Margaret Bridge (sometimes ''Margit Bridge'') or Margit híd () is a three-way bridge in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, connecting

Buda Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...

and Pest across the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

and linking Margaret Island to the banks. It is the second-northernmost and second-oldest public bridge in Budapest. It was designed by French engineer Ernest Goüin and built by the construction company Maison Ernest Goüin et Cie. between 1872 and 1876, the engineer in charge being Émile Nouguier. Margaret Bridge was the second permanent bridge in Budapest after Széchenyi Chain Bridge. This bridge leads up to Margaret Island, its two parts enclosing 165 degrees with each other at the embranchment towards the island. The reason for this unusual geometry is that the small extension to connect to Margaret Island was hastily inserted into the original design but not built until two decades later due to lack of funds. The bridge's two ends are * Jászai Mari tér (northern end of Grand Boulevard) and * Germanus Gyula park (stop of Szentendre HÉV; the

Lukács Lukács () is a Hungarian surname, derived from the given name Lukács, which is the Hungarian equivalent of Lucas. Alternative spellings and derivative forms in neighboring languages include Lukacs, Lukáč, Lukač, Lukach, Lucaci and Lukači� ...

and Király Baths are nearby). It is in length and in width.

Reconstruction

World War II

After invading Soviet armies approached Budapest towards the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

sapper A sapper, also called a combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, preparing field defenses ...

s made plans to blow up all of the bridges in Budapest. However at approximately 2 pm on 4 November 1944 a spark from a passing tram prematurely ignited the fuse of the explosives while they were being primed. The resulting explosion destroyed the eastern span of the bridge. Estimates of the number of victims range from 100 to 600: Among them were innocent civilians, about 40 German soldiers, passengers in a tram that overturned and plunged into the river, and Jewish forced laborers (including Olympic champion fencer Endre Kabos), who were on the bridge in a truck.

“When we arrived in front of the Comedy Theatre we were shaken by a tremendous explosion. I ran back to the Danube embankment (around 250 metres away) where a huge crowd of people had gathered. On the Pest side two arches of the bridge had collapsed. Trams, cars and hundreds of people had fallen into the river. Two shattered carriages of the Number 6 tram jutted out of the water and the moans of the injured could be heard. Bodies were hanging from the railings and in the swirling waters there were dead and wounded. Ships, boats and police craft were trying to save whoever they could.” Miklós Kovalovszky

All of the remaining bridges of Budapest were blown up by the Wehrmacht in January 1945 during their retreat to the Buda side of the surrounded capital. During reconstruction of the Margaret Bridge, much of the original steel material was lifted from the river and incorporated into the rebuilt structure.

2009–2011

By the beginning of the 2000s, the bridge was in very bad shape. It became life-threatening, therefore its reconstruction became very important. The recondition (after the Megyeri Bridge and Szabadság Bridge completion) began on 21 August 2009. It was closed to road traffic for at least a year, but trams maintained a partial service over the bridge using temporary track. The whole project took more than 20 billion forints and half of the costs were financed from EU funds. The restoration was completed in 2011. They tried to restore the original appearance of the bridge. Instead of reinforced concrete, durable steel was used and new barriers and floodlights were installed. The middle lanes were widened, the sidewalk expanded by approx. 2 meters and the bike path completed. During the 2011 renovation, human remains were discovered. The mostly Jewish remains were victims of the far-right Arrow Cross Party, who briefly governed Hungary from 1944.

Cultural references

Soon after the bridge was inaugurated, it became a preferred spot for people seeking to take their own lives over personal or financial troubles. The wave of

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

s inspired

János Arany János Arany (; archaic English: John Arany; 2 March 1817 – 22 October 1882) was a Hungarian poet, writer, translator and journalist. He is often said to be the "Shakespeare of ballads" – he wrote more than 102 ballads that have been transl ...

, a renowned Hungarian poet to compose a

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

, "''Híd-avatás''" ("Bridge Inauguration"), about the jumpers. It was widely distributed in leaflet format, illustrated with Mihály Zichy's romantic styled intricate pencil drawings.

Gallery

File:Margitsziget-1888-Meyers-Lexikon.jpg, 1888 – before the Bridge was connected to Margaret Island; future Újlipótváros streets are shown File:Margit híd 1944. november 4.jpg, The dropped bridge, 4 November 1944 File:Buda section, southern side.JPG, 2009 – western section, southern side of Margaret Bridge File:Margaret Bridge 02, Budapest.JPG, 2012 - after renovation File:Margaret Bridge - structure of the middle section.JPG, 2009 – structure of the connecting section to Margaret Island File:Margit-hid - Renovation - 2010-06.JPG, 2010 - renovation effort File:Margaret Bridge 03, Budapest.JPG, 2012 - after renovation File:Margaret Bridge (SE). Lantern. - Lipótváros. Budapest.JPG, Lantern File:Margaret Bridge plaque Bp05 Jászai Mari tér.jpg, Plaque commemorating the construction and reconstructions of the bridge

References

External links

* {{Coord, 47, 30, 53, N, 19, 02, 37, E, region:HU-BU_type:landmark, display=title Bridges in Budapest Bridges completed in 1876 Bridges over the Danube Industrial archaeological sites in Hungary Multi-way bridges 1870s establishments in Hungary