PHOTOS: Astonishing new passage opened in Budapest downtown

The new City Hall passage was inaugurated in Budapest a couple of days ago, opening up a beautiful walkway between two downtown streets, the Városháza Street and the Károly promenade. Moreover, on the Károly promenade side, there is Budapest’s brand new Christmas fair and ice rink.

According to pestbuda.hu, the Városháza Park (City Hall Park) in the city’s heart is a brand new creation. It was born after the municipal council demolished several buildings between the Deák Square evangelical church and Gerlóczy Street. The passage leads to the Városháza Street, close to Ferenciek tere.

Opened by Budapest mayor Gergely Karácsony, the passage is a gift to the residents and tourists on the 150th anniversary of the capital’s unification.

The City Hall was originally a hospital for the invalids, built between 1716 and 1727 following the plans of Anton Erhard Martinelli. The offices of the newly-created capital moved there only in 1899. After the Soviet siege destroyed the Károly promenade wing in WWII, a bazaar was created there, dismantled in 2005. Afterwards, it became a parking place. That is what the new Budapest leadership opened for the public as the City Hall Park.