Shoe Shine

Like Brussels or Vienna, Budapest is one of the European capitals that can pride itself with its very own version of art nouveau, or secession, as it was called around here. Hungarian secession keeps the trademarks of the genre adding a distinct somewhat oriental feeling, reaching back to the Asian origins of Hungarians. The most prolific architect was Ödön Lechner, who designed, among others, the impressive building of the Museum of Applied Arts. The building above is somewhat off the beating track of secession sights in Budapest: hidden in Wesselényi street, it was built in 1905 as the home of the Shoemakers' Syndicate