Bridges

Was built between 1842 and 1849. When the bridge was ready, its creator was so proud of it that he declared he would drown himself if anyone could find any fault with his masterpiece, begins an old anecdote. So the people came and examined every little part of it, but in vain. They could not find anything wrong with the bridge. Then one day an apprentice cobbler (the proverbial hero of Hungarian stories like these) discovered that the lions at either the end of the bridge had no tongues. So Adam Clark committed suicide, the story went. In fact, the lions were made later than the bridge itself In January 1945 German soldiers were, unfortunately, rather better at preparing demolition charges for bridges. They pushed a button and dropped the central span of the Lanchid into the Danube The Tunnel under Castle Hill was built in 1857. The joke at the time was that it was built so there would be a place to push the bridge when it rained. The Tunnel was also built by Adam Clark, a fact that indicates that he did not commit suicide, rathermarried here and built a fine home for himself and his family in Buda. He died in 1866 at the age of 55. The square on the Buda end of the bridge was named after him in 1912 and was one of the few streets named after a foreigner hat was not re-named during the Communist period.

This suspension bridge was built in 1964 (designed by engineer Pal Savoly) to replace the original bridge, which was also named in honour of Queen Elizabeth and was destroyed by the Germans in January 1945. The damage was more serious than it was for the other bridges, and reconstruction would have cost too much. The present bridge, built between 1960 and 1964, imitates the arch of the old one, which is perhaps why residents of Budapest like it so much. The opening of the bridge was on the afternoon of November 21, 1964 and turned into an impromptu festival despite the drizzle. The new Erzsebet hid has virtually become the symbol of the capital, the first modern, yet beautiful, attraction of the city.

The Margit híd built between 1872 and 1876, it was the second permanent bridge over the Danube and was designed by Frenchman Ernest Gouin and built by a Parisian building firm. The bridge has a branch that leads to Margitsziget (Margaret Island) starting out from the middle pier. Although this branch was included in the original plan, it was only built in 1901. This bridge was the scene of the greatest disaster in the history of Budapest. During afternoon rush hour on November 4th 1944, when hundreds of people were crossing the bridge on foot and by tram, the charges placed by the Germans on the section of the bridge between the island and Pest went off, presumably by accident. The number of casualties will never be known, but it ran into the hundreds (and there were 40 German soldiers among them). The subsequent inquiry found a leaking gas pipe and a cigarette thrown into the water was the most probable cause. The thorough renovation in 2009 - 2011 included recreating many of the original ornaments.

This was Budapest's third permanent bridge. Originally called the Ferenc Jozsef hid (Franz Joseph Bridge), it was opened during the 1896 millennium celebrations in honour of the founding of Hungary. Franz Joseph himself hammered in the last silver rivet. Not by hand, naturally: he pushed a button in a tent on the Pest side to operate the 45 ton hammer. There are few things which better reveal how much the people at that time took pleasure in ornaments. It would be difficult to imagine what the bridge would look like if the designers, Virgil Nagy and Janos Feketehazy, had not stuck to the following principle: "When designing the bridge, we had to obey the requirements of beauty, simplicity and economy." The bridge has a modular structure, which means that if the 49 metre-long central part was removed the rest would still stand firmly. "Turul birds" - mythical birds of the Hungarians - stand on golden balls topping each pillar, with their wings stretched, preparing to take off.