Széchenyi Chain Bridge

Széchenyi Chain Bridge
Official name	Széchenyi Lánchíd
Carries	2 roads
Crosses	Danube River
Locale	Budapest
Design	Suspension bridge
Total length	202m
Opening date	November 20, 1849

Chain Bridge with Gresham Palace and Saint Stephen's Basilica in the background

Széchenyi Chain Bridge from above

Széchenyi lánchíd or Széchenyi Chain Bridge is a suspension bridge that spans the River Danube between Buda and Pest, the western and eastern sides of Budapest, the capital of Hungary. It was the first permanent bridge across the Danube in Budapest, and was opened in 1849. Its two ends are:

• Roosevelt Square (with the Gresham Palace and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), and
• Adam Clark Square (the Zero Kilometre Stone and the lower end of the Castle Hill Funicular, leading to Buda Castle).

The bridge is named after István Széchenyi, a major supporter of its construction. At the time of its construction, it counted as a wonder of the world. It had an enormous significance in the country's economics and life. Its decorations made of cast iron, and its construction, radiating calm dignity and balance, raised it among the most beautiful industrial monuments in Europe. It became a symbol of advancement, national awakening, and the linkage between East and West.

History

The bridge was designed by the English engineer William Tierney Clark in 1839, after Count István Széchenyi's initiative in the same year, with construction supervised locally by Scottish engineer Adam Clark (no relation). It is a larger scale version of William Tierney Clark's earlier Marlow Bridge, across the River Thames in Marlow, England. The bridge was opened in 1849, and thus became the first permanent bridge in the Hungarian capital. At the time, its center span of 202 m was one of the largest in the world. The pairs of lions at each of the abutments were added in 1852. The bridge was given its current name in 1898. The bridge's steel structure was totally updated and strengthened in 1914. In World War II, the bridge was damaged, and it needed to be rebuilt. The rebuilding was completed in 1949.

Trivia

Among the anecdotes relating to the bridge, the most popular is that the lions were sculpted without tongues and the sculptor was mocked so much that he jumped into the Danube in shame. The lions do have tongues (although they are not visible from below, which is the usual point of view, as the lions are lying on a stone block some three meters high). The sculptor lived into the 1890s, and the only message he sent to mocking people was "Your wife should have a tongue just as my lions have, and woe will be unto you!" He jumped into the Danube when a little boy asked him about it. In 2001, Hungarian stunt pilot Peter Besenyei flew upside down under the bridge, a manoeuvre that became a standard in Red Bull air races today. The bridge is featured in the 2002 movie I Spy.

Picture gallery

The lions guarding the entrance	Pillar of Széchenyi Lánchíd by night	Széchenyi lánchíd by daylight	Széchenyi lánchíd by sunset
Laying the Foundation-stone for Chain Bridge, painted by Miklós Barabás (1864)	Chain Bridge at night, seen from Gellért Hill	Chain Bridge with Buda Palace	One of the lions (with his tongue hidden)

External links

• DBridges - Chainbridge
• Photos of Budapest bridges
• Széchenyi Chain Bridge in the Structurae database
• Two pictures: (1), (2)
• Pictures of the original, the destroyed and the reconstructed bridge
• Hungarian Electronic Libraries' entry on Hungarian bridges
• Page about transportation in Hungary
• Bridges of Budapest - Chain Bridge

Coordinates: 47°29′56″N, 19°02′37″E