The construction of Hungary’s New National Gallery is projected to commence in 2025, with an anticipated opening later in the decade at Budapest’s City Park, according to a statement from Városliget Ltd. The project’s ambition is to elevate the renewed City Park into Europe’s most comprehensive cultural quarter.
The new gallery will house a unified modern collection from the Museum of Fine Arts and the Hungarian National Gallery. Already equipped with valid construction permits, the gallery’s realization now hinges on the completion of an ongoing public procurement process. Based on its results, the government may then determine the conditions under which construction will proceed, the statement confirmed.
Built on the site of the former Petőfi Hall, the new gallery will not impact green spaces. Under the Liget Budapest project, the park’s green area will increase from its initial 60 per cent to 65 per cent, primarily through the re-greening of previously paved sections.
The statement highlights the essential role of the New National Gallery in establishing the renewed City Park as one of Europe’s most intricate cultural quarters, securing a prestigious position on the international cultural map.
Designed by the Pritzker Prize-winning Japanese architecture firm SANAA, the new building won its construction rights through an international architectural design competition. Upon its opening, visitors will be able to experience the City Park’s primary cultural institutions in a single walk, including national exhibition spaces for photography, ethnography, music, and fine arts.
The Liget Budapest Project, currently Europe’s largest cultural city development initiative, aims for the comprehensive revitalization of the 100-hectare City Park. In addition to the park’s green spaces, the project will enhance its recreational functions and renew its century-old institutions, positioning the City Park as one of Budapest’s most attractive cultural and leisure hubs.
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