The Museum of the Parliament was first established in 1923 for domestic and foreign political reasons, to protect the history of Hungarian parliamentarism and the thousand years of Hungarian constitutionalism and to show the state-organizing political activity of Hungarians in the Carpathian Basin. However, because of the financial difficulties after World War I, the opening was significantly delayed, it could be visited only 6 years later, from 1929.

photo:hirado.hu

In the 1930’s, it was one of the most popular and visited museums of Budapest. Back then, the 16,000-piece collection consisted of pamphlets, posters, photographs and works of art. It was slowly expanded by gifts and legacies of famous politicians and statesman. Its popularity partly came from the fact that it perfectly matched the current social and political processes.

In 1942, due to war conditions, the museum was closed for an indefinite period of time; they tried to protect the important works of art from damage caused by air strikes: pieces of the collection were placed in the basement store rooms. In spite of that, during World War II, a significant part of the collection either disappeared, destroyed or heavily damaged. Finally, the changes after the war led to the closure of the museum; due to the new political and social environment of the communist regime, the museum lost its original ideoligical basis and, after 2 successful decades, in 1942 it had to be eliminated.

photo:hirado.hu

After 66 years, the museum has opened its gates again. Unfortunately, the former collection is not part of the current exhibition, many of its valuable pieces have been put on show; Lajos Kossuth’s desk or the prime ministerial chair used by Hungary’s first premier, Lajos Batthyány are showcased, too. In March and April, the museum can be visited for free. During year, two additional exhibitions – one introducing the Parliament building and its artwork, another a lapidary – are to open in the building of the National Assembly.

photo:nullahategy.hu