Destination guide for Budapest’s House of Terror Museum.
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 several tourmates and I 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 better understand Hungary’s history.
My Thoughts on the House of Terror
Overall, this museum did not meet my expectations (which I admit were quite high), but I am thankful I did take the time to visit. The exhibits on the 2nd floor presented interesting information on the Arrow Cross Party, and the displays in the basement were a sobering reminder of the atrocities endured by the Hungarians during the communist era.
Where does this museum fall short? There are two facets of this museum that I believe could be improved on: the first is the need for more captions, and the second is the need to lower the volume of the music and videos. Various photographs, images, and videos throughout the museum did not have captions, leaving visitors at a loss as to what they were viewing. Some rooms offered information cards for visitors to read while browsing exhibits, which offset the lack of captions. As for the music, the first room I visited had industrial-style techno music blasting through the sound system, and a few other rooms had multiple videos playing at a considerably high volume.
I rented an audio guide for my visit, which proved to be very useful in the areas where captions were lacking.
Even though the House of Terror did not meet my overall expectations, I do recommend this museum, but I would not categorize it as a must-see site. This museum would be particularly interesting to those with a strong passion for history associated with World War II and Soviet-era communism.
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 (line 1). For those who want to walk to the museum, for reference, it is roughly a 20-minute walk away from Heroes’ 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.
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 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.
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