Emlékpont Communist Museum

Emlékpont (Rembrance Point), a museum devoted to the communist past of the provincial city of Hódmezõvásárhely, Southern Hungary, opened its doors in 2006. The city council owned a fine 19th-century building with a simple 1950's annex, right in the centre of the city. Kovács suggested preserving both buildings and adding a third wing to represent the 21st century. The latter is a long, metal-clad volume that overhangs the 1950's building, creating a covered space conveniently located at a major intersection. Between the grand villa and the annex is a courtyard, containing the entrance to the museum. The walls of this courtyard are faced with weathered red frescoes from a former Russian barracks in the nearby city of Szeged. Architecturally speaking, the museum is well worth the three-and-a-half hour train trip from Budapest, but one wonders how the museum is going to persuade people to come back for a second visit, for there is no space at present for temporary exhibitions.