The Parliament House can get back its original interior structure, the preparation of the renovation has started

The renovation of the facade of the Parliament Building was completed a decade ago, and at the end of 2023, the scaffolding was dismantled around the building, which was constructed between 1885 and 1904 and is home to the legislature. Now, news has arrived that the world-famous Parliament is also preparing for an 8-10 year interior renovation as part of the Imre Steindl Programme, which is coordinating the renovation of several government historic buildings in and around Kossuth Square. Tamás Wachsler, the programme's director, made a statement about this to InfoRadio.

It takes two years to uncover all the information needed

He explained that the preparatory phase of the renovation of the Parliament House is about to begin, in which, in addition to the planning, a lot of different excavations and investigations will be started to assess the actual condition of the building. There is also a process called mock-ups, where models of a series of decorative elements are made to decide whether they can be used in the reconstruction, he said, and then summarised that in about two years

• to prepare a scientific documentation of the building history of the Parliament,
• compile an inventory of values
• and a number of analyses need to be carried out.

All rounds will require a supportive government decision

After that, the design tender will be announced, at which point the rebuilders will know the detailed technical content and the possible price of the construction, which will be decided by the government," said the head of the Imre Steindl Programme, who said that the real design can then start. The latter process is expected to take two years, but he stressed that this is only an estimate, as it will require consultation with potential participants once the technical content is known.

A budget will be drawn up by then, which will again have to be adopted by government decision, after which the selection of contractors can begin

- said Tamás Wachsler.

120 years in the Parliament building, time to modernise temperature control

He also summarised that the renovation aims to increase the energy efficiency of the huge building, as the basic idea of the system is 130 years old and has been in operation for practically 120 years without interruption. It is therefore understandable that it is now obsolete in many respects and needs to be modernised. But in the Parliament building, for example, there is no cooling solution at all, only local solutions," he added.

It also requires the complete replacement of the entire pipe and wiring network, modernising all fittings behind the walls. Here, Tamás Wachsler stressed that

The original structure of the Parliament building will be restored, as there are, for example, several subsequent walling and partitions in the less spectacular places, which they would like to remove.

MEPs can move temporarily to the Ministry of Agriculture building

Members are expected to meet in the Ministry of Agriculture building during the renovation, which is expected to take about 4 years

- (the oldest building of Kossuth Square, together with the adjacent Palace of Justice, is currently under renovation and reconstruction - ed.).

Munkácsy's Honfoglalás painting also gets a new home

Last but not least, one of the elements of the project is that Mihály Munkácsy's famous oil painting, the Reservation of Hungary, 13.5 metres long and 4.5 metres wide, will be removed from the Parliament House, the head of the Imre Steindl Programme pointed out. The painting is currently on display at the Museum of Fine Arts, but will eventually be returned to the Munkácsy Hall of the Parliament, where it will not be on public display.

"Our idea is to create a space in the building of the Ministry of Agriculture where we can present the picture in a dignified way. We want to create an exhibition space where the light and the climatic conditions are both conducive to the long-term preservation of the image. But more importantly, so that anyone can view it freely, unlike now."

- he said.