5 Beautiful Bridges to see in Budapest

5 Beautiful Bridges to see in Budapest

Budapest- Pixabay

Budapest is such a beautiful city! And what is even better, if you love taking photographs, this is the city for you! Budapest, Hungary’s capital is a city of diversity! A million things to see, art to enjoy, food to savor, music to enjoy, beautiful gardens to relax in, beautiful culture to soak in, 19th Century architecture to take in, and so much more.  

The Danube River is Europe’s second-longest river after the River Volga. The Danube River flows through 10 countries in Europe and was once a Roman Empire frontier. The rivers cover 418 kilometers in Hungary alone! The Danube River is not the only river in Budapest as the Tisza Rivers flows through it as well! The Danube River cuts through the city which is made of two sides, Buda and Pest, hence the name.

Here are five amazing bridges that are found in the beautiful city of Budapest! Oh, and did you know that Rubik, of the Rubik’s Cube, was born in Budapest?

1. Széchenyi Chain Bridge

Image: Pixabay

As stated earlier, Budapest is a city with a river cutting through it. It is divided into Buda and Pest by the Danube River. The Széchenyi Chain Bridge is one of the bridges connecting these two parts to make the city! The beautiful chain bridge is a symbolic structure in Hungary. The two long continuous arches- which are chains are the reason the bridge was given the name ‘Chain Bridge’.

The initial bridge linking Buda and Pest was constructed in the 19th Century between 1839 and 1843. The bridge, commissioned by one of the country’s best statesman Széchenyi was meant to link the two parts and the bridge was also the longest suspension bridge in Europe! It was designed by a Briton Tierney Clarke and a Scottish engineer. 

Széchenyi was said to have sworn to construct a bridge after his father died in Vienna, and he was not able to get there in time, because it was winter and it was impossible to cross. It took him 50 years but he did it. Unfortunately, the bridge was blown up by German troops in 1945, and was rebuilt in 1949.

The Széchenyi Chain Bridge is a suspension bridge whose two vaulted stone pillars hold the iron structure. The bridge is 375 meters long, and 16 meters wide. The lion statues on the bridge were done by sculptor Janos Marschalko, who forgot to add tongues to the lions and even though he lived a long life, people often said he jumped into the river and drawn from the shame of overlooking the tongues! Talk of people killing someone with their tongues!

People usually walk from one side of the bridge to the other as the bridge has spectacular views of not only the river beneath them but also the city on both sides!

2. Margaret Bridge 

Image: Pixabay

The three-way bridge connecting Buda to Pest across the Danube River is a sight to behold! The arch bridge touches three parts of Budapest; the Nagykörút of Pest, Buda and the tip of the Margaret Island at 165 degrees. The bridge is the second oldest in the city, designed by Ernst Goulin and was opened in 1876, though in 1900, the part extending to Margaret Island was added. 

The eastern part of the bridge was destroyed in 1944; and in 2011, new modifications were added to the reconstruction, including aesthetic pieces like new railings, new lighting, and a cycling path. The bridge is made of stone, cast iron, steel spans which has a lattice structure rest placed on huge pillars. 

 The central pillars have a commemorative plaque and the rest of the pillars have sculptures of gulley prows that have female features! The bridge has seven columns that connect six arches. 

3. Petőfi Bridge -Petőfi híd

Image: Wikimedia Commons

The length of the Petőfi Bridge is 514 meters and the original bridge was completed in 1937; the second bridge was constructed between 1950 and 1952 and the current one which has some modifications was constructed in 1980. 

The bridge connects Buda to Pest across the Danube River south of the Liberty Bridge, and links the Boraros Square on the Pest side and the University Campus on the Buda side. 

The bridge is named after a famous poet and writer and was designed by Pál Álgyay Hubert. 

4. Liberty bridge 

Image: Unsplash

The liberty bridge is the shortest in the city and connects two universities- the Corvinus University of Budapest, and the Budapest University of Technology and Economics. It is a testament to the brilliant Hungarian technology in the 19th Century. The bridge was initially named the Fővám bridge and was renamed the Liberty Bridge after its reconstruction.

It is a cantilever bridge with an Art Nouveau trussing which makes it look like a chain bridge. The bridge was opened in 1896 during the 1000th anniversary of Hungary. The bridge underwent a facelift in 2016, where a pedestrian walkway was incorporated; here, people can take strolls and admire the beautiful city. During World War II as the Germans were retreating, however, the bridge, together with some other bridges were blown up and this one was the first one to be reconstructed. 

The bridge is 336 meters and was designed by János Feketeházy whose work started in 1895. The bridge was opened on the fourth of October. The team was moved to the center after it was moved in 1938; they were initially on either side of the road during construction.

5. Megyeri Bridge 

Image: Wikipedia

This is the newest bridges in Budapest. Construction for the bridge began in 2006 even though plans started in the 1990s, and the bridge is really beautiful, with its five sections which are 100 meters. The bridge is Hungary’s first cable-stayed river bridge 

The bridge is about 1.9 kilometers long and was designed by Mátyás Hunyadi. The bridge was opened for operations in 2008. It connects Újpest and Békásmegyer and Budakalász on the Buda side on the Buda side. The bridge incorporates a cycle section on the northern side, which is also accessible for the disabled, and also, on the southern side there a sidewalk. The two pylons on the bridge are 100 meters high and 300 meters apart. There are 44 cables which suspend the steel supporter the shortest being 56 meters and the longest being 163 meters. The distance between each cable is 12 meters.

Surprisingly the bridge was supposed to be called Stephen Colbert after the American comedian after a poll was done online and on the media, but the bridge was named Megyeri instead!

 See, Budapest is amazing, these are just a few bridges and a few things to see and enjoy!