Coal gas was manufactured in these remarkably beautiful buildings in Budapest, but the factory fell into disuse when coal was replaced by natural gas in the ‘80s. Yet, its beauty and the unique atmosphere of its surroundings have been preserved. – Subjective Budapest through the eyes of the photo artist, János Vachter.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Budapesters couldn’t possibly live without gas, which is why the Metropolitan Assembly decided to build a gas factory in 1908. The factory in Óbuda was opened five years later to the plans of Albert Weiss, a gas manufacturer from Zürich, Izidor Bernauer, lighting director and Győző Schön, engineer. The factory was considered cutting edge in its day, only the appearance of natural gas superannuated it decades later. The buildings are surrounded by a residential complex built for the workers and their families, creating a unique, industrially charming atmosphere.
While most parts of the old factory are now abandoned, some of the buildings have been repurposed, and the factory has been listed as a historic building. One should note however, that the area and its current owner, the Metropolitan Gas Company, have been targets of serious accusations: Greenpeace research has revealed a critical concentration of poisonous materials in the soil which can easily reach the water table and, if the water level drops, the Danube as well. The company negotiated environmental remediation, yet there is no news of any actual operational works taking place in the area.
While the data on pollution is quite alarming, the building remains a lovely, yet old piece of early 20th-century Hungarian industrial design, and its beauties were captured by the photo artist, János Vachter, quite remarkably. Through his pictures, we get an insight into the grandiose style of building construction some 110 years ago, and we can see the artist’s special way of viewing the surrounding. While looking at the photos, we are dizzied by the heights of the towers and the winding stairs, yet we are able to understand the charm of these deserted industrial places.
János Vachter has been awarded several artistic prizes, exhibited his pictures both in Budapest and around the country. He is a member of the artistic group “hibaizmus” (“errorism”). As he puts it, he always considers the topic and the technique together. “A topic, a good sight is never enough for me”, he emphasizes, and looking at his portfolio, we can see the extreme photographic techniques he experiments with. “I’m driven by the experiments”, he says. “Showing off casual objects by outbalancing them from the everyday surrounding, this is what I like. Topics that are always with us, yet in my photos they get a completely new light.” For example, in his “Market” series mushrooms, fish and cauliflower turn out to be something astonishing and occasionally frightening. Yet, Vachter not only likes market-objects, but abandoned industrial areas as well. That’s what attracted him in the Óbuda-series. As he puts it, he sometimes captures people as well, but not very often. “I rather like depicting the lack of their presence.” As it seems, he has perfectly realised this agenda in the case of the Óbuda-factory.
Life in Hungary 