Divinus House, Budapest

Architects: Klára K. Artner (1972), Zoltán Durst (2022)
Text and photos: Eszter Götz

The heyday of rowing life on the Danube at Római riverbank, was fading in the early 1970s, but boathouses were still plentiful when the era of union holiday homes began to be built here. One of the most famous resorts was the Postman’s Holiday Resort, designed by Klára K. Artner and opened in 1972. It survived the political changes after the long socialist era in Hungary, but was closed in 2006. After a long lousy period, the only tower house in Római riverbank was revived, preserving and renovating its former character: in 2022 it was reborn as the Divinus Residence – although it is a single building, it is not gated like the other residences – and it retains almost everything that was good about the former postman’s holiday resort. It retains the terraces overlooking the Danube, the communal features of the ground-floor flap building, the sophisticated exterior, even with a few ornaments. Each of the six storeys has 3 apartments, each with a unique layout and a full panoramic view of the Danube. The ground floor, which has been given a contemporary touch with a pergola, glass façade and wood panelling in the bands, features a restaurant, a beer garden extending into the courtyard, an event hall and a boathouse serving the guests of the Római riverbank.