A Móra Ferenc Múzeum Évkönyve: Studia Historica 12. (Szeged, 2009)

ÁY Zoltán: Szeged vasúti hídjának pusztulása

8141/1949 A szegedi vasúti Tisza-híd roncsainak eladása 9071/1949 A szegedi vasúti Tisza-híd roncsainak eladása FT 10151 A szegedi Tisza-híd jégtörőinek terve FT 10152a A szegedi felrobbantott vasúti Tisza-híd mellé épített provizórium fajármait védő jégtörők helyszínrajza FT 10152b A szegedi ideiglenes hídnál felhasznált szerkezetek általános elrendezése ZOLTÁN ÁY THE DESTRUCTION OF THE RAILWAY BRIDGE OF SZEGED The railway bridge at Szeged was destroyed during the World War II and the idea of its rebuilding was neglected in the years of post-war rebuilding. This is why only elderly people remember that once there was a railway bridge over the Tisza at Szeged. The railway bridge functioned for 86 years, which is the longest period in Hungary so far. Although it was in a rather bad condition, as part of the Szeged - Temesvár (today Timiijoara, Romania) railway line it became an important element of military infrastructure during the war. A considerable part of the oil transport from Romania to Germany was done along this route, and after its capitulation the Germans planned to occupy Romania through this bridge. In order to avoid this, American bombers targeted and destroyed the bridge on 24 August 1944 and 3 September 1944. On 9 October 1944 withdrawing Hungarian forces destroyed the remains of the bridge on German order. Later on Soviet troops constructed a wood bridge with forced labour. For two years this was the only bridge in Szeged. Being a temporary construction at the beginning of 1947 this bridge was taken into pieces. For one and a half years the town had no permanent bridge. The road bridge was opened in 1948. Based on sources of the Central Archive of the Hungarian State Railways (MÁV), the Institute and Museum of Military History, and using personal recollections, printed sources and contemporary newspaper articles present study investigates the years following the end of World War II. The paper reveals some unpublished facts as well as corrects some mistakes of previous studies. The author aims at revealing the history of the bridge for the wider public.