“A chilling wind swept through the Fiumei Úti Cemetery,” whispered old Mr. Farkas, clutching his worn coat tighter. “They say the spirits of the Piarists still wander here, among their old tombstones.” We stood before the Piaristák régebbi sírboltja, the older tomb of the Hungarian Piarist Order, an imposing neogothic structure built in 1878 by Antal Gottgeb. The Piaristák régebbi sírboltja wasn’t the Piarists’ first resting place. Until 1870, they were interred in the crypt of their inner-city church. But when that became impossible, they established this plot in the Kerepesi Cemetery, now part of Fiumei Úti Cemetery. Look closely at the tomb’s architecture. It’s more impressive than its sculptural elements. Originally, atop the structure stood statues of the Virgin Mary and two angels, beneath a terracotta relief depicting Christ’s entombment. In 1940, sculptor István Thomek restored the statues, changing their color from the original black to a gray-beige. The Piaristák régebbi sírboltja, a place of somber beauty, reflects the order’s history. They were forbidden from burial in their original crypt due to political and financial reasons. This tomb, therefore, marks a new chapter in their Budapest story. Think of the countless Piarist fathers and brothers who dedicated their lives to education, now resting here. Their spirits, perhaps, linger in the rustling leaves and whispering winds of Fiumei Úti Cemetery.
Центральный дом работников искусств
Step through the grand wooden doors of the Central House of the Workers of Art, and you’ll be transported to