Districts of Budapest that did not belong to the capital before 1950 had collected material concerning their history before their joining to Great Budapest. The district known as Ferenváros was named after King Franz (Ferenc) on 4 December 1972. Material on the past of the district were began to be collected in the 1950's.

The employees of the local Mayor's office began to research the history of the district and collect material with the supervising of Xantus János and Kóbor István. The result of this work was the first exhibition opened in 1959. Two publications came out, one in 1973 with pictures of Ferencváros, and another in 1992 entitled "Centuries of Ferencváros". A temporary exhibition also opened in 1973. The work, however, was rendered more difficult by the fact that the researchers were not able to store material they collected which had to be constantly moved from one store to another. This situation was solved by the Self-government of Ferencváros in 1997 when it bought a flat at 4 Pipa Street and rebuilt it so it was apt for storing the material collected.

The permanent exhibition presenting the development and 200-year history of Ferencváros opened on 4 December 1997 on 60m2. A speciality is an aquarelle series by the painter Tavaszy Noémi who lived in Ferencváros for years.

The official licence of the Local History Compilation of Ferencváros came in 1998. Professional work in libraries, archives, museums could begin. Secondary- and primary schools were also contacted to participate in the work.

The collection includes around 13000 photos, over 1500 books, 5000 posters and flyers plus objects collected during the past decades.

The collection was moved to Ráday Street. In the larger wards we were able to systematize the material thus showing the many faces of Ferencváros known as an industrial district but also known from its little pubs, restaurants and sports club.

We did not forget to document present events since the 1990's brought success to the district. The Lágymányos Bridge eased traffic between Pest and Buda, the Centre Market Hall helped in bettering life of people living in the district. With the new National Theatre, Ferencváros was given a new very important institution. Documenting the development of the district, fulfilling objectives is not easy but it is important to do so to help the future generations. We hope the institution will be given a museum rank soon and all those who wish to be informed on the history of the district will come and see to us.