Embassy of the United Kingdom, Budapest
British Embassy, Budapest | |
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![]() Royal coat of arms outside the old Embassy building in District V | |
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Location | ![]() |
Address | Füge u. 5-7, Budapest 1022, Hungary |
Ambassador | Paul Fox |
Website | British Embassy, Budapest |
The Embassy of the United Kingdom in Budapest is the chief diplomatic mission of the United Kingdom in Hungary.
History
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/17/Budapest_1943%2C_T%C3%A1ncsics_Mih%C3%A1ly_utca_1%2C_sv%C3%A1jci_z%C3%A1szl%C3%B3val._Fortepan_105765.jpg/220px-Budapest_1943%2C_T%C3%A1ncsics_Mih%C3%A1ly_utca_1%2C_sv%C3%A1jci_z%C3%A1szl%C3%B3val._Fortepan_105765.jpg)
From 1922 up until the Second World War, the British Embassy in Budapest was located at Táncsics utca 1 in the Castle District of the city. It operated for just two decades, until Hungary entered the Second World War, at which time the British left and the Swiss took their place, since the interests of enemy countries were represented by neutral Switzerland. Between 1942 and 1945, Swiss Vice-Consul Carl Lutz worked in the British Embassy building.[1] Lutz was the Swiss consul general who saved tens of thousands of Jews during the Holocaust, which has been commemorated by a plaque on the facade since 2012.[2] The building suffered serious damage during the siege of Budapest. It remained in ruins for decades, at the beginning of the 1960s, the British submitted a plan for its complete modernization, but this was rejected by the National Monuments Authority, so it was sold to the Hungarian state in 1967, which renovated it into the office's headquarters in the following years.[2]
In the 1960s, the British embassy was located on Harmincad utca in a building which was originally constructed in Secessionist style by the Hungarian builder Károly Reiner to be the headquarters of Hazai Bank. Following the German occupation of Hungary in 1944, Swedish consul Raoul Wallenberg rented space in this bank and declared it as an official Swedish consulate that could not be entered by Nazi authorities, to eventually shelter many Hungarian Jews. A plaque on the building’s corner commemorates Wallenberg’s deeds.[3]
In April 2017 the British Embassy moved out of its building in Harmincad utca after 70 years, into an office building at 5-7 Füge utca in the Rózsadomb (District II) district of Budapest. The new embassy building previously served as the home to the Dutch Embassy to Hungary.[4][5] Minister for Europe Sir Alan Duncan and Hungarian Minister for Foreign Affairs Péter Szijjártós officially opened the new Embassy building.[6] In March 2020, at the height of the Coronavirus pandemic, Steven Dick, the deputy head of mission at the British embassy in Budapest died from COVID-19.[7]
The Embassy also represents the British Overseas Territories in Hungary.
The current British Ambassador to Hungary is Paul Fox.[8]
Gallery
- British Embassy, Budapest (1922-1939)
- British Embassy, Budapest (1948-2017)
- A countdown to the 2012 London Olympics, outside the Embassy
- British Embassy, Budapest (2017–present)
See also
- Hungary-United Kingdom relations
- List of diplomatic missions in Hungary
- List of Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Hungary
References
- ^ "Former palace of monument protection in Buda castle - The building on Táncsics Street has a new owner". PestBuda. 30 November 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
- ^ a b "Itt a vége: a műemlékvédelem szimbólumának tartott vári palotát is eladta a kormány". valaszonline. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
- ^ "The fascinating history of Budapest's British Embassy building". We Love Budapest. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
- ^ "Elköltözik a budapesti brit nagykövetség". HVG.HU. 19 April 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
- ^ "British Embassy Budapest moves to a new address". FCDO. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
- ^ "New British Embassy building officially inaugurated". Budapest Business Journal. 13 October 2017. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
- ^ "Coronavirus: Steven Dick, British embassy diplomat in Budapest, dies from COVID-19". Sky News. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
- ^ "British Embassy Budapest". FCO.gov.uk.
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3 The United Kingdom and His Majesty's Government do not recognise or have formal bilateral intergovernmental, diplomatic or consular relations with the (generally unrecognised) Government of the Republic of China in Taipei. Functions in Taiwan as an accredited informal and unofficial representative post and a semi-official informal consular post.