Reök Palace, Art Nouveau palace in Szeged, Hungary.
Reök Palace is a two-storey corner Art Nouveau building at Tisza Lajos Boulevard 56, at the junction of Kölcsey and Feketesas streets. Its facades carry stylised plant motifs, undulating wall surfaces and varied open and closed balconies. Above the main entrance two horse heads refer to owner Iván Reök's horse breeding, and a large-winged bird sits almost unnoticed at the corner top, a nod to Feketesas (Black Eagle) Street.
Ede Magyar submitted the permit plans on 2 July 1906, with neo-baroque details added to win approval; the palace was finished in November 1907 by local craftsmen. Iván Reök, head of the River Engineering Office and a member of parliament, commissioned it as a home for his family and tenants. After 1945 the large flats were divided up, and a full reconstruction, completed in summer 2007, turned the upper floors into a gallery.
Since 2007 the palace has housed the REÖK Regional Arts Centre, opened for the building's centenary with temporary exhibitions, literary and music programmes and chamber theatre performances. The wrought-iron work on the facade was made by decorative smith Pál Fekete after Ede Magyar's drawings in the workshop of locksmith János Kiss. A plaque on the facade commemorates Kiss Ferenc, the "father of Szeged's forests", who lived here.
The building is located at 56 Tisza Lajos Boulevard in Szeged and is easily accessible from the city center. Visitors should note that the interior features a glass-covered courtyard and the building hosts art exhibitions, so checking in advance about current events is helpful for planning a visit.
Above the main entrance, two carved horse heads refer to Iván Reök's horse breeding, while a large-winged bird sits almost hidden at the top of the corner section, a nod to Feketesas (Black Eagle) Street. The water-plant motifs on the facade allude to his hydraulic engineering office.
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