This photo collection is a tribute to Budapest’s disappearing neon signs. Colorful illuminated lettering and emblems appear throughout the images, preserving the visual imprint of a vanished era.

The golden age of the neon-lit cityscape can be traced back to the 1960s and 1970s, a period when downtown Budapest was literally glowing in neon every evening. Shops, restaurants, and services shaped the streets through their distinctive signs—at that time neon advertisements were not merely functional markers, but defining elements of the city’s rhythm and atmosphere.

Among the neon signs shown in the photographs, many no longer function or have since been removed. These images therefore capture the final traces of an ever-changing urban environment: lights that quietly disappear from the streets as new visual solutions take their place.

In recent years, however, interest in neon has been revived through restorations, reimagined installations, and contemporary reinterpretations. The selection reveals this duality: disappearance and renaissance, between urban nostalgia and present-day city mood.