Bridges of Budapest

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There are ten bridges on the Danube in Budapest, and one more under construction.

Contents

[edit] Árpád Bridge

Árpád bridge is the widest bridge of Budapest
Árpád bridge is the widest bridge of Budapest

Árpád Bridge or Árpád híd is a bridge in Budapest, Hungary, connecting Buda and Pest across the Danube. It is the northernmost public bridge of the capital and the longest bridge in Hungary, spanning about 2 km with the sections leading up to the bridge, and 928 m without them. It is 35.3 m wide

[edit] Erzsébet Bridge

Erzsébet híd in the foreground, seen from Gellért Hill
Erzsébet híd in the foreground, seen from Gellért Hill

Erzsébet Bridge is the second newest bridge and one of the most elegant ones of Budapest. It is situated at the narrowest part of the Danube, the bridge spanning only 290 m.

The original Erzsébet Bridge (built between 1897 and 1903), along with many other bridges all over the country, was blown up at the end of World War II by retreating Wehrmacht sappers. This is the only bridge in Budapest which could not be rebuilt in its original form. Pictures and some salvaged elements from the old bridge can be seen on the grass in front of the Museum of Transport in City Park.

The currently standing slender white cable bridge was built on the very same location between 19611964, because the government could not afford to construct entirely new foundations for the bridge.


[edit] Lágymányosi Bridge

Lágymányosi bridge
Lágymányosi bridge

Lágymányosi Bridge connects Buda and Pest across the Danube. It is named after the south Buda district of Lágymányos. This bridge is the southernmost and the newest public bridge in the capital; it was inaugurated in 1995.

[edit] Liberty Bridge

Szabadság híd, looking towards Gellért Hill, Buda
Szabadság híd, looking towards Gellért Hill, Buda

Liberty Bridge is the third southernmost public road bridge in Budapest, located at the southern end of the City Centre.

The bridge was built between 1894 and 1896 to the plans of János Feketeházy. Although radically different in structure, the bridge imitates the general outline of a chain-type bridge, which was considered an aesthetically preferable form at the time of construction. The bridge was opened in the presence of Emperor Franz Joseph; the last silver rivet on the Pest abutment was inserted into the iron structure by the Emperor himself, and the bridge was originally named after him.

It is 333.6 m in length and 20.1 m in width. The top of the four masts are decorated with large bronze statues of the Turul, a falcon-like bird, prominent in ancient Hungarian mythology.

[edit] Margaret Bridge

The Margit Bridge looking from Pest
The Margit Bridge looking from Pest

Margaret Bridge is the second northernmost and second oldest public bridge in Budapest. It was planned by the French engineer Emile Gouin and built between 1872-1876. Margaret Bridge became the second permanent bridge in Budapest after the Széchenyi Chain Bridge. This bridge leads across to Margaret Island, its two parts enclosing 150 degrees with each other at the embranchment towards the island. The reason for this unusual geometry lies in the fact the small extension to connect the Margaret Island was hastily inserted into the original design, but not built until two decades later due to lack of funds. It is 637.5 m in length and 25 m in width.

[edit] Petőfi Bridge

Petőfi Bridge, seen from the Csepel HÉV terminus
Petőfi Bridge, seen from the Csepel HÉV terminus

Petőfi Bridge is the second southernmost public bridge in Budapest. It was built between 1933-1937, by the plans of Pál Álgyai Hubert. It is 514 m in length (along with the sections leading up) and 25.6 m in width.

[edit] Széchenyi Chain Bridge

Széchenyi lánchíd (Chain Bridge)
Széchenyi lánchíd (Chain Bridge)

Széchenyi lánchíd or Széchenyi Chain Bridge is a suspension bridge that spans River Danube between Buda and Pest, the west and east side of Budapest, the capital of Hungary. The first bridge across the Danube in Budapest, it was designed by the English engineer William Tierney Clark in 1839, after Count István Széchenyi's initiative in the same year, with construction supervised locally by Scottish engineer Adam Clark (no relation). It opened in 1849, thus became the first bridge in the Hungarian capital. At the time, its center span of 202 m was one of the largest in the world. The pairs of lions at each of the abutments were added in 1852. It is popular culture in Hungary to point out that the lions in fact have no tongues.

[edit] Rail bridges

[edit] North Rail Bridge (Északi összekötő vasúti híd)

North Rail Bridge
North Rail Bridge
  • Length: 674.40m
  • Width: 11.90

This is a train bridge located in the North of Budapest.


[edit] External links

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