Railway Station - Pecs, Hungary

The east-west oriented main railway station of Pécs was built in late eclectic style in 1898–1900. The design of the building, ornamented with ceramics, was created by Ferenc Pfaff, the then chief architect of MÁV (Hungarian Railways Co.). He was the creator of many other railway station buildings as well, the stations of Kaposvár, Zagreb, Timişoara, Arad and Cegléd. A special feature of the building made of yellow bricks is that the pinkish ceramic ornament panels placed on the side of the building emphasise the elegant silhouette of the station. From among the ornaments, of special importance are the circular pyrogranite reliefs on two sides of the north and south entrance which feature the portraits of James Watt and George Stephenson. These pieces of art were made in the Zsolnay Factory, by the plans of Ármin Klein. The railway station has a base area of 5,332 square metres. It accommodated station offices, a telegram station, and the station-master’ office as well as commercial facilities.
In 2014 the restoration of the complete building was started from European Union resources. The support allows the renewal of the façade under historic protection and the “Post office” wing – taking the aspects of monument protection into strict consideration. Many of the ornaments on the façade must be re-manufactured, including a shield, two coats of arms and two post office signs, three festoons and three lion-head shields, four arch lintels, five rosettes, seven consoles, the figures of the fence, and the egg-shaped and cogged elements of the sills. The reception building is going to be modernised too, so by 2015 all the passenger rooms will shine the way they used to.