The Building · Since 1917
Budapest's telephone exchange, reborn
For 82 years, this building connected Budapest. Architect Rezső Ray designed it as the József Telephone Exchange: a Renaissance-inspired tower, bastion-like corners and sculptures by József Damkó celebrating the age of the telephone.
A short history
1910. Construction begins, among the first major reinforced-concrete public buildings in Hungary.
1917. The exchange opens, with 96 operators connecting the city's calls in switching halls up to 12 metres high.
1945. The machine room is destroyed during the siege of Budapest, then rebuilt.
1999. The last line is switched off after 82 years of service.
2020. Restored and reopened as residences and hotels. ZOYA's residences keep the building's scale: high ceilings, large windows and generous rooms.