Budapest’s libraries go digital: Get to know the Hungarian capital’s heritage online!

To mark the 75th anniversary of Greater Budapest, the Metropolitan Ervin Szabó Library (FSZEK) has launched a new online platform – the Budapest Electronic Archive (BEA) – offering more than 69,000 digitised documents from the capital’s rich past and cultural life.

Preserving the city’s heritage online

According to FSZEK, the archive aims to provide a single platform where users can explore the library’s vast digital collections, regardless of topic, genre, or type. Materials from the Budapest Collection, the Sociological Collection, and the Music Collection are all available, along with documents from ongoing library projects and themed selections.

The platform is not limited to reading materials – users can also browse and listen to audio and video content, including podcasts, lectures, photographs, and recordings of library events. The design focuses on ease of use: popular categories such as posters, sheet music, and photographs are accessible directly from the homepage, while a comprehensive search tool allows users to filter by title, author, date, or keyword.

• Genetic evidence suggests that some conquering Hungarians were of Uralic origin!

Currently, the archive contains:

• 63,880 documents from the Budapest Collection,
• 1,126 items from FSZEK’s projects,
• 1,042 from the Sociological Collection,
• 1,002 from the library’s branches, and
• 271 from the Music Collection.

The BEA continues to expand, with new categories and materials to be added regularly. While a significant portion of the content is freely accessible to the public, some documents remain restricted to the library’s internal network for copyright reasons. Importantly, no registration is required to access the public materials.

FSZEK emphasises that the archive not only offers easier access to Budapest’s past but also ensures that future generations can explore and appreciate the city’s diverse cultural heritage in digital form.