains a significant portion of its original historicist architectural details and is in well-preserved condition. The ornate stairwell is accessed through an imposing wrought-iron gate. The base of the stairwell is covered with decorative marble, and the original Villeroy & Boch Mettlach floor tiles are also still in place.

The apartment features a ceiling height of nearly 4.35 meters, the grand windows and doors, the unique, richly carved, ornate interior doors and the stately front door, the original bronze door handles, locks, and window latches, as well as the hand-carved, ornate stucco on the ceiling, all make it clear at first glance that this is no ordinary middle-class apartment.
Despite all this, the apartment’s most distinctive feature is the three-sided bay window projecting from the facade, surrounded by original, richly decorated stained-glass panes. During an on-site inspection, Tibor Fényi—founder and former director of the Miksa Róth Memorial House and Collection—identified the beautiful stained-glass panels, which have been preserved in excellent condition and feature bird and plant motifs, as the work of Miksa Róth’s workshop. Miksa Róth, the world-renowned master of Hungarian Art Nouveau, worked on such iconic buildings as the Parliament, Gresham Palace, the Párisi Udvar, and the Academy of Music. The colorful light, which changes with the time of day, creates a unique atmosphere—an experience that is nearly impossible to capture in a photograph.
The other large room is no less elegant, with beautiful stucco and enormous glass surfaces. From here, there is direct access to a 5 m² balcony with a balustrade, which overlooks the acacia trees of Rákóczi Square. The large double doors in the hallway accessible from the living room originally provided access to another room; however, since the apartment is now a separate unit, they currently serve as a 40-centimeter-deep storage space.

This apartment is in need of renovation, but that is precisely what gives its new owner the opportunity to blend 21st-century comforts with the architectural heritage of the turn of the century.
Properties with these characteristics come on the market extremely rarely, especially in a condition where so many of the original features have been preserved. This is not merely an apartment; it is a home that one of Budapest’s most influential urban planners had built for himself, and which, even after more than 125 years, still preserves the bourgeois elegance of the turn of the century. It is a preserved piece of Budapest’s history.

The property is available for immediate occupancy.