Józsefváros, Urania National Film Theatre - Budapest, Hungary

Location:

GPS coordinates: Latitude 47°29'43", Longitude 19°3'53" (N47 29.72 - E19 3.88) Map

Facade of the Uránia Cinema building

The home of the Urania National Film Theatre is the so-called Uránia House, designed by Henrik Schmahl German-born architect from Budapest, famous representative of the historicist style. The building was built in 1895 (or as some sources says in 1893) for Kálmán Rimanóczy, a building contractor from Nagyvárad (in Transylvania, today Romania, its Romanian name is Oradea). Initially it functioned as a club, firstly it was called "Caprice orfeum" and later "Alhambra". The Urania Science Theater was opened in the former bar and club building in 1899, this was equipped with projectors from the beginning, firstly just for still images, but later also for motion pictures (cinematograph, film or movie projector). From the 1920s the institution functioned exclusively as a film theatre or cinema.

The richly decorated facade of the building of Uránia Cinema

The upper storeys of the Uránia House served the theatrical education from the beginning. Earlier it was the home of the Royal Hungarian Academy of Dramatic Art (in Hungarian "Országos Magyar Királyi Színművészeti Akadémia"), then its later successors: the Budapest Drama College ("Színművészeti Főiskola") and the present University of Theatre and Film Arts ("Színház- és Filmművészeti Egyetem").

The entrance of the Urania Film Theater from the street

The facade of the Uránia House was changed more times over the years. The present authentic form was built during the renovations of 2000-2002. At the same time the interior of the lower levels got a new, oriental design. The original design is best shown in the auditorium of the cinema. The reliefs on the main facade are created by Sándor Krisztián in 1895.

Lobby of the Urania Film Theatre (cinema)

The first Hungarian-made moving picture was presented within the walls of the Uránia Film Theater. This was called "A táncz" ("The Dance") and it was filmed by the projectionist and photographer Béla Zsitkovszky on the roof terrace of the building (which was the Urania Science Theatre at that time). In the film famous artists of the era (Lujza Blaha, Sári Fedák, Emília Márkus, Ilka Pálmay, as well as the ballerinas of the Budapest Opera House) perform various dances. The cultural-historical work was presented in 1901. Unfortunately the film was not preserved for posterity, just the text of the performance, the playbill, as well as some still images and postcards.

Decorative ornaments on the first floor of the Uránia National Film Theatre (cinema)

The style of the Uránia Cinema building is mixing the Venetian gothic and the Italian renaissance design elements, as well as the ornaments from the Arabic-Moorish architecture. In a report Terry Gilliam American/British film director, screenplay writer and actor (as well as a member of the Monty Python group) said that in his oppinion the Urania Film Theatre is the most beautiful cinema in Europe.

Uránia Café coffee house

The interior design of the Uránia Film Theater is astonishing, considering not just the style but the materials used. Almost nothing is what it seems. The "wooden" ceiling, as well as the ornaments of the columns, arches, vaults and corbels (consoles) are all made of plaster. The ornate "tapestry" on the wall is also just painting.