Drechsler Palace

When Hungary’s railway workers needed a pension fund investment in the 1880s, they built a palace. The huge building sits on four land-lots that the Hungarian State Railways purchased opposite the Opera House, which was then still under construction, generating income through rent to fund retirement benefits for track workers and engineers.

Architect Ödön Lechner, fresh from renovating 30 French castles, designed the Drechsler to complement the Opera House (without overshadowing it) filling it with a saloon for ladies, a skittle alley, a gaming room, a brasserie, a banquet hall, a beer hall, playground and even electric lights. Famous people to have visited include composers Giacomo Puccini and Gustav Mahler. 1948 was the last year the building was used for hospitality.

From 1946 to 2002, the palace housed the Hungarian Dance Academy (formerly the Hungarian Ballet Institute), with apartments converted for use as dance studios while the remaining apartments were subdivided. It was completely abandoned during the last 19 years, with broken and boarded windows, crumbling stonestone, graffiti, and construction barricades suggesting renovations that abruptly ceased.

Two decades of decay ended in 2023 when it reopened as the W Budapest, swapping ballet students for hotel guests.