Henrik Böhm

Henrik Böhm (10 April 1867 – 23 October 1936) was a Hungarian Jewish architect who worked primarily in the Secessionist style. In partnership with , he designed numerous public buildings, banks, spas, and hotels throughout Austria-Hungary and its successor states, including the Török Bank in Budapest, the Újpest Town Hall, and the Thermia Palace in Piešťany.

Early life and education Böhm was born in Várpalota in the Kingdom of Hungary. After attending schools in Székesfehérvár and Budapest, he earned a degree in architecture from the Budapest University of Technology in 1890. Following his graduation, he undertook a lengthy study tour through Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, and Germany before settling in Budapest.

Career

Partnership with Ármin Hegedűs In 1898, Böhm established a joint design office with fellow architect Ármin Hegedűs (1869–1945), who had graduated from the Budapest University of Technology in 1892. Construction began on 13 May 1899 under contractor Gyula Schreiber, who employed only workers from Újpest. The two-storey building, combining eclectic and Secessionist elements, was inaugurated on 21 August 1900.

Török Bank (1905–1906) The (Turkish Bank House) at Szervita tér in Budapest is considered a landmark of Hungarian Secessionism. The building, constructed for the financial institution that organised class lotteries, features an innovative steel-supported glass facade that was extremely modern for its time. The upper gable is dominated by a monumental Secessionist mosaic by Miksa Róth entitled Glory to Hungary (Patrona Hungariae), which depicts Hungary as a woman surrounded by great figures of Hungarian history, including Francis II Rákóczi, Count István Széchenyi, and Lajos Kossuth. Commissioned by local attorney Rudolf Wollak and constructed by Valent Morandini Jr., the building served as a gathering place for the wealthy merchant class, featuring card rooms, a gaming room, reading room, and dance hall. The single-storey building has a distinctive appearance, with exposed brick bands against white plastered walls and an undulating cornice along the main facade. After 1945, it became known as the Trade Union Hall (Dom sindikata).

Spa buildings Böhm and Hegedűs developed particular expertise in spa and hotel architecture. Their most significant work in this field was the Thermia Palace hotel and the adjacent Irma Health Spa in Piešťany, Slovakia (then in the Kingdom of Hungary), which opened in 1912. The Art Nouveau complex, built for entrepreneur Ľudovít Winter, quickly became one of the most luxurious spa hotels in Central Europe, attracting notable guests including Bulgarian Tsar Ferdinand, Swedish Nobel laureate Selma Lagerlöf, and Czech artist Alphonse Mucha, who donated a painting to the hotel in gratitude for his daughter's recovery.

Other works by the partnership included the Pesterzsébet Town Hall, a slaughterhouse (Vágóhíd) in Újpest, a residential building at Horváth Mihály Square in Józsefváros, and the Újpestvidéki Takarékpénztár (savings bank) in Újpest.

Death and legacy Böhm died on 23 October 1936 in Budapest. His partnership with Hegedűs produced a significant body of work that contributed to the development of Hungarian Secessionist architecture. The Török Bank building remains one of the most photographed examples of Art Nouveau in Budapest, while the Thermia Palace continues to operate as a luxury spa hotel, having been restored to preserve its original Art Nouveau character.

Selected works Újpest Town Hall, Budapest (1898–1900), with Ármin Hegedűs Farkasrét Cemetery arcade row, Budapest (1899–1900), with Hegedűs Trade Casino, Čakovec, Croatia (1903), with Hegedűs , Budapest (1905–1906), with Hegedűs Thermia Palace and Irma Health Spa, Piešťany, Slovakia (1912), with Hegedűs Napraforgó Street No. 16, Budapest (1931), with Hegedűs