Margaret bridge celebrates 70th anniversary

Nowadays we tend to take the beautiful bridges connecting Buda and Pest for granted. Neither the citizens of the capital nor tourists stop to appreciate or wonder about the history of the Margaret Bridge for example, which also happens to provide access to the beloved Margaret Island. But this beautiful bridge has an eventful history – in less than 150 years, it was designed after the Austro-Hungarian Compromise, built in 1872-76, then severely damaged during the Second World War, then rebuilt exactly 70 years ago, Hirado.hu reports.

The original plans

The Hungarian parliament decided to build a second bridge over the Danube in 1870. The first bridge, the Chain Bridge was overburdened, and, also, a private company owned it. Not only could they impose a toll on the bridge but, according to a statute accepted in 1840, they also enjoyed a 90-year-long monopoly: new bridges were to be built further than eight kilometres away from the Chain Bridge.

Therefore the Parliament had to buy off this bridge first, and only after that could they start building the new bridge. Their goal was to encourage the development of Northern Pest and to connect it with the main road of Buda. They announced an international contest and received 43 plans. The winning application belonged to the French engineer, Ernest Goüin.

Building and naming

The building of the Margaret Bridge lasted between 1872 and 1876 and Goüin’s French company, the Societé de Construction de Batignolles, carried out the construction. The bridge was 607.12 metres long, with seven piers and has cost about five million Forints.

The extension that connects the bridge and Margaret Island was only added later and inaugurated on the 19^th of August in 1900. Before that, one could only visit the island with a boat. However, today it is an essential part of the capital, offering a little break from the buzzing of the city. Check out here our list of must-see sights on Margaret Island.