The building was the site of both the Nazi-aligned Arrow Cross Party headquarters and the later headquarters of the Communist State Security Authority (ÁVH).
The museum's architecture includes a heavy steel frame cornice that casts the shadow of the word 'TERROR' onto the sidewalk.
The basement, known as the 'Ground Floor,' was heavily renovated to resemble the original secret police cells and torture chambers used during the 1950s.
The central courtyard contains an authentic T-54 Soviet medium tank as a symbol of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and the subsequent occupation.
The 'Hall of Victims' features a floor-to-ceiling mosaic of photographs portraying those who were persecuted, imprisoned, or executed.
The museum's interior design uses dark, claustrophobic hallways and dramatic lighting to evoke the oppressive atmosphere of the era.
The building's ownership and history were largely hidden from public record for decades during the socialist era.
The museum serves as the headquarters for the Public Foundation for the Research of Central and East European History and Society.
The House of Terror Museum is housed in the former headquarters of the Arrow Cross Party and later the ÁVH secret police, serving as a memorial to the victims of Hungary’s fascist and communist regimes. Located at Andrássy út 60, the building itself functioned as a site of detention, interrogation, and torture during the 20th century. The permanent exhibition focuses on the history of the 1944 Arrow Cross rule and the subsequent decades of Soviet-backed communist terror. Key installations include a T-54 tank positioned in the central courtyard and a memorial wall featuring photographs of victims. The basement levels retain cells used for holding political prisoners, preserved to demonstrate the conditions of the era. Visitors move through themed rooms designed to simulate the psychological and physical atmosphere of the regimes. The museum’s facade features a distinctive steel frame that projects the word 'TERROR' onto the pavement when sunlight hits it. It remains a national institution dedicated to the remembrance of those who suffered under totalitarianism in Hungary.
The central courtyard featuring the T-54 tank, or the exterior facade where the word 'TERROR' shadow is cast.
Download the digital audio guide on your smartphone before arrival to get detailed context for each room.
Focus on the basement level early, as it contains the most historically significant and chilling reconstructed cells.
Plan to read the provided text panels thoroughly, as they contain essential historical context not fully explained by the visual exhibits alone.
Avoid visiting without a basic understanding of 20th-century Hungarian political history, as the exhibits are dense and require context.
Closed on Mondays.
Formal and solemn behavior is expected; photography is restricted in certain basement exhibition areas.
