The Biatorbágy train bombing – One of the bloodiest acts of terror in Hungarian history

A lonely, debt-ridden inventor had nothing left to lose when he committed an act that shocked an entire nation.

The failed inventor’s road to the train bombing

In 1931, the name of Szilveszter Matuska spread across Europe after a railway bombing that became one of the most shocking crimes of its time.
Living in Vienna, Matuska had spent years trying to establish himself after a string of failed business ventures, turning instead to various inventions.

One of his ideas was a turbine powered by slow-moving water, designed to generate electricity. He also worked on a railway signaling device meant to warn train drivers from a distance if any obstacle appeared on the tracks. Another of his inventions was a gas shut-off valve that released gas only when it was already burning – this was registered at the patent office under the name “Orlisó.”

These patents were his last attempts to escape mounting financial troubles. But none of his inventions brought the success he hoped for, and Matuska gradually drifted toward bankruptcy.
Some biographers believe this was when he became obsessed with the idea of “shaking the world” – a delusion that would eventually lead to the Biatorbágy bombing.

A tragic night

Just after midnight, on September 13, 1931, one of the most infamous and debated tragedies in Hungarian history took place.
Szilveszter Matuska, a Viennese resident, detonated explosives under the Biatorbágy railway viaduct precisely as the international express train bound for Vienna was crossing it.

The explosion caused the locomotive and several carriages to plunge into the valley below. Seventeen people were killed, and another twenty-two were injured.
At the scene, the perpetrator left behind a letter that read: