Find out how the Chain Bridge in Budapest got its name!

The iconic Chain Bridge did not have a name until 1915, even though one of the best-known Hungarian political figures, Lajos Kossuth, suggested at the beginning of the bridge’s construction in 1842 that it should be named after one of the greatest Hungarians, Count István Széchenyi. However, he did not want a bridge named after him, considering the naming some kind of political trap made by Kossuth. Other people wanted to give the bridge a different name, but it was not accepted by the owner of the bridge and the Hungarian Ministry.

• Chain Bridge

PestBuda reported that between 1913 and 1915 and after World War I, the Chain Bridge – then a bridge with no name – was completely reconstructed. Only the stone lions and small houses on each side of the bridge were left in their original form. Inhabitants of Budapest were surprised, though, when the bridge was completed in 1915 as they could read on the walls of the bridge the name of the greatest Hungarian person, Count István Széchenyi. The bridge finally got its name: Széchenyi Chain Bridge. 

Originally, the Chain Bridge was not used as a noun but as an adjective. The bridge was called chain bridge because it was a construction based on chains. Throughout the years, people got so used to the term chain bridge that it became a noun and the name of the bridge.

By the time the Margaret and Elisabeth Bridges were completed, it became more urgent to make the name of the Chain Bridge official. At the beginning of the 1900s, an official association, commemorating the memory of Széchenyi, suggested to the leadership of Budapest to name the bridge Széchenyi Chain Bridge. The suggestion was refused.

Why? The Chain Bridge was so well-known during that time among citizens that Budapest thought it would confuse people if they added another word to the bridge’s name.

In 1915, there were no official celebrations and inaugurations of buildings because of the war. According to Pesti Hírlap (number one newspaper in the 20th century), someone simply wrote the name Chain Bridge on the walls of the bridge. The leadership of Budapest did not publish any press release about it, did not organise any special celebrations, and did not announce the name-giving either.

To put it most simply, the name of the Chain Bridge was made official without any permission, by the demand of a group of people.

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Read alsoFour companies to bid for Chain Bridge renovation

Source: www.pestbuda.hu