
Main Street
Fõ utca is the main street of the district
called Víziváros (literally 'Water
town').
Main Street was probably the first street of
Buda used from the 13th century moving the royal
court from Esztergom to here.
At this street was the main street of Buda side,
this must be the reason, that there are so many
churches in this street - altogether 7 churches,
as each religion made a point of having at least
one building along the main street. |

Cable Car/Funicular - Sikló
The almost 100 meter long track, with a slope
of 4.8 in 10, was opened for passengers in
1870.
The idea was to provide cheap transport for
clerks working in the Castle District.
Castle Hill rises only 50-60 meters above the
riverbank, so you can walk to the top in 5
to 10 minutes.
If you make a little detour to the left at the
first point where paths cross, you can admire
the fine proportions of Lánchíd
from above the Tunnel and you can also see the
cable car from a little bridge over the tracks. |
The Chain Bridge
The bridge, 380 meters (420 yds.) long and 15.7
meters (17.5 yds.) wide, is supported by pillars
shaped like antique triumphal arches. It was the first bridge over the
Danube and it not only linked Buda with Pest but also the
western with the eastern parts of the country.
In 1820, a young captain of hussars, Count István
Széchenyi, had to wait at the bank of
the river for a week while traveling to the
funeral of his father. He decided to found
a society for building a bridge.
"Hungary is not dead ; she will live again!"
- this is how, in the first part of the nineteenth
century, Count István Széchenyi,
one of the greatest figures of the Reform
Period, whom Lajos Kossuth called "the
greatest Hungarian", encouraged the
nation, groaning under foreign oppression.
He brought over from England an architect,
William Clark, and a master builder, Adam
Clark, who in spite of their names, were
not related to each other. The bridge was
built between 1842-49 The span between the
two pillars is 202 meters The weight of the
original structure was 2,000 tons It was
not quite finished when Austrian troops withdrawing
to Buda towards the end of the Hungarian
War of Independence tried to demolish it.
The charges, however, had not been laid properly
and no damage was done to the bridge; however
the colonel who gave the order to set off
the explosive charges was blown to pieces.
In January 1945 German soldiers were, unfortunately,
rather better at preparing demolition charges
for bridges.
They also pushed the button and dropped the
central span into the Danube.
In 1948-49 it was rebuilt in its original form. |