Yes in my back yard


The developers must die a little inside each time they see this community garden on Nagytemplom utca. Smack in the middle of the Corvin Sétány development, rumour has it that the boys who own Grund have refused to sell and are sitting pretty on their expansive beer garden, hostel, and hostelry. Right outside is an ample carpark fronted by some wasteland which has rather enterprisingly been turned into a community garden in recent weeks.

Vegetables, flowers, and compost heaps are thriving in the dirt, overshadowed on three sides by expensive-looking new flat complexes. How long, I wonder, before this little oasis in the desert of development has the life squeezed out of it? Each time I walk by, David and Goliath come to mind and I chalk one up to tenaciousness and determination.

Already the walls of the playground of Molnár Ferenc’s Paul Street Boys are being cordoned off lest a falling brick hit the head of a passerby. Neighbours complaining of late-night noise have resulted more roofs and walls being built on the Grund compound. It’s lost some of its charm as a result but hey – that’s the price of doing business in what is fast-becoming a very residential neighbourhood.

For my buck, they have a good grill, a big outdoor screen, and lots of seating, should the urge to watch some more football come upon me this June. Failing that, I can always sit and watch someone’s tomatoes grow.

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0 responses

  1. I doubt if this really is the location of the Molnár book – that was just about to be developed as the story ended – but it’s nice to know that the tradition is alive.

  2. The Grund in Molnár is on the corner of Mária utca and Pál utca, both real streets which intersect, just north of Üllői út – is that where this one is? It’s hard to imagine that it was deliberately preserved – Molnár was not a great name at the time of writing (1907). Perhaps this is another that has arisen through the demolition of a building and the name has stuck – but I don’t know. As I say, the book ends as it is about to be built on – which proves nothing, of course.

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0 responses

  1. I doubt if this really is the location of the Molnár book – that was just about to be developed as the story ended – but it’s nice to know that the tradition is alive.

  2. The Grund in Molnár is on the corner of Mária utca and Pál utca, both real streets which intersect, just north of Üllői út – is that where this one is? It’s hard to imagine that it was deliberately preserved – Molnár was not a great name at the time of writing (1907). Perhaps this is another that has arisen through the demolition of a building and the name has stuck – but I don’t know. As I say, the book ends as it is about to be built on – which proves nothing, of course.

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This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.