"We couldn't have dreamt of higher standard neighbours," said the institute's director István Gordon.
The institute's new home is opposite the Palace of Culture and Science and next to the National Philharmonic. It shares the neighbourhood with the Drama Theatre, the National Theatre's Chamber Stage, the Studio Theatre, the Art Hall, the Technical Museum, the Museum of Ethnography, the Academy of Sciences, the Warsaw University of Science and the Opera.
"In our day, it is not enough to entice visitors, rather we must put ourselves where people want to meet with Hungarian culture," said Gordon. "The old building was in the capital's earlier centre, but with the passing of the decades, Warsaw's city structure has been transformed: the inner city became a little smaller, while the centre - and mainly the cultural centre - has moved, and is moving, to the area where our new institute is," he explained.
The lease on the new building is much more favourable than that on the old one. The building's office space is also better separated from the public space. The loft on the upper storey is big enough for an exhibition, and even for a small concert. Another reception area is big enough for 40 guests, making it suitable for film screenings, literary evenings, talks, or conferences. On the ground floor, visitors can watch television or page through the latest Hungarian or Polish newspapers at a small café.
The café - which will offer Hungarian specialties unknown in Poland - is expected to be a magnet for pedestrians in the area, Gordon said. The institute's library will offer visitors unlimited internet access, which should also draw people, he added.
The institute will open the doors of its new home on Thursday, when Acoustic Trio will be joined by jazz great Zbigniew Namyslowski for a special concert.
Photo: Eszter Gordon
