Budapest’s Atlantis, the sunken island of the Danube

The city of Budapest hides many secrets. Beneath the waves of the Danube lies an island that has passed into legend. It bore the name “Fürdő-sziget” or “Bathing island”. Only a few maps remind us of its existence, but once upon a time, it used to be an important part of the city. Nowadays, one can only see where it once stood in the mighty river.

Most people are familiar with Margaret Island, but few of them know that it had a little brother up to the north. In the newly published book of Szabolcs Kordos titled Egy város titkai, we can read a little bit more about this long-gone island. It once stood between the island of Óbuda and Transaquincum. It was a very peculiar place that had been part of the city since ancient times.

Fürdő-sziget

Flóris Rómer archaeologist had done excavations on the island in the 1850s and he uncovered old Roman ruins. Later a geologist named József Szabó also made research on the island. He concluded that in Roman times, it must have been a bath, hence the name of the island. It was not very big, measuring only 540 metres in length and 108 metres in width. Despite its small size, about 50 to 60 thermal springs could be found on it. One of these had reached the temperature of 58.8 degrees Celsius. It was a true natural treasure, but it did not stand the test of time.