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Frigyes Feszl’s Clientele
Frigyes Feszl's Clientele
Frigyes Feszl's Clientele

Mosaics from Pesti Vigadó's History

by Árpád Lesti

The most original master of Hungarian romantic architecture, designer of Pesti Vigadó's building Frigyes Feszl was born 200 years ago.

Frigyes Feszl was born in the town of Pest on 20th February 1821 as the fifth child of stone cutter József Feszl of German middle-class descent. Frigyes Feszl started his career as a student of Hungarian architect József Hild, then in 1839 he went on a study tour of Europe and enrolled at the Munich-based Academy of Fine Arts, where his brother József Feszl was also studying. Frigyes Feszl finally settled in Pest in 1844. Apart from the above-mentioned József Feszl, Frigyes Feszl's other brother János Feszl also worked as an architect. Strangely enough, Frigyes Feszl did not partner up with his brothers, but he started a joint company with Lipót Kauser, who came from a Pest-based stone cutters' family, and the Kassa-born (Kosice) Károly Gerster. They worked together for almost a decade. Even if the company of the three gentlemen was soon in contact with the famous Hungarian Count István Széchenyi and his circles, Frigyes Feszl and his partners' clientele was mostly composed of middle-class Lutheran trading and entrepreneur families of a German lineage from Historical Upper Hungary. In fact, these commissions primarily originated from Catholic Károly Gerster from Historical Upper Hungary and his friend Lutheran Imre Henszlmann.

Apparently, Frigyes Feszl's former master József Hild continued to feel sympathy towards the three young men and their enterprise, probably due to the fact that Frigyes Feszl was once József Hild's student. It may well have been József Hild who recommended the group and company of the above three men – who were at that time lesser-known in the town of Pest – to the attention of the commissioners of today's Budapest-based Synagogue in Dohány Street. This might well explain why the building committee of the Synagogue also requested them to submit their own plans. The prestige of the three men is also underscored by the fact that no other team from the town of Pest was contacted and invited to prepare plans. In fact, it was also József Hild who initially got a commission for the construction of a building to be erected in place of the Mihály Pollack designed Redoute, which formerly stood in the place of Pesti Vigadó. Eventually, based on plans by Frigyes Feszl the tandem of József Hild and Frigyes Feszl jointly received the newer modified commission to design and construct this building. The preparation of the final plans and the construction of the building was in fact carried out by Frigyes Feszl alone. This may essentially be due to the fact that Hild, who was the most popular designer of his era, kept receiving newer and newer commissions. In the meantime, there was no progress in the construction of either the Synagogue or the building to be later called Pesti Vigadó for years and even for decades. For Hild, such commissions seemed a waste of time, whereas for the young designer Frigyes Feszl such jobs presented opportunities to prove himself professionally.

All things considered, Frigyes Feszl, as an already acclaimed architect, first and foremost designed Pest-based and later – due to the unification of the formerly three distinct city parts of Pest, Buda and Óbuda – Budapest-based buildings. He hardly ever constructed buildings outside the capital. Those commissioning him mostly came from the Pest-based wealthy upper middle class, and he was also entrusted with commissions by the town of Pest. Concerning the latter, Frigyes Feszl was in a privileged position: his eldest brother Ágoston Feszl was the alderman of the town of Pest between 1848 and 1874. Perhaps it was thanks to his brother's arrangements that it happened on the 44th birthday of Frigyes Feszl on 20th February 1865 that the official handover to the town of Pest of Frigyes Feszl's principal work, today called Pesti Vigadó, took place.