Commercial houses

At No. 57 Piac Street stands the house founded by the glass trader Endre Kaszanyitzky, and which opened its doors in 1852. It was rebuilt several times and still preserves its baroque, classicist and eclectic features. During the restoration of the building the fresco was returned to its original beauty. The house standing on the corner of Piac Street and Arany János Street was once a commercial house as well, as the Mercury figure over the facade indicates. Now a McDonald’s restaurant operates in the building. The next corner house was built in 1874 in romanticist style for József Csanak who, originally a bondsman, became a famed grocer and the patron of the town’s culture. Mór Jókai and Miklós Izsó stayed here during their visit to Debrecen.

Glancing into Arany János Street one can see the recently restored and very impressive eclectic building at No. 3, which houses the Russian consulate.

On the left hand side of Piac Street stands the building that was once the Hungarian General Bank, now a branch of the OTP Bank. The building was constructed in 1937 following plans by Lajos Padányi. Its facade is decorated with allegorical statues by Alice Gregersen-Lux, embodying industry, agriculture, commerce and diligence. At the entrance of the building at No. 42-48 (now the head office of the tax authorities, APEH), one can observe the artwork entitled ‘Szüret’ (Vintage) made by the ceramist Margit Kovács. At No. 39 stands the house of one of the best known trading families of the town, called the Rickl-house which is in reality the extension of the ‘Arcaded House’ that stands in the court. The house at No. 38, on the ground floor of which the watchmaker and jeweller Artúr Löfkovits worked, is also full of historical connections. The Löfkovits’s shop sign is also mentioned in Lõrinc Szabó’s cyclic poem titled ‘Tücsökzene’ (Music of the Cricket). In 1902 Löfkovits gave the town his archaeological findings from Transylvania as well as his coin collection, and with this he laid the foundation of the town museum.

Forrás: www.debrecen.hu