- Written by: Szabó Eszter
- Photos: RECHUNGARY
- Reading time: 3 minutes
The Villa of the Kőbánya Brewery Owner, Where Freud Was Also a Guest
There is a villa in Budapest that had a famous guest in the summer of 1918: the Austrian psychiatrist and founder of the psychoanalytic school, Sigmund Freud. At the end of the preface to the fifth edition of his most famous work, The Interpretation of Dreams, the following note can be found: “Budapest-Kőbánya, July 1918.” If you would like to discover where this building is located and who owned it at that time, continue reading.
The Freund family of Tószeg, together with Antal Dreher’s Kőbánya Brewery, the Discount and Exchange Bank, and the Hungarian Commercial and Industrial Bank of Pest, founded the Kőbánya Civic Brewery Joint Stock Company in 1892. By the turn of the century, it had become the third-largest brewery in Hungary. The family villa was built after 1890 on a rise in Óhegy. The builder was Vilmos Tószegi Freund, who was the managing director of the joint-stock company at the time. Between 1922 and 1924, the family residence was rebuilt according to the plans of Emil Vidor.
A late Art Nouveau villa with a steep roof, featuring Baroque and Biedermeier decorative details and an asymmetrical mass composition. Its present appearance was created during the expansion and reconstruction of the original historicist residential building, presumably built around 1890, between 1922 and 1924. During the transformation, architect Emil Vidor added a second floor to the southeastern single-storey wing and demolished the former staircase with a circular floor plan inside the building. In its place, he created a new, larger square-shaped staircase.1.
The family coat of arms, the staircase, and the monumental wooden staircase can still be seen today. The rare triple entrance gate facing Sörgyár Street has also survived: the ornate oak carriage gate and the iron window grille of the gatehouse are both still intact.
Sigmund Freud, the renowned psychoanalyst, was hosted here by Dr. Antal Tószegi Freund in the summer of 1918. Antal Freund was born in Budapest in 1880, and, like his ancestors, he also served as the managing director of the joint-stock company. His second wife was analysed by Sándor Ferenczi – Freud’s closest colleague and friend – while his sister, Kata Freund, was analysed personally by Freud. (Kata Freund later became a child psychoanalyst, and remained a close friend of child psychologist Anna Freud until her death.)
Freud began treating Antal Freund in 1918. Due to his terminal illness (he had undergone surgery for testicular cancer), Freund decided to use a significant part of his fortune to support the advancement of psychoanalysis. In July 1918, Sigmund Freud arrived in Budapest with his daughter Anna; Freud stayed for several weeks, while Anna remained for several months. They were hosted in the Kőbánya villa, and only a few people knew about their presence. During this period, it was decided that the next psychoanalytic congress would be held in Budapest in September. Antal Freund died in Vienna on 20 January 1920, and Freud remained by his side during his final days. In his 1925 autobiography, Freud referred to Antal Freund as one of the most outstanding members of the psychoanalytic movement2.
Relatively little is known about the later history of the villa. In 1944, members of the family are said to have hidden here. During the socialist era, service apartments were created inside the building, which is also often referred to as the Dreher Villa. It has stood empty for years and is now waiting for a new owner and restoration.
The property is currently for sale. Further information can be requested from Dániel Vitáry at hello@dandan.hu or by phone at +3630/618-2271.
