the colorful facades and leaf bins that line the streets of Wekerle Telep

…the delightful utopian Garden City-inspired suburban development with a rural village-like feel,  featuring a diversity of housing types in a lively mix of regional Hungarian styles and motifs with lots of soft greys and warm ochres, designed and built by a team of visionaries – initiated by architect József Fleischl, supported by then prime minister Sándor Wekerle, with prominent architectural contributions by Károly Kós during the first few decades of the 20th Century – was my very fortunate destination this afternoon on my first day in town, where we were lead by a local landscape architect…and this place seemed exactly like the Hungarian version of Garbatella, my favorite quarter of Rome.

Fifty thousand trees were planted during the construction, mainly along the spacious avenues. The estate had its own gardening service, who not only took care of the many plants, flowers and trees of the community spaces, but also helped renters to groom their own gardens as well. Four fruit trees were planted for each apartment (altogether 16.000), and thanks to the favorable sandy soil and to the care of the new dwellers, various kinds of drupes bloomed. It was noted that in 1917 redcurrant harvest was so rich that renters could earn almost four times the yearly rent just by selling their fruits. (wikipedia)