The Department of History of Architecture and Monument Preservation of the Faculty
of Architecture of
Budapest University of Technology and Economics, which celebrated its 150th-anniversary
last year, has
always paid special attention to the teaching of the architecture of Antiquity. This
stems not only from the
fact that the Department of Ancient Architecture was one of the historical predecessors
of the Department
at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, when architectural education was based
on historical periods but
also from the fact that the Department’s staff still considers that architecture students
shall graduate with
a comprehensive theoretical and practical knowledge of the culture of Antiquity and
ancient architecture.
This principle was followed by Gyula Hajnóczi, a legendary professor of our department,
who, with his
qualifications as an archaeologist researcher and designer architect, formed a bridge
between the disciplines of research and preservation of ancient buildings. Professor
Hajnóczi, the centenary of whose birth
was celebrated with an international online conference in 2020, highlighted the importance
of education
not only through theoretical lectures but also in fieldwork, with monument surveys
and the practical fulfilment of monument preservation based on historical data. To
continue working in this spirit, our department joined the international Interreg
Danube Transnational Programme project “Living Danube Limes”,
co-funded by the Hungarian State that aims to highlight the cultural, symbolic and
touristic value of the
former Roman frontiers and routes, and the ideas to provide innovative concepts for
the development of
historic sites along the river. The study aims at giving an insight into the activities
carried out and planned
so far within the framework of this cooperation.
