Legendary hotels of Miskolc
Two iconic hotels in Miskolc from two different eras: the Korona, later known as the Avas, and the Juno. The two hotels couldn't be more different, but they have one thing in common: today neither of them counts the guest at nights.
Miskolc's jewel, the Korona
In Miskolc, Széchenyi Street, considered the main street of the city, follows the line of the Szinva stream, where the former Korona, later known as Avas, is located. According to the renowned Miskolc historian István Dobrossy, a tavern and inn may have stood on the site of the hotel in the heart of the city as early as the 1650s.
In 1798, the building was rebuilt based on the designs of Vencel Klier, and in 1833 it was considerably enlarged. In addition to the tavern, the building also served as a café. Its large hall was used by a number of nationally renowned troupes.
In 1893, the building was completely demolished and replaced by the three-storey hotel building by Károly Adler, which is still visible today and was for a long time the most representative building in the city. Much of the building work was carried out by local contractors and craftsmen.
Although the Korona, inaugurated in 1894, was not the only high-quality hotel in the city, its restaurants, cafés and gardens, as well as its magnificent ballroom, attracted people looking for entertainment. József Böczögő, who leased the Korona Hotel from the city in 1907, 'maintained a famous culinary tradition beyond the borders of the country...'. Böczögő had the good sense to expand his business, buying a huge cellar on the Avas and the "Anna inn" in Tapolca. In 1927, Miskolc wanted to renovate the theatre and the Korona with a loan from Speyer bank, but someone had an axe to grind, and this also put the mayor in a bad position, who managed to get out of the mess by retiring.
What happened to the Korona? There was no money left for the hotel, so the owner started to renovate it at his own expense because some parts of it were already inoperable. However, the renovation cost much more than expected and Böczögő declared bankruptcy in 1937. He was also forced to hand over the tenant's rights to the Janits brothers, who ran the hotel until deprivatisation.
As it was the case after deprivatisation, the Korona became the Kossuth and a "Népbuffet" opened on its street front. The hotel, which was already called Avas in 1953, offered its services until 1987.
Even after that, it was still functional, as its former ballroom was converted into a cinema. Its golden age was clearly in the 1970s and, surprisingly, it survived the big post-regime change's cinema closures wave. However, it lost the race against the cinema that opened in the newly built mall and closed in 2008. Since then, the restoration of the former jewel of the city has been on the agenda. It seems that something has finally begun, since the Mathias Corvinus Collegium Foundation bought the building in December 2020, with a renovation commitment. It is planned to complete the entire historical reconstruction by December 2025.
Hotel Juno
The hotel was an iconic building of Miskolc, nationally renowned, a favourite holiday resort and travel destination for domestic and Eastern European tourists, a regular feature in postcards.
Interestingly, the Görömbölytapolca, was only attached to the city of Miskolc in 1950.
The hotel, designed by Antal Plesz, opened in 1974. The building, which is 50 years old this year, once had 10 double rooms and 2 triple rooms per floor. The hotel, with a total of 108 rooms and 200-250 beds, was the pride of socialist architecture.
Not surprisingly, the hotel's problems began after the change of regime. The hotel was first owned and operated by Hungarhotels until 1993. From that time, only the name of the hotel changed, from 1993 to 1997 it was called Juno Trade, in 1997 Juno Active, then Juno Viking, in 1999 Juno Dália and finally, from October 1999, Juno Sun Hotel. At that time, the hotel also had a sauna and solarium, according to the needs of the era. It was an ideal venue for corporate events, meetings and gatherings of friends.
It closed permanently in 2001 and has been closed ever since, with a telecoms operator's transmission tower on the roof in disrepair. In an article from 2016, the owner, László Feuerabend, said hopefully that the long-awaited investor was already at the door. But the deal has gone nowhere. Some changes have been made, however, with the construction of an adventure pool a few metres away from the hotel, on the site of the former municipal beach.
The insulation of the building was very poor from the start, too hot in summer and too cold in winter, and it has always lacked an air conditioning system. Even a conservative estimate of the cost of renovation is around 6 billion forints, and demolition would cost around a billion forints, which understandably discourages many investors. The building is therefore likely to remain part of the Miskolc’s panorama for a long time to come.
TÉ
translated by László Gönczi
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