There are a few buildings in the world, when you see an image of this you instantly want to go and see it!
This is absolutely one of them. I always thought this was a royal palace or something but no, this is the Parliament building, in Budapest Hungary. And it is immensely beautiful.
The building is ridiculously oversized with endless rooms of gold and heavy red carpets.
Just screaming wealth and power, this place really is a lot of fun and impressive to explore.
What in the world is that
But as you walk through the long halls you surely end up wondering “What in the world is that?!”
Just outside the main voting hall, you find these thin rows of tiny numbered brass grooves at the windowsills. These strange things look completely out of place compared to the rest of the building, which look close to a billionaire’s wildest dream, but I assure you there is a perfectly valid reason for them to be there. They were custom built resting places, for one of the ultimate status symbols in the 19th century.
Guessed it yet?
The Elite’s Parking Spot
This was the government headquarters and still is today. That means that the heavyweights of society spent a lot of time in these halls. These guys weren’t just everyday politicians , they represented Hungary’s elite
.“Wait, is that …an ashtray?” – why yes it is, you guessed it right.
The answer is Cigars, but not the cheap ones you smoke out behind the shed. Oh no.
Like I said this was the elite, counts and barons and what not, would be smoking the good stuff.
We are talking Havana cigars from Cuba. The thing that makes this place a bit special is that, it was strictly forbidden to smoke tobacco inside the debating chamber. And an aristocrat with any respect for himself couldn’t go for more than one hour before he needed to puff on his cigar.
This is where the brass grooves come into place, because they wouldn’t extinguish their cigars when they went back into the room, they would put their cigar in one of the grooves. remember the number. And when they came back out it would hopefully still be intact with a soft ember, or if the meeting was a long one it would be turned into a little ashpile.
“What does this have to do with a status symbol?” you’re probably thinking.
A Month’s Salary in Ashes
In the 19th century they didn’t have overnight airplanes coming in with an order.
They didn’t have massive cargo ships that came in regularly with consumer goods.
Getting cigars from Havana to Budapest in the middle of Europe. took a lot of time and effort.
Which naturally jacks up the price. These cigars were incredibly expensive. like..REALLY expensive.
These bad boys cost around a full monthly wage for an average worker.
So if you could afford to light one of those, and just..leave it there? You were showing everyone around you that you were very, very secure financially!
The Ultimate Power Move
So when the bell rang, to indicate a break/recess. You would think they would rush back to their cigars!
But no.. by letting it burn and acting as if you didn’t have a care in the world if that cigar burned. “ill just light a new one”. shows even More status. because not only can you afford to buy one, smoke it, but you can afford to let it burn into nothing. If that doesnt show wealth I dont know what does.
There’s an old saying that is born in this room that is still used in Hungary to this day.
“Megért egy Havannát” – which translates into “that was worth a havana”
which in those days would have meant, the speech was so good, it was worth leaving a havana to burn.
Funny how some of these “sayings” are born.
A Golden Ghost Town
Fast forward a few years things turn sour for Hungary. While the aristocrats were acting untouchable and having their fun with cigars, the world was changing fast around them. Just a few years later world war one was kicked off and 72% of Hungary was lost in the conflicts. This means that today, the size of the building is meant to accommodate a country 3 times the size that it is today. The country shrank so much that they only use a fraction of the nearly 700 rooms available in the building. And only one of the 2 big debating rooms is being used to this day.
The rich guys with their cigars are gone but someone decided to keep the ashtrays with the grooves.
And so they are still there , polished in the windowsills for people to wonder “what in the world is that?”
That my friend is Budapest Parliament, a very big and very expensive ashtray.
But it’s also so much more than that. You should go see it , if you ever get the chance.
