Viktor Orbán’s nationalist Hungarian government has come under scrutiny in recent years for its anti-immigration policies but, on the face of it, the UK isn’t that different.
Both countries have created a hostile environment for immigrants, both are in the EU (at the time of going to press) and both have kept their own currencies. They also both have reputedly difficult languages, the first two underground train systems in Europe and extraordinarily good art collections.

“We have the richest European art collection between Vienna and St Petersburg,” says László Baán, the director of the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest. He is also the government commissioner of the Liget Budapest Project, a €1bn (315bn Hungarian forints) investment in culture across Budapest, due to complete in 2022. Baán is keen to emphasise that all the funds have been committed by the Hungarian government, not the EU.

After three years’ closure, the renovation of the Museum of Fine Arts marks the first milestone of the Liget project, a scheme that also involves three new museums, two extensions for existing venues, a new biodome for the zoo, a new performance space and storage and research centre.

What has changed at the Museum of Fine Arts?

László Baán: We have reunited our collection – our Hungarian old masters have finally rejoined the international old masters that we hold. This is important because it returns the museum to its original concept when it opened in 1906 to show Hungarian art in an international context.

The collection has been split since 1957 – after the Hungarian uprising in 1956 – when the then Soviet government separated the Hungarian art and established a national gallery for it. It was their way of being nationalist, but it was not good for Hungarian art as it is not well known and was separated from the European context. The Museum of Fine Arts now holds works until the end of the 18th century, and the New National Gallery, still under construction, will hold art from the 19th century onwards.

Has the government had any input on the content of the museum?

Decisions about the museum were not influenced by the government. Sometimes Orbán says nationalist things, but when he decided to invest in this, he understood that anything we do must be done on an international level in terms of content and quality.

How has the museum been modernised?

We not only have new exhibition space, climatisation equipment and safety installations, but also new education rooms and a restaurant. When I started here in 2004, the museum was an old-fashioned institution. This is the only important international art collection in Hungary, but in 2004 the website was not even translated into English.
We had no education or exhibition departments – when a show was put on, the collections team organised it. Now, we have reorganised our offices to give space back to the public, and created a suite of wonderful learning rooms. Our website is also in English now too.
What is the most impressive part of the revamp?

The Romanesque Hall, which is now fully restored and open to the public. It was previously used as storage and closed for more than 70 years, since 1944, when it was damaged during the second world war.

Luckily, the collection was evacuated so it survived without any loss, even during the two-month siege of Budapest. Incredibly, the building remained standing, even with the severe damage that it suffered. The two glass ceilings – one over the Romanesque Hall, the other over the Baroque Hall – were completely broken.

The collection was returned by the Americans and the doors to the museum reopened in 1947. However, by 1990, after the fall of communism, the building was in a bad condition. The new non-Soviet government only funded small-scale renovations, so opening the Romanesque Hall after 70 years is symbolic.

What is the most innovative aspect of the renovation?
 
We are about to install the largest LED wall in the museum world, at 50 metres long, in our entrance hall. It’s maybe not so innovative in the broad scheme of things, but it is for us compared with the past decades. The touchscreen will show up to 300 items from our collection to entice people to find out more. Visitors will be able to sync their mobile phones with it and save objects on their devices that they want to view in real life.
   
Was sustainability taken into account with the revamp?

We have installed solar panels on the roof to help power the building, but the new research and storage centre that is about to open will go a step further and use geothermal energy. Sadly, it was impossible to achieve that in the Museum of Fine Arts as it is too old and delicate.
 
How does the museum fit into the Liget project?

This is the most ambitious cultural investment project in Europe and we have been working on it for more than seven years. It will change our museum culture with the opening of the New National Gallery, the Museum of Ethnography, the largest biodome in Europe, the House of Innovation, the Research, Storage and Restoration Centre, and the House of Hungarian Music.

Given our rich history of composers, it is surprising that not one museum, in a thousand across Hungary, is dedicated to our music. The new House of Hungarian Music will tell the story of our famous composers, including Béla Bartók, Franz Liszt and Zoltán Kodály, and host concerts in a beautiful glass building.


Project data

  • Cost €40m (£34.4m)
  • Main funder Hungarian government
  • Architect István Mányi
  • Exhibition design Narmer Architecture Studio 
  • Admission Permanent collection Adults €5; children €2.50