Address: Postamúzeum, Andrássy út 3, 1061 Budapest (6th district)

Access: by underground - yellow line, Bajcsy-Zs. út station

Open : every day except Monday from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm

The Postal Museum of Budapest was founded in 1890, so it belongs to the oldest postal museums in Europe. Since 1972 it is located in a 7 rooms flat, which belonged in past to rich Budapest businessmen Saxlehner Mansion family. The apartment is located in a building constructed in 1886 at Andrássy Street just few minutes from the most important Pest church of St. István or from Budapest Opera House. Lower part of the museum building and the Bajcsy-Zs. út underground station (the yellow railing) you can see on fig. 1. You will know for sure the Andrássy name from Czechoslovak history - Count Andrássy was the last Austro-Hungarian Prime Minister, who issued on Oct. 28, 1918 so called “Andrássy Memorandum” accepting peace conditions of US President Wilson, which caused declaration of Bohemian independence in Prague on the same day.

The Postal Museum is specialised in photographs, maps, vehicles, furniture and other documents, you will find there no postage stamps (they are exhibited in Stamp Museum discussed in the next issue of the Czechout) - we can compare it with branch of Prague Postal Museum located in Vyšší Brod .

It is very pleasant to see the old maps or postal escutcheons in the luxurious apartment with walls decorated with tapestries, the exhibition is done so well, that it doesn’t bother its image. The positive impression is supported by cloakroom - or by its absence, because your coat are put on hanger in antechamber, so you feel like guests and not like museum visitors. Very beautiful is also entrance to the Museum decorated with frescoes with postal motifs. To name only few of exhibited items, we can mention a letter of Empress Marie Theresie of 18th century, postal motorcycle of 20th century or old radio apparatus.

You can borrow short English information about exhibited items and walk through the museum or English speaking museum guide (without any additional fee!) will accompany you.

The museum ticket costs HUF 100,- = GBP 0,30 and you will get nice postcard as the ticket. You can enter the museum free, when you bought “Budapest Card” (Budapest Kártya) - see fig 2. The card allows you free usage of Budapest public transport as well as entrance to many sight seeing and museums. The card can be bought in tourist information centres, railway stations or at Hungarian airlines MALEV offices only.

To finish the short information, I can highly recommend you to visit the museum. However it is small and you will see it without problems for 1 hour, it is very nice peace oasis in the lively centre of Budapest . And to remember the “old good times”, look at fig. 3 showing pillar-box still used in a Budapest street !