CATALOGUE & EXHIBITION DESIGN

Great Presidents of the Court –

History of the Metropolitan Court (1870–1915)

Contemporary Exhibition of the Metropolitan Court of Budapest, Hungary | 2019
Curator: Emőke Bodonyi

A chamber exhibition and catalogue commissioned by the Metropolitan Court of Justice commemorated five iconic presidents of the Hungarian courts. Through their outstanding work, these presidents made it possible to dismantle the former social system, to create equality of rights and to gradually abandon the feudal system of values. Thanks to them, Hungary entered the 20th century as a civil state based on European values. Their life's work is the main focus of the exhibition.

In addition, a presidential room with period furniture, personal objects, documents, books, paintings and photographs has been set up in three rooms.

But we also paid attention to the building itself. Later called the "First Court of the Country", the construction of the Royal Palace of the Budapest Tribunal was ordered by the Minister of Justice himself. Construction began on 19 April 1888, based on plans by Alajos Hauszmann, and was inaugurated on 1 August 1890 with the participation of Franz Joseph I. The palace was one of the largest public buildings in Budapest in its day. Its most notable room is the jury room, decorated with Árpád Feszty's paintings, where trials are still held. The exhibition was carried out under extremely strict security conditions, as the building is still actively used as a forensic building. However, the building has been a listed building since 1950.