To celebrate the State Foundation Day of Hungary and the day of King St Stephen, we cordially invite you to discover our wonderful collection, our hidden storerooms, our building with its history, our unique exhibitions and enjoy our diverse programmes for all ages.
[1]
On 20 August 2023, on the occasion of the founding of the state and the day of King St Stephen, the National Library organises an OPEN DAY from 10 am to 5.30 pm.
We warmly look forward to welcoming you to the Buda Castle to discover our wonderful collection, our hidden storerooms, our historic building, our unique exhibitions and enjoy our diverse programmes for all ages.
Visitors can not only admire our building, our storerooms with millions of documents and our exhibitions, but also develop their creativity by trying out our craft activities and giant jigsaw puzzles by Gondosdesign.
Foreign visitors can learn about the history of the building by attending a guided tour in English.
Take a walk up to the Castle, visit the Lion Courtyard, enter through the ornate gates of the National Library and enjoy the day with us!
HOW TO GET TO THE LIBRARY
The National Széchényi Library is located in the 1st district of the capital, in the F building of the Buda Castle. The main entrance opens from the Lion Courtyard between the Hungarian National Gallery and the NSZL.
The main entrance can be reached by 4 routes:
- from Dísz Square on foot,
- from Dózsa György Square on foot, and then by using the lifts on Palota Street,
- from Castle Garden Bazaar on foot or using the lifts,
- from Clark Ádám Square on foot or by using the Castle Hill Funicular.
PROGRAMMES
Floor 5
[2]
GUIDED BUILDING TOURS IN THE NATIONAL LIBRARY – Wandering in the Old Royal Palace
During the one-hour tour, our expert staff will guide you through the building’s turbulent history of more than 100 years, revealing the parts of the castle that still preserve the memory of the Royal Palace behind the modern appearances.
Location: 5th floor, main staircase
Duration: 60 minutes
Maximum number of participants: 25 people
Time:
- 10.30–11.30
- 11.30–12.30
- 13.30–14.30
- 14.30–15.30
- 15.30–16.30
- 16.30–17.30
[3]
THEY WERE ON TREND, TOO – EXHIBITION
What's on trend, what's in fashion – whether it's the way we dress, the way we relax, the music we listen to, the books we read, the technology we use – affects our everyday lives.
It was no different in the past. But what did influencers look like back then? What was the popular music, what was played at the famous cabarets, funfairs and balls of back then, and how did you get on someone's dance card? What is a dance card anyway? From our library's vast collection, we've selected the most interesting and beautiful posters, books and other documents from the 16th century onwards.
Venue: room 516
Time: ongoing
[4]
HANDICRAFT ACTIVITIES
Venue: floor 5
Time: ongoing
Notebook making
Our library is a centre for paper conservation, a training ground for conservators, and our bookbinding experts are capable of miracles such as the binding and boxing of a decorative copy of the Pray Codex for Pope Francis. This time, they will show young and old how to create their own "mini-book", with a cover of their choice from a selection of beautiful patterned papers.
Making pins and fridge magnets
Gold, purple, burgundy or patterned? You can choose from a range of beautiful motifs, including the library's beautiful logo, an illustration inspired by a codex clasp to prepare your own handmade badge or fridge magnet.
Bookmark making
Younger children can make bookmarks with drawings, while older children can make calligraphy bookmarks and laminate them to preserve their own creation and the memory of visiting the national library.
Floor 6
[5]
GIANT JIGSAW PUZZLES
The unique, distinctive puzzles provided by Gondosdesign [6] are worth a try for all ages. Smaller and larger, up to 180 centimetres in diameter, the aesthetic games – inspired by corvina patterns, Arabic ornaments or fractal designs – can be solved in a variety of ways, allowing participants to create their own compositions.
Venue: floor 6
Time: ongoing
Floor 7
[7]
40 YEARS – DREAM ON STAGE
Imre Madách: The Tragedy of Man – exhibition
In this exhibition, we present some particularly interesting documents from the Theatre History and Music Collection to mark the 200th anniversary of Imre Madách's birth and the 140th anniversary of his theatrical premiere. Starting from the beginning of the history on the stage of The Tragedy of Man (21 September 1883), we will list the most exciting set and costume designs and theatre photographs of the first half of the 20th century (1926, 1934, 1939), and conclude with a look at the opening performance of the National Theatre on 15 March 2002.
Visitors will be able to admire the colourful and modern visual world with which Madách's great philosophical text was brought to life by directors and designers of all ages. Our presentation introduces the audience to the theatrical history of the Tragedy through a variety of technical solutions. They can digitally scroll through Ede Paulay's director's copy, take a selfie with Lucifer in the original premiere, and imagine themselves in front of Gusztáv Oláh's projected sets in Szeged. You can also browse through film adaptations based on the life of Imre Madách and The Tragedy of Man.
In connection with the exhibition, visitors can also create their own costumes and show what they would design for the Tragedy.
Venue: research room of the Historic Photo and Video Collection, floor 7
Time: ongoing