Kosztolányi Dezső Plaque

“The house sleeps too, dead and dumb, as if after a hundred years…” Right before us, affixed to a building on Tábor utca, is the Kosztolányi Dezső Plaque. It echoes these poignant words, a verse from Kosztolányi’s own poetry. The Kosztolányi Dezső Plaque isn’t just a piece of metal. It’s a portal to the life and legacy of a literary giant. It commemorates Dezső Kosztolányi, a writer who painted vivid pictures with his words and whose prose and poetry resonate deeply within Hungarian culture. This plaque marks the very building where Kosztolányi once lived and worked, right here in Budapest’s District I. The inscription on the Kosztolányi Dezső Plaque continues the poem, foretelling the eventual decay of all things. “…When it collapses, weeds will grow from under it, and nobody will have a clue if it was our home or the lair of a beast.” These lines reflect a certain melancholic beauty, a theme that often permeates Kosztolányi’s work. He was born in Szabadka (present-day Subotica, Serbia) in 1885, but his family had ties to Upper Hungary. This connection to Nemeskosztolány (Zemianske Kostoľany, Slovakia) reveals another layer of his complex identity. Though born outside of Hungary’s current borders, Kosztolányi is undeniably a pivotal figure in Hungarian literature. His works have been translated into numerous languages. He was a prolific writer, a journalist, literary translator, and publicist. The Kosztolányi Dezső Plaque serves as a tangible reminder of his presence in this city, in this street. It allows us to connect with the past. It invites us to imagine Kosztolányi within these walls, crafting the stories that continue to captivate readers today. The plaque is a tribute to a writer who, though gone, continues to speak to us through his timeless words.