On 16 April 2026, the exhibition “The World of the Stock Exchange in Pest - History of the Budapest Commodity and Value Exchange (1864-1948)” was opened, a joint project of the Stock Exchange Museum portal and the MNM Hungarian Museum of Commerce and Hospitality.

Dr. Róbert Török, Director General of MKVM, Dr. Márton Radnai, CEO of Ramasoft Data Services and IT Ltd. and Tibor Tóth, CEO of BSE, gave opening speeches. Among other things, Dr. Márton Radnai said the following:

“Every business starts with a dream - whether that dream is about breaking out of poverty, as in the case of Lipót Aschner, who came to Budapest at the age of 20 as the son of a barkeeper with nine children, to join the predecessor of United Sparkling as an employee and turn it into a world-class company, Tungsram, in 60 years.

But the dream can also be about the further development and internationalisation of an already operating business inherited from one's parents, as in the case of Leó Buday-Goldberger, who, after graduating from law school and the early death of his brother, inherited the then 100-year-old family business at the age of 21, and managed to turn it into a world-famous company in 60 years.

These dreams were made possible by an institution founded in 1864, the Budapest Commodity and Stock Exchange, which enabled them to raise external capital and accelerate their development.”

“With our new exhibition, we invite you to take a journey through time to the world of the stock exchange in Pest. We have several objectives. On the one hand, we want to show the success of the former stock exchange and the companies listed on it, and thus inspire today's entrepreneurs to make their dreams come true. On the other hand, we want to pay tribute to entrepreneurs and leaders who did a lot for the development of the Hungarian economy, but whose fate turned tragic or who have simply faded into oblivion. Finally, we want to show the diversity of the stock exchange, the companies and the personalities associated with them.”

The opening was followed by a standing reception, then Dr. Márton Radnai gave a guided tour, during which Tamás G. Korányi also talked about his own objects in the exhibition.

On the one hand, the exhibition traces the history of the stock exchange from its hopeful inception to its tragic end, including the buildings that housed it and the development of the stock exchange's news and exchange services. On the other hand, it tells the story of six major companies and their leading executives, in whose development the former stock exchange played a significant role.

The exhibition features objects and documents from a number of Hungarian museums and private collectors, some of them on public display for the first time.

The exhibition is open until 18 October 2026 at the MKVM-(1031 Budapest, Korona tér 1., 1031 Budapest). During the opening hours we plan to organise several curatorial guided tours, the first of which will take place on 23 May 2026 at 15:00. you can apply on this page. We are looking forward to welcoming you!