OLD BUDAPEST.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 1, 2 January 1937, Page 16

OLD BUDAPEST.

VANISHING LANDMARKS. "FATHER OF THE ROSES." BUDAPEST. Those who have visited Gul-Baba's house in Zsigmond Street will regret to hear of its disappearance. The little house, which stood for 430 years, had grown to look like a 'toy wedged among modern buildings which increased in size with the passing of the centuries. Gul-Baba, the Turkish holy man, is still remembered by Mohammedans, who travel long distances to visit his grave on the Rozsadomb.. In the cruel times of the Turkish rule in Hungary Gul-Baba became a legendary figure because of his efforts to save the Hungarians-from the barbarities of their conquerors, and it is said that when he died the Emperor Mustapha came to Buda and was one of the pall-. bearers at his funeral. Gul-Baba was also known as "the father of the roses," as he is believed to have planted the first rose in Hungary. He was devoted to gardening, and made a bower of roses out of his house and garden, which earned for that quarter its name of Rozsadomb, or "rose hill." "Wonder Cures." Another famous house, "The Black Dog," has disappeared from the Vaci Street. This small yellow house was one storey high, and over the herbalist's shop which occupied the ground floor stood a large stone dog which was painted black. In the middle of the last century the shop was patronised by the poorer classes who could not afford doctors, and many cases of "wonder cures" were spoken of 'up to the beginning of the century. The first floor of "The Black Dog" was the home of Philip Richter, the popular Pest artist, and the studio was the rendezvous of the literary and artistic lights of the nineteenth century. The vanishing of old houses includes the disappearance of long-established shops. The dress salon, Girardi, which for three-quarters of a century has been the resort of the most fashionable women in Hungary, has been auctioned for arrears of rent and taxes. The luxurious installation of mahogany, real Gobelin, and glass show cases was sold for 2101 pengos, although the original cost was 35.000. pengos. One of the important orders executed by the firm was the coronation robe of Queen Zita.