Here is how Budapest’s iconic square would look, but the government took away

Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony on Tuesday demanded the return of “public areas seized from the metropolitan council in an unconstitutional manner”, following a court ruling in his administration’s favour.

The affected public areas include Podmaniczky, Vörösmarty and Széchenyi squares, and József Attila Street, he said on Facebook. After the council’s submission, the metropolitan court asked the Constitutional Court to annul a law under which the areas were transferred from the metropolitan council to the fifth district council, he added.

He said the return of Széchenyi Square would be especially important because the adjoining “revamped Chain Bridge now can be accessed far more easily on foot”. “One of the most scenic walking routes in the city, or perhaps in the whole world, could be set up from the Basilica all the way to the Buda Castle,” he said, adding that reduced traffic on the bridge would enable the roundabout on the square to be removed and a green park established instead.

Related plans can be drawn up soon if the square is returned to the metropolitan council, the area can be revamped from European Union resources, he said.