The ruin pubs of Budapest vy USA Today

Stepping into the “ruin pubs” in Budapest's seventh district can be a sensory overloading experience. Blending the old and the older, the vast spaces within these eclectically decorated bars celebrate forgotten and re-purposed items of all kinds, which are themselves housed in crumbling structures that were abandoned and left in a state of pseudo-decay since the 1940's.

Emerging on the scene in recent years, the ruin pub resurgence has sparked a major revitalization of the Jewish quarter, a formerly run-down neighborhood on the Pest side of the Danube in the shadow of the city's largest synagogue. Previously, the area was known for its deserted buildings with a mournful past, as this formerly bustling area was left an impoverished ghost town after thousands of Jews were deported during WWII. Throughout the last few decades, the neglect continued as a large Romanian population relocated to Budapest in the 1980's and moved into many of the empty houses and apartments. A intangible pall hung over the area until very recently when the ruin pubs kicked-started an unexpected renaissance.

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http://www.usatoday.com/story/dispatches/2013/09/25/budapest-ruin-pubs/2857137/