Maverick Athenaeum
Lebowski Ltd. has expanded its hospitality offering with the acquisition of one of Budapest’s most recognizable and popular buildings.
Thank you for reading this post, don’t forget to subscribe!Starting in June of this year, guests will be able to stay at the brand-new Maverick Athenaeum, which has regained its former splendor and joins the Lebowski group, which already owns three hostels under the Maverick brand: Maverick Budapest Soho, Maverick Downtown, and Maverick Central Market, as well as the Boutique Hotel Leo, the Boutique Guest House Giselle, and the Amberlyn Hotel.
History of the Athenaeum, the new Maverick Athenaeum
The name of the Lebowski group’s new hostel is no coincidence, but a nod and tribute to a place that has been an active part of Budapest’s history for years.
With the intention of restoring the building to its former splendor, to understand the magnitude and importance of this acquisition, it is essential to understand the history of the Athenaeum building.
This iconic building sits on Rákóczi Street, one of Budapest’s main thoroughfares. It’s also just steps from Blaha Lujza and János Pál pápa Squares, a beautiful and peaceful spot in the heart of Budapest.
The statue of Pallas Athena, which disappeared after the end of World War II, once again serves as a symbol of this building, which was created as a place of culture, unity, and community. Now, from its highest point, Athena is part of a national architecture, and will witness the resurgence of its beauty and importance, which had been blurred in years past.
Fulfilling its purpose, from the mid-19th century the Athenaeum building housed culture and provided a refuge for those who were intellectually restless and eager for knowledge. It was home to the Athenaeum Literary and Printing Industry Joint Stock Company, one of the first, if not the first, companies related to the press and information technology.
With its main function being the publishing of books and newspapers, it achieved resounding success, becoming the epicenter of Budapest’s cultural scene. Emich Gusztáv’s Bookstore published up to 32 works at the height of the 1848 revolution. Later, more newspaper editions, which eventually reached 25, plus magazines and propaganda.
Although the statue of Pallas Athena was replaced by the characteristic red star in the mid-20th century, in 1950, it did not crown the Athenaeum building for long, and was removed six years later. Nothing occupied its place, and for decades the building remained without any sculpture, statue, or symbol.
Designed by Ágost Krumholz and executed by master architect Sándor Hauszmann, the Maverick Athenaeum site aims to restore the importance and beauty it so richly deserves to a building that not only tells the history of Budapest but has also been a fundamental part of it.
It will accommodate just over 400 people, spread across different types of rooms. It will be home to hundreds of travelers and will continue to welcome inquiring minds and curious visitors from all over the world, seeking to experience a lively, vibrant, and dynamic capital.
Its interior is as striking as its exterior, with large, open spaces, captivating spaces that will delight eyes seeking beauty, not to mention the hypnotic architecture that, although dormant or silent for years, now shines once again, becoming a place of worship and beauty thanks to the Lebowski group.
“Learn from the past, live in the present, and work for the future”
Audrey Farrell
