The House of Houdini, Magic museum in Castle District, Hungary
The House of Houdini occupies a building at 11 Dísz Square inside the Buda Castle walls. Its arched doorway has a pale stone surround, a black semicircular fanlight and dark green panelled double doors; gold lettering across the fanlight and upper doors reads "THE HOUSE OF HOUDINI" and "HOUDINI HÁZ". A brass lion-head knocker with a ring sits on the right door.
The collection was shown in Milan before opening here on 16 June 2016, in the city where Houdini was born. Owner David Merlini, an escapologist and technical adviser on a Houdini miniseries, assembled handcuffs, letters and a Bible that belonged to Houdini. The museum also studies his Hungarian and Jewish origins; he never performed in Hungary.
The house takes its name from Harry Houdini, born in Budapest in 1874, though he never performed in Hungary. Its research centre focuses on his Hungarian and Jewish origins. Six magicians rotate shows in the in-house Orpheum theatre, with performances in English and Hungarian.
The entrance is at 11 Dísz Square, inside the Buda Castle walls; the door is marked by gold lettering across the fanlight reading "THE HOUSE OF HOUDINI" and "HOUDINI HÁZ". Entry requires decoding a secret message at the door; if a visitor cannot solve it, the admission price is refunded. Shows are given in English and Hungarian, and six magicians rotate in the small in-house Orpheum theater.
The gold lettering over the door reads "THE HOUSE OF HOUDINI" with "HOUDINI HÁZ" beneath it, and the entrance is only passed by decoding a secret "arcane" message; visitors who fail are refunded their admission. The building holds the only collection of original Houdini artifacts in Europe, including a Bible he once owned.
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