A Fészek Klub

The Fészek Art Club is located in the city center of Budapest, on the corner of Dob Street and Kertész Street. The club was founded in 1901 by Budapest’s wealthy artists: musicians, sculptors, painters, actors, singers and comedians.
Already in the 1920s, Fészek became the defining cultural center of the capital. It had a legendary garden and a wonderful restaurant with a two-story circular terrace, lodges and a musical cabaret show every night.
The club operated successfully until World War II, although in the late 1930s, the Jewish laws and the fascist public mood made daily operations increasingly disturbed, famous artists visited here, many of whom were of Jewish origin. (e.g. film director Béla Gaál)
However, even in the first years of the war, regular performances and concerts were held at the Fészek Club, and the club never closed for a moment, operating until 1944.
In 1944, Fészek became part of the closed zone established in the Budapest ghetto.
Barriers blocked the area from the Grand Boulevard, which was barely a hundred meters away, and soldiers controlled entry and exit. The historic Jewish quarter was closed for almost a year, until the spring of 1945, during which time the Fészek Club restaurant and kitchen were allowed to operate almost continuously, only in the ghetto area. During the deportations, the club was barely functioning, and the Arrow Cross entered and occupied the building at the end of 1944.
In the spring of 1945, the “liberating” Russian tanks mistook the Fészek Club building for a German firing position and bombed the entrance.
The Fészek Art Club still stands where it was built in 1901, its walls preserving the truth of history.