The romantic building of the Esztergom Savings Bank, which was founded as the second Hungarian financial institutions, was designed by József Hild, and the architector and contractor was János Prokopp from Esztergom.
The management of the Savings Bank organized shops on the ground floor of the three-level residential building built between 1860 and 1862, offices on the first floor, and rental apartments on the second floor. The foundation of the financial institution was inspired by Count István Széchenyi’s Credit work.
The Savings Bank Association was founded on December 12, 1844 under the leadership of the royal councilor Imre Héya. Ferenc Nitter became its first director, Vilmos Frey its treasurer, and Ferenc Meszéna its prosecutor. Within a few days, 163 citizens bought shares worth a total of HUF 15,000, which was considered a significant amount at the time.
The operation of Savings Bank slowly extended to the counties of Esztergom and Bars-Hont, so as a result of the expansion of the business circle and good management, the financial institution was able to build its new headquarters on Széchenyi Square.
The main entrance of the palace facing the square opens in the axis of the building, above there is a wide balcony with a stone lattice, which highlights the three window openings of the great hall. The building is embellished with a rich ribbon-braided rosette romantic decoration, which is crowned by main decorative cornice. Above the coat of arms surrounded by Attic olive branches, a seated female figure, symbolizing frugality, looks out over the city. On the right is a falcon and a wheel of fortune, on the left is a beehive, which refers to the purpose of the Savings Bank.
The ground-floor rooms overlooking the square and Kossuth Lajos Street have been an important scene of the city’s commercial life for one and a half hundred years.
The former director of the Savings Bank was Ferenc Einzinger, who became a friend of Mihály Babits during his stay in Esztergom. The idea of Babits’s famous signature wall, which has survived to this day, was also inspired by the director of the Savings Bank, because the wall of the Einzinger basement was decorated with a wall full of such signatures, which Babits saw and also implemented on the wall of his villa in the suburbs.
