The ant (hangya in Hungarian) is not only known for its tireless diligence but also for working within a well-organized society. Thus, it is no coincidence that the legendary domestic cooperative model of the first half of the 20th century was named Hangya. The Hangya Cooperative owes its creation to the Hungarian Economic Association (Magyar Gazdaszövetség), which was also established in 1896.

Led by Count Sándor Károlyi, the association was formed by independent farmers who saw the development of medium- and small-scale estates—operating on cooperative principles—as the path to modernizing the domestic agricultural sector. They initiated the creation of a network that would establish strong connections between rural credit cooperatives, consumer and sales cooperatives, and producers. By 1940, Hangya had over 2,000 member cooperatives with 700,000 members, 30 canning factories, 20 industrial plants, and more than 400 stores. It organized production, provided credit, processed goods, engaged in both retail and wholesale trade, and supported its members not only in business but also socially, with a presence in both villages and cities.

Its first director general was banker Elemér Balogh, personally appointed by Count Károlyi. Hangya quickly established a national presence with its urban and rural stores and various enterprises.

By 1907, the central office’s merchandise turnover had reached 12 million crowns, and in 1911 they celebrated the founding of the thousandth rural cooperative. Between 1900 and the outbreak of World War I, membership rose from 22,000 to nearly 200,000.

As early as 1904, the Hangya Cooperative decided to build its own central department store in the capital. It purchased land at the intersection of Boráros Square and Csepel Quay (today’s Közraktár Street).

On the corner site, a four-story rental building was constructed first, with Hangya stores on the ground floor. The adjacent three-story building served as the department store. Within a year, rear wings were added in the courtyards of both buildings to provide space for offices.

The headquarters building, still standing today, was designed by Dénes Györgyi. The seven-story palace’s street façade features many remarkable elements. On the ground floor, there are two gates suitable for freight traffic and a main entrance. The façade displays eight reliefs sculpted by Lajos Mátrai Jr. and Béla Ohmann. The bas-reliefs depict human figures flanking shields, as well as scenes symbolizing ironwork, agricultural labor, harvesting, and transportation. The figure of Hermes also appears, representing the supervision of trade in produced goods.

The key to Hangya’s success lay in its ability to provide all the advantages of wholesale purchasing and selling to its cooperative members: by buying goods in bulk for the entire country, it could offer prices 20–30 percent lower.

After 1945, Hangya declined and was incorporated into the Hungarian National Cooperative Center (Magyar Országos Szövetkezeti Központ) as a department in 1947. In 1949, even its name was abolished. The assets of Hangya—including 30 canning factories and 20 industrial plants—were confiscated.  The headquarters became the office building of ÁFOR (later MOL), while the Hangya department store was taken over by TÜKER (later TÜZÉP). In 2006, the latter was demolished. In its place, a new office building was constructed in 2009, alongside a careful renovation of the headquarters. The movement was reorganized in the autumn of 1989.

Sources:

A HANGYA története

Art deco a Boráros térnél: 100 éves a Hangya Szövetkezet egykori székháza

Létrehozzák a Hangya fogyasztási szövetkezetet 

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translated by László Gönczi