Budapest Wholesale, Wholesale market in Budapest District IX, Hungary
Nagyvásártelep is a defunct wholesale market complex in District IX, built between 1930 and 1932 to designs by Aladár Münnich and Vilmos Obrist. Its surviving main hall is a modern-style structure 234 metres long, 42 metres wide and 17 metres high, with a floor area of 10,000 square metres that could accommodate around 400 wholesalers. An office building stands beside it, while the rest of the site has been demolished and overgrown.
The market was designed by architect Aladár Münnich and opened on November 18, 1932 in the presence of Hungarian regent Miklós Horthy. This opening marked an important moment for Budapest's commercial infrastructure.
The market's founding name was Budapest Székesfőváros Központi Élelmiszer Nagyvásártelep, and its huge hall was built in 1930–1932 to plans by Aladár Münnich and Vilmos Obrist. The site once had two ports on the Ráckevei-Duna branch, built 1918–1925 and operated 1927–1984. The hall and office building have been protected monuments since 2004.
The market no longer operates: it closed after the change of regime and most buildings were demolished. The site is overgrown with scrub forest and the soil is contaminated, so it is not a place to enter casually. The large hall and office building survive and have been protected monuments since 2004; the Duna City plans concern the neglected area.
The building was constructed using the Zeiss-Dywidag method, an innovative engineering technique that allowed for a large open roof without interior columns. This approach was quite advanced for its time.
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