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I Went To An Old Jewish Quarter In Budapest To Find Out What The Fuss Is All About Ruin Bars (20 Pics)

Budapest’s old Jewish quarter is home to the craze of ‘ruin bars’ – old industrial buildings converted to drinking joints. So what’s all the fuss about? I went to find out.

More info: curiologist.com

Started in 2002, Szimpla Kert is the oldest and most iconic ruin bar

It had been an old factory that had become dilapidated

I Went To An Old Jewish Quarter In Budapest To Find Out What The Fuss Is All About Ruin Bars (20 Pics)

The genius idea was to renovate it by making everything a bit worse

I Went To An Old Jewish Quarter In Budapest To Find Out What The Fuss Is All About Ruin Bars (20 Pics)

Not that there isn’t any innovation

I Went To An Old Jewish Quarter In Budapest To Find Out What The Fuss Is All About Ruin Bars (20 Pics)

With things to look at

I Went To An Old Jewish Quarter In Budapest To Find Out What The Fuss Is All About Ruin Bars (20 Pics)

While you’re having a nice beer in the bath

I Went To An Old Jewish Quarter In Budapest To Find Out What The Fuss Is All About Ruin Bars (20 Pics)

And if you don’t like what you see

I Went To An Old Jewish Quarter In Budapest To Find Out What The Fuss Is All About Ruin Bars (20 Pics)

Change it – just bring something to draw with

I Went To An Old Jewish Quarter In Budapest To Find Out What The Fuss Is All About Ruin Bars (20 Pics)

There are some empty spaces left

I Went To An Old Jewish Quarter In Budapest To Find Out What The Fuss Is All About Ruin Bars (20 Pics)

There’s plenty of greenery

I Went To An Old Jewish Quarter In Budapest To Find Out What The Fuss Is All About Ruin Bars (20 Pics)

With the odd bicycle and pair of legs thrown in

I Went To An Old Jewish Quarter In Budapest To Find Out What The Fuss Is All About Ruin Bars (20 Pics)

You can also buy a candle of the prime minister, Victor Orban to burn

I Went To An Old Jewish Quarter In Budapest To Find Out What The Fuss Is All About Ruin Bars (20 Pics)

Victor Orban declared Hungary an illiberal state

I Went To An Old Jewish Quarter In Budapest To Find Out What The Fuss Is All About Ruin Bars (20 Pics)

But it looks like liberalism is flourishing here

I Went To An Old Jewish Quarter In Budapest To Find Out What The Fuss Is All About Ruin Bars (20 Pics)

So who drinks in this bar?

I Went To An Old Jewish Quarter In Budapest To Find Out What The Fuss Is All About Ruin Bars (20 Pics)

After a couple of trips and a chat with a bouncer

I Went To An Old Jewish Quarter In Budapest To Find Out What The Fuss Is All About Ruin Bars (20 Pics)

I learned that a big proportion of the visitors were tourists

I Went To An Old Jewish Quarter In Budapest To Find Out What The Fuss Is All About Ruin Bars (20 Pics)

Who can come and do what they like

I Went To An Old Jewish Quarter In Budapest To Find Out What The Fuss Is All About Ruin Bars (20 Pics)

And then go home

I Went To An Old Jewish Quarter In Budapest To Find Out What The Fuss Is All About Ruin Bars (20 Pics)

And tell their friends that Hungary is actually really cool

I Went To An Old Jewish Quarter In Budapest To Find Out What The Fuss Is All About Ruin Bars (20 Pics)

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A curious person in a curious world...

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A curious person in a curious world...

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Vėjūnė is a community manager who helps artists all over the world introduce their artwork to Bored Panda readers and in that way, become more popular. Since she was always fascinated by the art world, she studied Culture Management and Cultural Policy at Vilnius Academy of Arts where she expanded her knowledge about it. Now she's using all this knowledge to showcase its beauty and help others dive into the fascinating world of art.

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What do you think ?

POST

Charlotte 5 years ago

I'm sorry, but it just looks like a glorified crack den to me. I think the Jewish people who used to live and work there would turn in their graves of they saw the messy hipster b******t their neighborhood had turned into. My grandmother wouldn't even let me eat an apple without a plate and a napkin. I think that if I had started writing on the walls, she would have roundhouse kicked me straight through it.

26points

Laura M D 5 years ago

I studied in Budapest for a while and this was the place. It wasn't unusual that random people asked to share your table, and since the general atmosphere was nice and polite, you could do it without a problem. I even took my parents there, they were shocked at first, but appreciated the singularity. Oh, I miss those days and miss Szimpla so much!

19points

Sara Holt 5 years ago

I look at this ‘cool’ space and mourn my late mom’s family who lived in Hungary. Their home and belongings were confiscated by the Germans and Hungarians. All Jews were taken to the concentration camps. My mom was 13 (children under 16 were normally killed immediately but an old man in the crowd asked her how old she was and told her to lie) and saw her baby brother thrown alive into a bonfire. She had other siblings. Only an older brother lived. My mom’s toes froze off during a death march in the snow. I couldn’t sit in a ruin bar and not be aware of the ruined lives, the trauma of the ruined survivors.

7points

Turo Rudi 5 years ago

Please be assured that the victims of the Holocaust in Hungary have not been forgotten in this neighborhood. There are monuments and plaques and museum exhibitions commemorating them. Many residents' ancestors were Holocaust survivors and are very much aware of how their families suffered. Today, those same residents live and laugh and have babies and visit ruin pubs.

3points

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Dorothy Parker 5 years ago

Heartbreaking. I find this disgusting and disrespectful. May the memories of your .mother's family be a blessing.

1point

Full Name 5 years ago

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Charlotte 5 years ago

26points

Laura M D 5 years ago

19points

Sara Holt 5 years ago

7points

Turo Rudi 5 years ago

3points

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Dorothy Parker 5 years ago

Heartbreaking. I find this disgusting and disrespectful. May the memories of your .mother's family be a blessing.

1point

Full Name 5 years ago

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I Went To An Old Jewish Quarter In Budapest To Find Out What The Fuss Is All About Ruin Bars (20 Pics)

Started in 2002, Szimpla Kert is the oldest and most iconic ruin bar

It had been an old factory that had become dilapidated

The genius idea was to renovate it by making everything a bit worse

Not that there isn’t any innovation

With things to look at

While you’re having a nice beer in the bath

And if you don’t like what you see

Change it – just bring something to draw with

There are some empty spaces left

There’s plenty of greenery

With the odd bicycle and pair of legs thrown in

You can also buy a candle of the prime minister, Victor Orban to burn

Victor Orban declared Hungary an illiberal state

But it looks like liberalism is flourishing here

So who drinks in this bar?

After a couple of trips and a chat with a bouncer

I learned that a big proportion of the visitors were tourists

Who can come and do what they like

And then go home

And tell their friends that Hungary is actually really cool

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