In the 18th century, the inn of the landowning family Széchényi stood on the corner of Kanizsai (today Széchenyi) and Kéthelyi (today Rákóczi) streets in Marcali. The old inn was rebuilt from brick between 1771-87 and then expanded into a U shape. From 1875, the hotel, later known as Korona, had new owners: It was owned by Dávid Krausz, then József Lengyel and József Hoffman, and from 1894 by József Hochstödter.
The wing to the west of the covered gate had four street and four courtyard hotel rooms, as well as a shop and stables to the north. The innkeeper’s apartment was located on the east side of the gate.
The entire Kéthelyi Street side was occupied by four large rooms of the restaurant, including the dance hall and a smaller room. In 1910, Jenő Kopári (1865-1924) bought the Korona Hotel, and two years later he entrusted Ferenc Sztelek Jr. and Gergely Csomós with the extension of the building by a new storey. The Great Hall was the venue for the first cinema screenings, balls, public events and military recruiting. Jenő Kopári founded a credit bank in 1911. Jenő (1899-1944), the eldest child of Jenő Kopári and Erzsébet Zwerina took over the management of the business in 1924. Already in the 1930s, there was a gas station in front of the building. People called this street corner “Kopári Corner”, and monthly and weekly markets were also held along the crossing. The hotel part and the restaurant were also nationalized, and from 1949 onwards they were run by the Agricultural Cooperative in Marcali. The building complex, which has been renovated several times since 1990, has apartments and offices upstairs, as well as shops and businesses downstairs, furthermore the Mester Restaurant and Confectionery can be found there, too.
1.| Hotel Korona (Postcard detail, 1913)
2.| Picture of Hotel Korona and Restaurant, Jenő Kopári’s shop and other shops (Postcard, 1920s)
3.| A rainy market day in front of the Hotel Korona (Photograph, 1930s)
4.| The Kopári Corner in 2022 (Photograph: József Ilácsa)
5.| Summer sales in the Department Store (Photograph, 1970)
