At the corner of 60 Andrassy UT, sits a gray, nondescript building with the word “Terror” emblazoned on its roof. That word speaks to the unimaginable horrors that occurred during two of Hungary’s darkest chapters: rule by the Arrow Cross Party during World War II followed by communist rule supported by the Soviet Union. In 1944, the building was called the “House of Loyalty” and served as the headquarters of the Arrow Cross Party (Hungarian Nazies). Then, from 1945 through 1956, the communist groups AVO and AVH took residence in the building. It was during those years, in the basement of that building, that thousands of Hungarian citizens were interrogated, tortured, and executed.
Visitors are not allowed to take pictures in the museum which is why there are no images in this post.
The House of Terror museum is not part of the Rick Steves Best of Prague and Budapest tour so I, along with several other tourmates, decided to visit when we had some free time one afternoon. I opted to visit this museum based on my interest in history, the recommendation of my tour guide, and my desire to get a better understanding of Hungary’s history.
My Thoughts on the House of Terror
In my opinion, the House of Terror has the potential to be a great museum; however, some rooms are not well curated. The museum does display a considerable number of photographs, videos, and images but many do not have captions. Fortunately, some rooms have information cards available for visitors to read while they browse the exhibit. I rented the audio guide which proved extremely beneficial and offset the lack of information available in some displays.
One thing that irked me about the museum was the loud music and the amount of noise in some of the rooms. The first exhibit I visited had industrial-style techno music blasting through the sound system. Other rooms had multiple videos playing loudly; hence, between those videos and the audio guide, it was a cacophony of sounds.
Aside from those two points, the museum is easy to navigate and visitors are provided with a booklet that shows the layout of the 3 floors housing exhibits.
Is the House of Terror worth visiting?
Even though the House of Terror did not meet my overall expectations, I am glad I visited as the 2nd floor did present interesting information on World War II and the Arrow Cross party. With that said, I mainly recommend this museum to those who have a strong passion for history associated with World War II and the communist era.
One thing to note is that while the building that houses the museum was utilized by members of the Arrow Cross and various communist parties, only one room remains in its original state.
Visiting the House of Terror
The House of Terror is located near several bus stops and a metro station. For those who want to walk to the museum, for reference, it is roughly a 20-minute walk away from Heroe’s Square and a 10-minute walk from the Hungarian Opera House.
My tourmates and I visited on a Saturday afternoon and while it was crowded, there were no lines to enter the museum. There was, however, a line to enter the elevator that takes you to the basement. This elevator descends rather slowly as there is a screen that shows a brief video about the events that took place in the basement while the building was occupied by the Arrow Cross and communist parties.
Our visit to the House of Terror took approximately two hours.
Visitors with claustrophobia may have issues with the elevator ride to the basement. As I described above, the elevator descends slowly and it can be packed with people.
The House of Terror offers reduced admission and free entry to qualifying visitors. Visit the museum’s admission page for more information.
I highly recommend that visitors rent an audio guide. The audio guides cost 2000 HUF and are available in several languages.
Leave a Comment