Pest

The downfall of the first Hungarian railway Technical problems, and price competition caused by rivals caused the loss of the first Hungarian railway line. The company, which started with high hopes, suspended its activities 195 years ago. This was the Pest-Kőbánya suspension railway.

Pest and Buda in 1848 Perhaps the best-known Hungarian historical date is 15 March 1848. But what was the city of Pest and Buda like 175 years ago, where a few literary young men recited poems and printed a manifesto in a heightened mood, accompanied by a relatively large but peaceful crowd on that rainy March day, thus setting a new direction for the development of Hungary?

In the footsteps of Petőfi: A walk around the sites of the Revolution of 15 March in Pest and Buda The sites of the Revolution of 15 March 1848 in Pest and Buda can still be visited today, and even some of the buildings that played an important role in the events are still there: standing in front of the National Museum, the Landerer and Heckenast Printing House, the Locotenential Council and the Táncsics-prison, anyone can recall the events.

Budapest then and today – 5 photos showing how much the city has changed The capital, which is 150 years old this year, has changed so much over time that every day citizens can marvel at a section of a street, an old building that has disappeared or that has miraculously survived. This time, with the help of five pairs of images, Pestbuda presents the passage of time from the houses of the old inner city of Pest to the flood in Tabán.

The meeting of two brilliant Hungarians with the florist - Donát Bánki and János Csonka patented the carburettor 130 years ago For a long time, the carburettor was an essential part of car engines. Its creators, János Csonka and Donát Bánki applied for a patent for this device on 11 February 1893. According to legend, the two friends got the idea while watching a flower seller on the Inner Ring Road.

Who should pay for the bridge? - The Pest and Buda horse-drawn railway companies merged 145 years ago The desire to save money forced the merger of the Pest and Buda horse-drawn railway companies because horse-drawn railway traffic was only allowed on Margit Bridge if the companies paid the additional cost of the wider bridge. Since the two companies could not agree on the use of the bridge, 145 years ago the larger, richer company bought the smaller one instead. This made it possible for horse-drawn railway transport to start between Pest and Buda a year later, in 1879.

On the way to Greater Budapest The area of Budapest has changed several times in the last 150 years. The unification of 1950, the creation of today's Budapest, did not come out of nowhere, at that time there had already been talking about developing Budapest and its surroundings for decades, and harmonising the ideas.

From swamp to public park: Donations were requested for tree planting in the City Park 205 years ago Two hundred and fifty years ago, on the site of today's City Park, on the outskirts of the city, there was a swamp and an ox pasture. Although there were attempts to afforest the area, it also happened that the planted saplings were simply nibbled by the oxen. The plans for the development of the Park were completed by 1817, but the money needed for its implementation was lacking. Therefore, 205 years ago, fundraising began for the creation of the public park.

A tender is announced for the presentation of the values and identity of the city districts In connection with the 150th anniversary of the unification of Pest, Buda and Óbuda, the Budapest Cultural Centre has announced a tender to which cultural institutions maintained by the district local councils can apply. Support can be obtained for the organisation of cultural and artistic programs and events that express the identity of the district and present the specificities of the district.

In the wake of the disappeared Redoute - Pest's first place for merriment existed for only 16 years At the beginning of the 19th century, the dynamically developing city of Pest desperately needed an elegant ballroom in which high-quality dance parties could be held that met the needs of the high-class audience. The first site in the capital that was built for this purpose was the Redoute, the predecessor of today's Vigadó of Pest, but the classicist palace, handed over 190 years ago, on 13 January 1833, decorated the Danube bank of Pest for only 16 years.

Gilded metro station in Ferenciek Square The Ferenciek Square metro station will open soon, where passengers will encounter a sight completely different from what they were used to before. The traditional orange colour remained on the underpass level, but those arriving by the escalator will be greeted by a golden station. The colours and graphic motifs refer to the Franciscan order that gave the space its name.

The last tram passed through Rákóczi Road and Erzsébet Bridge 50 years ago Tram traffic started on Rákóczi Road already 125 years ago, and there was a time when five different lines passed through here. But the means of transport, which is very popular with the travelling public, was gradually pushed out of the inner city districts. The last tram passed through Rákóczi Road and Erzsébet Bridge 50 years ago, on 31 December 1972, and its journey ended at Móricz Zsigmond Square. The demolition of the tracks soon began. In recent years, it has been brought up more and more often that the tram should be brought back to this route.

Beszkárt, the capital's public transport company, was founded 100 years ago Budapest's public transport was operated by several companies for a long time, for example, there was a period when the tram services only were operated by three different companies. But 100 years ago, the Budapest Székesfővárosi Közlekedesi Részvénytársaság [Budapest Capital Transport Company], or Beszkárt, was founded, which soon gained control over all the capital's means of public transport.

The death of Baron Manfréd Weiss of Csepel, a member of the House of Magnates Manfréd Weiss, a canner, became one of the richest Hungarian tycoons, the owner of Csepel Steel and Metal Works. When he died 100 years ago, they said goodbye to a wealthy industrialist who built a hospital, maternity home, sanatorium, nursery for his workers, and operated a soup kitchen for the poor. His huge empire, in which machine tools, sewing machines, stoves, bicycles, cars and aeroplanes were made, survived him by decades. The Csepel Steel and Metal Works Trust was dissolved in 1983, and independent companies were created from its units and tried to meet the increasingly difficult market challenges.

Constructions in Pest 150 years ago, before the unification of the city Pest and Buda already prepared for the unification of the cities in 1872, a large-scale urban development plan was adopted in Pest, and large investments were decided upon. However, other buildings also rose in the city. Take a look at how the city developed and how much did it cost to build a residential building.

The first tram in Budapest - 135 years ago, the new vehicle appeared on the Outer Ring Road At the end of November 1887, the people of Budapest could see a miracle that had not been seen before. A carriage moved by itself, it was not pulled by a horse or a steam locomotive. Although this vehicle ran on rails, the cars were pulled by horses in the city and huge steam locomotives on the railways. The first tram had a lower pantograph and travelled at a speed of 10 kilometres per hour, and was accompanied by a police officer at Oktogon.

The rebuilt Petőfi Bridge was handed over 70 years ago When the predecessor of today's Petőfi Bridge was completed in 1937, there was hardly any traffic on it, as the Buda side was largely undeveloped. It was only given a short time as it was destroyed eight years later along with the other Danube crossings in Budapest. When the reconstruction of the bridges began, it was preceded by the restoration of several crossings, then it was finally handed over only in 1952. The new structure was three metres wider, and it also had a bicycle track, which was also important at the time because many people used it to go to work since cars were not allowed for private use.

This is how the Chain Bridge was load tested On Saturday, 12 November, the load-bearing of the Chain Bridge was tested with 24 20-tonne trucks. Based on the primary data, the crossing passed well.

The railway station that was cut in two By the beginning of the 1870s, the first railway station in Pest - the predecessor of Nyugati (Western), then known as Pest Station Building - was no longer able to handle the ever-increasing railway traffic smoothly. The owner railway company started the expansion, but then it turned out that the building stood in the way of the planned Outer Ring Road. Therefore, the old hall was "halved" and a new railway station was built over its northern part. The Nyugati Railway Station, as it is known today, was handed over on 28 October 1877, i.e., 145 years ago.

The Party Office on the former Köztársaság Square does not allow the past to be sealed off Although the party office with a dark past has been continuously deteriorating for years in the former Köztársaság, today's II. János Pál pápa Square, it has not yet been possible to demolish or rebuild it. Moreover, its immediate surroundings were recently declared life-threatening and closed, so instead of being converted into a residential building as planned, the socialist realism style building continues to remind us of the bloody events of the 20th century and the 1956 revolution.

Budapest acquired two hated buildings 125 years ago Several well-known symbols of oppression of Hungary and Budapest stood in the centre of the capital even in the decades after the Austro-Hungarian Compromise. One is the Citadella fortress built to intimidate the city after the defeat of the War of Independence on top of Gellért Hill, and the other is the huge New Building, also known as the prison of soldiers of the 1848 national army, with a bad memory, on the site of today's Szabadság Square. Budapest acquired these two military facilities in October 1897. The New Building was demolished in a short time, but they could not do anything with the Citadella for decades.

The hotel on the site of the former Lloyd Palace is being rebuilt Due to the ravages of World War II, Pest's Danube Promenade lost its former unique atmosphere. Modern hotels have been built in place of the old row of palaces, and the Atrium Hyatt has stood on the site of the destroyed Lloyd Palace since 1982, which today bears the name Sofitel. The hotel will soon receive a new facade, the building permit became final at the beginning of October. It can be read in the permit that the building will get a new level. Design renders have not yet been released.

Imre Madách Secondary School moved into its current home 130 years ago In September 1892, the 7th District State Secondary School, i.e., today's Imre Madách Secondary School, welcomed not only the new academic year but also its new home. The institution, founded in 1881, did not have its own building for more than 10 years, teaching took place on rented premises. The Minister of Religion and Public Education in charge of educational affairs, Ágoston Trefort, commissioned the architect János Bobula Sr. to prepare the plans for the secondary school. But Trefort passed away in the meantime, and the new minister had other ideas about the school building.

A railway carriage got out of control and ended up on the Outer Ring Road Sixty years ago, on 4 October 1962, a railway carriage tore through the buffer stop of the main hall of the Nyugati (Western) Railway Station, breaking through the glass wall and running onto the Outer Ring Road. The accident was caused by human error, but thanks to the presence of mind of a railwayman, there was no mass catastrophe.

It was handed over 85 years ago, but the widened Margit Bridge exploded 7 years later Margit Bridge was completed as a real luxury investment in the 1870s, under the direction of a French engineer. But traffic at Budapest's second Danube crossing remained very low until the end of the century. However, at the beginning of the 1930s, it already proved to be narrow, so it was decided to rebuild and widen it. The inauguration was held 85 years ago, on 1 October 1937.

The last major cholera epidemic The last major cholera epidemic broke out 150 years ago and reached Pest and Buda in the fall of 1872. They tried many things to fight it, but still, thousands of people died from the disease. With the end of the epidemic, significant health improvements began in the capital.

The city's development was helped by the pontoon bridge built 255 years ago between Pest and Buda For nearly 100 years, a pontoon bridge built 255 years ago provided a way for traffic between Pest and Buda. But the pontoon bridge, used since 1767, was moved twenty years later because a new city quarter was planned to be built north of the Pest city walls. The bridge served traffic in its new location until the opening of the Chain Bridge, i.e. until the end of 1849.

Lajos Kossuth's first public statue in Budapest - Special creation in the Zugliget Forest Few people know that at the end of Mátyás Király Road in Zugliget, in the forest, there is a special, 110-year-old statue of Kossuth on a huge pedestal. On the 220th anniversary of the former reformist politician's birth, Pestbuda will show the exact circumstances under which the work of art ended up in the Zugliget Forest, and also examine whether this was really the first public Kossuth Statue in Budapest.

The predecessor of Open-Air Stage: The Park cinema opened a 100 years ago in Városmajor Over the past hundred years, a lot has changed in Városmajor, but culture and guaranteed entertainment have always been present and can still be found in the capital's first public park. The predecessor of the Városmajor Open-Air Stage, the open-air Park cinema, opened here more than a hundred years ago, but the fate of the park was also very interesting after that. In 1935, the well-known stage was built, which, along with its surroundings, has undergone continuous transformations over the past century, including recent times.