Battle over underground garage at National Museum

The Hungarian National Museum needs to have a garage built beneath its yard to ensure that it possesses the infrastructure necessary to continue operating, the institution said. Earlier, environmentalists opposed the the construction works because it would require cutting some trees down.

According to cultural portal mult-kor.hu, the museum released a statement that it found environmental group Levegő Munkacsoport's claims that the construction works would kill 30 valuable trees excessive.

The institution said that 20 trees, many of which are already dying, would be cut down in the museum yard, and new trees would be planted in their place following the completion of the garage.

The garage, which would hold 69 parking spots, is just one part of the reconstruction works involving the museum's yard, which would also involve excavating the 17th-century cellars found beneath the area.

The museum claims that the plan is to "give the museum yard back to visitors" by building the underground garage, as cars would no longer have to pass through one of the last green patches in downtown Budapest.

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