Budapest Funeral Institute

The Budapest Funeral Institute (Hungarian: Budapesti Temetkezési Intézet, BTI) is the municipal funeral director of Budapest, Hungary. Since 1 September 2021 it has operated as the BTI Funeral Division (BTI Temetkezési Divízió) of Budapesti Közművek Nonprofit Zrt., the consolidated municipal utility holding company of the Hungarian capital. Before that merger it was a company owned by the Municipality of Budapest, known from 2007 as Budapesti Temetkezési Intézet Zrt. and from 1990 as Budapesti Temetkezési Intézet Rt. The institute traces its origins to 7 August 1919, when the short-lived Hungarian Soviet Republic established the Budapest Székesfővárosi Községi Temetkezési Intézet, bringing cemeteries and burials under public ownership and treating funerals as a matter of public order, social welfare and piety. The measure survived the fall of the Soviet Republic: it was formally approved on 30 June 1920 and reinforced by a 1925 municipal regulation that barred private funeral licences, prohibited funerals directly from homes and made lying-in-state in cemeteries compulsory. The institute also took over cemetery maintenance and introduced six price categories for funerals, ranging from 50 to 350 pengő. After the Second World War the organisation was rebuilt, and in 1949 the Fővárosi Temetkezési Vállalat was created as its successor. At that time cemeteries in Budapest's outlying districts were attached to the company and dozens of smaller Buda and Pest cemeteries were closed; the institute then managed 49 cemeteries. In 1968 a crematorium was built at the Kozma Street cemetery (New Public Cemetery) to speed up burials; it operated until 2007, when cremation duties passed to the Csömöri Sírkert és Hamvasztóüzem. The company's history also includes darker episodes, such as the 1980s photographic series "Gyász" by Tímár Péter, which documented irreverent handling of the dead at the crematorium and led to a public exhibition that the city council closed after only two days. After the fall of communism the institute was renamed Budapesti Temetkezési Intézet Rt. in 1990 and Budapesti Temetkezési Intézet Zrt. in 2007. A 1994 decision fixed its present operating form as a closed private limited company of the Municipality of Budapest, giving it exclusive ownership of 14 Budapest cemeteries. In the 2000s burial customs shifted markedly from coffin burials to cremation: by 2016 cremation accounted for around 60% nationally but 70–90% in Budapest and other large cities. On 1 September 2021, following a German model, the BTI merged with other municipal service companies (FŐTÁV, FKF, FŐKERT, FŐKÉTÜSZ) into a single municipal holding, Budapesti Közművek, under which it continues to operate as the BTI Funeral Division.

Funerals in Budapest (and in Buda, Pest and Óbuda before their 1873 unification) long predate any centralised company. During the 19th century the city's large cemeteries took shape — Fiumei Road Cemetery (1849), the New Public Cemetery (1891), Farkasrét Cemetery (1894), Óbuda Cemetery (1910) and others — but burials were handled by private firms until the Hungarian Soviet Republic. Under that short-lived regime the variously operated cemeteries were taken into public ownership, and on 7 August 1919 the Budapest Székesfővárosi Községi Temetkezési Intézet was established. The decision-makers wanted the entire field of funerals to be declared an official task on grounds of piety, social welfare and public order. This proved perhaps the only lasting measure of the Soviet Republic, and the Horthy era supported it: on 30 June 1920 the proposal was officially accepted and the measure approved. A 1925 municipal regulation gave it legal force, excluded the possibility of industrial licences for funeral purposes and of funerals directly from homes, and made lying-in-state in cemeteries compulsory. Under the new regulation cemetery maintenance also passed to the institute, and six funeral price categories were created, ranging from 50 to 350 pengő. After the Second World War the enterprise was reorganised. In 1949 the Fővárosi Temetkezési Vállalat was formed as the legal successor of the Funeral Institute. At the same time cemeteries in Budapest's peripheral districts were attached to the company, and 23 Buda and 52 Pest cemeteries were closed. (This fate also awaited the Fiumei Road Cemetery, which was even intended for demolition, but in 1956 it was declared a National Pantheon.) At that time the institute controlled 49 cemeteries in total. With an annual mortality of about 1% against a population surplus of 470,000, this meant an increase of roughly 5,000 funeral tasks per year. (The settlements themselves legally became part of the capital only in 1950.) To speed up burials, a crematorium was built in 1968 at the Kozma Street cemetery, the crematorium of the New Public Cemetery, which remained in use until 2007. Since 2007 this task has been performed by the Csömöri Sírkert és Hamvasztóüzem. In this period the company was not always able to perform its duties fully, and sometimes treated the dead or the cemeteries in a manner that was outright offensive to piety. In the 1980s the photographer Tímár Péter published a photo series entitled "Gyász" (Mourning) drawing attention to improper, irreverent handling of the dead by crematorium workers (coffins thrown on top of one another or turned upside down, protruding heads, hands, legs, etc.). Not long afterwards a public exhibition of the photographs opened, but the city council closed it after only two days. After the change of regime the institute's name changed in 1990 to Budapesti Temetkezési Intézet Rt. and in 2007 to Budapesti Temetkezési Intézet Zrt. In 1994 the decision was made on the organisation's current operating form. As a closed private limited company of the Municipality of Budapest, the Budapest Funeral Institute became the exclusive owner of 14 Budapest cemeteries. On 2 May 2007 the breaking open of János Kádár's grave in the Fiumei Road Cemetery and the theft of his bones caused a great stir. By the 2000s funeral customs had changed significantly, with cremation gradually replacing the previously typical coffin burial. While the national average for cremation was around 60% in 2016, Budapest and other large cities already showed a 70–90% average at that time. The funeral profession suggests a rather closed and frightening world, and many misconceptions about it live in society; funeral professionals try to dispel these from time to time. Nevertheless, some beliefs or reports have been confirmed by professionals themselves — or they have told disturbing stories known only to the narrowest professional circles. Given the many artistically accomplished tombs in old cemeteries (not only in Budapest) and the remains of various celebrities and historical figures, the National Memorial and Piety Committee (Nemzeti Emlékhely és Kegyeleti Bizottság) was established in 1999. Its tasks include activities related to national and historical memorial sites, the national cemetery and national mourning, as well as coordinating commemorations, conferences and other matters of piety. From 2013 the National Heritage Institute (Nemzeti Örökség Intézete) assists the work of the NEKB. On 1 September 2021, following a German model, the BTI merged with all the other municipal public-service companies of Budapest (FŐTÁV Nonprofit Zrt., FKF Nonprofit Zrt., FŐKERT Nonprofit Zrt., BTI Nonprofit Zrt. and FŐKÉTÜSZ Nonprofit Kft.) into a single large municipally owned company under the name Budapesti Közművek.

• 2021

  On 1 September the BTI merges with other municipal service companies into Budapesti Közművek, becoming the BTI Funeral Division.

• 2013

  The National Heritage Institute (Nemzeti Örökség Intézete) begins assisting the NEKB.

• 2007

  The institute is renamed Budapesti Temetkezési Intézet Zrt.; cremation duties pass to the Csömöri Sírkert és Hamvasztóüzem; on 2 May János Kádár's grave in the Fiumei Road Cemetery is broken open and his bones stolen.

• 1999

  The National Memorial and Piety Committee (Nemzeti Emlékhely és Kegyeleti Bizottság) is established.

• 1994

  A decision fixes the current operating form: as a closed private limited company of the Municipality of Budapest, it becomes exclusive owner of 14 Budapest cemeteries.

• 1990

  The institute is renamed Budapesti Temetkezési Intézet Rt.

• 1968

  A crematorium is built at the Kozma Street cemetery (New Public Cemetery) to speed up burials; it operates until 2007.

• 1956

  The Fiumei Road Cemetery, earlier slated for demolition, is declared a National Pantheon.

• 1949

  The Fővárosi Temetkezési Vállalat is formed as successor; peripheral cemeteries are attached and 23 Buda and 52 Pest cemeteries are closed; the institute manages 49 cemeteries.

• 1925

  A municipal regulation gives the institute legal force, bars private funeral licences and home funerals, makes lying-in-state in cemeteries compulsory, and creates six funeral price categories (50–350 pengő).

• 1920

  On 30 June the proposal for the municipal funeral institute is officially accepted and approved by the Horthy era.

• 1919

  On 7 August the Budapest Székesfővárosi Községi Temetkezési Intézet is established under the Hungarian Soviet Republic, bringing cemeteries and funerals into public ownership.

Municipal funeral director and cemetery operator for the Hungarian capital, providing public burial and cremation services under municipal ownership.

• Funeral services

  Organisation and conduct of funerals in Budapest, including coffin burials and cremations.

• Cemetery management

  Maintenance and operation of 14 Budapest cemeteries owned by the institute.

• Cremation services

  Cremation, historically at the Kozma Street crematorium until 2007 and thereafter via the Csömöri Sírkert és Hamvasztóüzem.

• Lying-in-state and funeral ceremonies

  Compulsory lying-in-state in cemeteries and ceremonial services introduced under the 1925 regulation.

1. 1Budapest Funeral Institute — Wikidatawikidata.org
2. 2Budapesti Temetkezési Intézet — Hungarian Wikipediahu.wikipedia.org
3. 3Történetünk — btirt.hubtirt.hu