the architect
Miklós Ybl and the house he built on Andrássy út
The architect, his training and the building that became his best-known work.
Reserve the Opera House tour ↗Ybl at a glance
| Detail | Fact |
|---|---|
| Born | 1814, Székesfehérvár |
| Died | 1891, Budapest |
| Trained in | Vienna, Munich and Italy |
| Style | Neo-Renaissance after 1860 |
| Best-known work | The Opera House, 1875 to 1884 |
A long apprenticeship
After graduating from the Institute of Technology in Vienna, Ybl became Mihály Pollack's assistant in 1832, worked in Henrik Koch's office from 1836 to 1840, then studied in Munich and Italy.
The turn to the Renaissance
His early large projects were Romantic in style. A second study tour of Italy, from 1860, made him interested in reviving the Italian Renaissance, and he designed several neo-Renaissance buildings.
Building the opera house
Construction began in 1875, funded by the city of Budapest and Emperor Franz Joseph I. The house opened on 27 September 1884.
Neo-Renaissance, with Baroque touches
The house is regarded as one of Ybl's masterpieces. Its style is neo-Renaissance, with elements of Baroque, and its ornament was entrusted to leading Hungarian painters and sculptors.
A boulevard of palaces
Andrássy út was begun in 1872 and inaugurated in 1876, and its palaces were built by the most distinguished architects of the time, led by Ybl. Most were finished by 1884.
Remembered in his name
An annual architectural prize founded in 1953 carries his name, and 2014 was named the Ybl Memorial Year in Hungary.