Szimpla, Ruin pub in Jewish Quarter, Budapest, Hungary
Szimpla occupies a dilapidated building at 14 Kazinczy Street, with bars set up in former apartments and corridors that double as a concert hall. Its courtyard holds a terrace and an open-air cinema, and the gravel floor is scattered with salvaged objects, including a convertible Trabant used as seating.
Szimpla Kert opened in 2002 a few blocks from its present site, then moved in 2004 to 14 Kazinczy Street, a dilapidated building that had housed flats and a stove factory and was slated for demolition. The four owners saved it from demolition and reopened as Szimpla Kertmozi, using the large courtyard for underground and indie film screenings. It became the first ruin pub in Budapest.
The name means "Simple Garden". The courtyard hosts an open-air cinema, and on Sundays a farmers' market; the Kazinczy Living Library and a bicycle flea market also run here. Visitors can smoke shisha in converted bathtubs and sit at a table inside a Trabant with the seats removed.
Visitors should expect the multiple levels and winding layout to present navigation challenges, particularly when crowds build. Plan several hours to explore and discover hidden areas at your own pace throughout the venue.
In 2011 Lonely Planet ranked Szimpla Kert third on its list of the world's best bars, a placement reached within seven years of the move to Kazinczy Street. The bar also hosts the Kazinczy Living Library, where visitors borrow people rather than books for a conversation.
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