On Szabadsag Ter in Cegled stands one of the most famous masterpieces of architect Odon Lechner — the Postal Savings Bank. Its walls are adorned with golden majolica, and the roof is covered with emerald-colored tiles.
Ornate forms, colored tiles, glazed brick — all of this has long become a hallmark of Hungarian Art Nouveau. In fact, it is an echo of the times when Budapest was under Turkish occupation for nearly 150 years, which has now become its calling card.
The bank building looks very festive. It is only a shame that from below you cannot see the roof in all its splendor. The architect truly did a magnificent job — flowers, angel wings, a dragon's tail, and images of bees create a truly fairy-tale impression. Incidentally, the bee was the symbol of the postal savings bank: people brought their money here just as bees gathered honey. And if you look at the roof of the building from above, you can see little bees crawling toward the honeycombs.
When the architect of the Postal Savings Bank was asked why he was making so many decorations for a roof that almost no one sees, Lechner replied that birds also deserve to admire beauty.
Whether the same interior has survived inside as it once had is unknown. But judging by the old photographs that remain in the archives, inside the building looked no less luxurious than outside.
