how has an ex-Soviet stone-carrier got to the Budapest riverside?
A38 is the reincarnation of ‘Tripolie’, a Ukranian stone-carrier ship, built in 1968. The name comes from Artemovsk, which is the name of a ship prototype, and this one was the 38th unit of the ‘Artemovsk’ class. The re-building project lasted for one and a half years. Architects, ship engineers, acoustic designers, electricians, musicians and promoters contributed their skills and experience to make it an understated but elegant, for both artist and audience friendly place. With its inauguration on 30 April 2003, it started a new life on the Danube in Budapest, Hungary as a cultural venue. Sixteen years later, A38 specialises in popular live music and has become synonymous with the entire cultural scene of Budapest, hosting all sorts of events, from professional meetings, literature and gastronomy.
The vision is simple and obvious: to be a culturally open, exciting, vibrating place in an open, exciting and vibrating city. The A38 Ship wants to provide with an experience, make it musical, theatrical, gastronomic, literal, artistic—intellectual or sensual.
A38 has hosted hundreds of up-and-coming artists from all corners of Europe and the world. It is one of the most prominent faces of the Hungarian live music scene and Budapest’s champion of concerts. The ship is a cultural entertainment centre with a restaurant, bar, concert hall, open-air terraces and lounge.