The location: abandoned building courtyards. Even after the last tenants have moved out, in an effort to renovate the city’s inner districts, such work does not always begin, and construction plans often lie on the packed desks of local government officials. This is when something very different happens in the mostly uninhabited locations. Throughout the past five years, crowded bars have sprung up in abandoned courtyards, entertaining local youth with table games, music and films. The news about the existence of these almost secret clubs is spread uniquely by word of mouth. And the only entrepreneurs who can get their hands on these downtown gardens are those who diligently keep an eye on competition between young lawyers, economists and businessmen, in parallel to efforts by local government to carry out privatization programs.

Moving just a street down, Szóda-udvar is going strong

Lease contracts for the courtyards are signed only for one season, and the festivities move to different locations every year. The three keystones in the courtyard phenomenon are just off Király Street, at Szimpla-kert (Szimpla garden), Szóda-udvar (Szóda court) and the now-closed Gozsduudvar (Gozsdu court). While each location has its own history, some of Budapest’s original courtyards have since closed, the waiters replaced by bulldozers.

The Szimpla story

There are very few buildings in the center of Budapest that make it to the front pages of Hungarian press. But the building at Király St. 25 is one exception. As it waited for years to be renovated, instead of construction workers, squatters moved in. In recent years, authorities removed dozens of homeless families from the building, but only the eviction of the last family – which included two children, echoed loudly in the local media. Politicians lined up by the dilapidated house on the day of the eviction and waited for authorities to arrive, offering each other coffee in solidarity. By this time there were 27 walled-up doors in the back yard, with only the door of the ground floor flat left open, where the resisting family lived until the end. Several liberal and socialist MPs tried to block passage from the authorities, but after a short struggle the eviction was carried out. Even the words of Budapest Mayor Gábor Demszky weren’t enough to stop the ousting of the family, who had lived in the building for some three years.

Szimpla-kert: the name remains but the venue has changed

The scene of this sad prologue was soon transformed into a bustling bar a few months after the event when Szimpla-kert was born. Colorful paintings hung on the walled-up doors, a bar and jukebox occupied the empty courtyard and paper lanterns and strange sculptures hung from above.

From a homeless family fighting against the authorities, the venue was transformed into a playground for young people jockeying for space at a foosball table.

In the end, the Szimpla-kert itself was also evicted. Only the name of this nightclub has remained, with the venue’s address changing. This year’s Szimpla-kert site on Kazinczy street, however, will not be there for long either. The new owner is planning to start renovating the property in November.

“This is a transitory period: by today there are only four remaining plots in the district that can be occupied. By next year there will only be two, and by the summer following that this nightclub-district will be gone and office buildings will take its place,” says Ábel Zsendovics, Szimpla-kert manager.

Szóda-udvar is also at a new location this year. Manager Balázs Demeter managed to find space owned by the local government, which can be rented cheaper than privately owned ruins, but according to the contract, if a buyer turns up, everything must be cleared in five days.

The constant uncertainty does not seem to affect the crowds. Owners also know that the real business lies in the fact that both gardens have their own permanent private indoor venues, so these ephemeral, ruinous clubs, which do not turn a large profit, partially serve as an advertisement.

Gozsdu-udvar (Gozsdu-court)

The Gozsdu-udvar, located at the end of Király Street close to Deák square; is a house-lined passage with interconnected courtyards closed to pedestrian traffic. Gozsdu manager were only allowed to occupy this space for one summer last year before being shut down. The complex was originally built at the turn of the century and is the legacy of a 19th-century Romanian lawyer Manó Gozsdu. In his will he left his fortune to the Romanian community in Transylvania and Hungary. The testament also instructed setting up a foundation to handle the the assets and support the studies of Romanians at universities abroad. The Gozsdu-udvar became the property of the Hungarian state in 1952, through nationalization procedures of the day. This status was also affirmed by an intergovernmental agreement between Romania and Hungary signed in 1953. The parties agreed they had no property claims toward the other.

Nevertheless, the Romanian government came up with its claim for the Gozsdu-udvar buildings in 2002, on the bicentenary of Gozsdu’s birth. Romanian Prime Minister Adrian Nastase said the countries were trying to find a solution for the recovery of Gozsdu Foundation assets in Budapest as soon as possible.

At the moment it seems the outcome of that political debate will be the creation of a new Hungarian-Romanian Gozsdu Foundation, which would give scholarships and run a museum and library. Hungary offered an estate in Buda for the udvar, but Romania wants to see such efforts housed in the Gozsdu-udvar. The Király street building complex is not state-owned, however, and with the udvar in ruins and empty, investors are planning to start the construction work soon, with plans to build a hotel, shops, luxury flats and an interactive museum. The Gozsdu Foundation could only rent an office in the udvar and possibly buy one later.

Romanian diplomatic circles estimate the value of Gozsdu-assets USD 1 billion. It is very likely though that there will be no final decision made for some time yet.

During a period of diplomatic debates about Gozsdu last year, lights went on in the long, passageway and music started to play. A courtyard was opened up and young people found their way to a new hotspot. The nightclub was run by lawyers and economists and only lasted for a year. This year, after the last tenant was moved out, a contract took effect, according to which, the Magyar Ingatlan Kft. (Hungarian Real Estate Ltd.) will buy the house before the end of July. According to press information, the price also includes a building on Holló Street, where Szóda-udvar was located last year.

The Pótkulcs holds out

Another outdoor courtyard of sorts is Pótkulcs, through it is not part of the courtyard triangle as it belongs to a different district – and has held out behind its unmarked gate for four years. The interior is constantly changing; “works of art” hang from the walls in a very modern design. There is a coat stand with socks and leopard-skin men’s underwear, another corner is occupied by a wicker mat wrapped with a pair of red knickers and a pair of long women’s boots next to it. The most interesting piece, perhaps, bears the title: “The memories of a lover,” which consists of a red telephone with its insides removed and stuck on a piece of cardboard. Red and green lights break the dimness of the underground club.

Pótkulcs: owner hopes one day the heart of Budapest will start to beat

Pótkulcs was also close to being shut down many times, but a few years ago it found an owner from abroad who hopes that one day the heart of Budapest will start to beat and town rehabilitation will begin. The buildings along Csengery Street, where the pub is located, will be painted in bright colors and Pótkulcs’ owner says he can sell the property for a much higher value. Until then the party continues, in quiet secrecy.

Although Budapest’s courtyards seem to disappear one after the other, there are always one or two open, and even when the dilapidated apartment blocks of Erzsébetváros are filled with offices, the entertainment center of Budapest will move on, occupying other districts - 23 total in the city. While local governments make little or no progress with their plans, the gardens flourish.