The most important mission of MNB’s Visitor Centre is to provide information concerning the basic functions of the economy, the role of money and Hungary’s history.

Our goal is to elucidate to operations of the single most important institution of money, the central bank, and to make it more discernible to anybody who is interested, along with the financial aspects of the country’s future integration with the rest of Europe.

It is part of our mission to lecture our visitors, and to convey this knowledge of great interest in schools as well.

Design of theVisitor Centre

The concept of a Visitor Centre (VC) has long been a part of the bank’s plans. Preparations for works of this magnitude generally require the same amount of time as the actual implementation itself. The contracts for architectural design and construction, and for the exhibition were awarded following a multi-stage tender procedure under strict terms and conditions.

A great venue was readily available; the former location of the now abolished foreign exchange department presented itself for a new function and a new appearance. After months of discussions and planning the actual construction was completed in a remarkably short time. It all begin, as usual, with some demolition, as finishes and washbasins had to be removed, walls had to be torn down and replaced with new ones. The floor, however, was in good enough condition for the most part, causing a delightful surprise to all concerned after it was sanded and resurfaced. The designers were facing a great challenge, in that the design were to incorporate the building’s neo-Renaissance style and that it is under protection as a historical monument, with today’s needs and preferences a Visitor Centre is expected to satisfy. Undoubtedly, they efforts paid off. From the ornate lobby, dominated by gold and marble, the stairs lead us to another domain, distinguished in colours and style yet in perfect harmony with the rest of this nearly one-hundred year old building. The existing old sections and the new addition complement each other, instead of creating any contrast, they tend to enhance the charm and splendour of one another.

Once the works were finished the process of filling up the space with purpose, meaning the planning and arrangement of the exhibition has begun.


How did this exhibition came about? Tasks and projects too numerous to mention were carried out concurrently, requiring a great deal of co-ordination and teamwork. Planning display cases and cabinets, selecting and preparing coins, writing labels, coin restoration, photographing, graphics, writing publications (posters, brochures and flyers), installations, inventing and manufacturing interactive instruments, interior design, restoration of contemporary furniture, compiling lecture material on computer, collecting pictures for display, manufacturing gold bar imitations, making fake moneys, paper rehabilitation, restoration of coin press machine, writing quiz questions, gathering quotes … and the list goes on.

The most difficult and most time intensive job was the display of coins and paper money. It may appear a simple task, yet it requires meticulous and decidedly artistic work. The interior designer took extreme care to measure every coin and money with millimetre accuracy, so as to design the display and the installation necessary.

The logo of the VC is also very fitting, a circle representing a gold coin, implying the shape of paper money, with the VC caption inside.

VC in numbers

  • 40,000 visitors a year
  • 840 m2
  • 136 display cases
  • furniture from the 1920s
  • 1300 coins
  • 400 commemorative medallions
  • 700 bank notes
  • 26 monitors in the exhibition area
  • lecture hall seating 52
  • exhibition area for 150 visitors
  • the oldest ledger dating back to 1924
  • the oldest Hungarian money from 1001
  • 1000 years of monetary history
  • 600 lectures a year
  • 7 films
  • 150 cm plasma tv in the projection room
  • projection room seating 20
  • 81 year old MNB
  • 100 year old building
  • 1 year from planning to opening
  • 80 000 books in the library
  • 2 internet computers in the library
  • 9 catalogue computers in the library
  • 1 scanner in the library
  • 300 current magazines in the library
  • 20 seats in the library
  • 0 Ft for admission 

Kapcsolódó hivatkozások