A műemlékek sokszínűsége (A 28. Egri Nyári Egyetem előadásai 1998 Eger, 1998)

Előadások / Presentations - TÓTH Ernő: Conserving our bridges and protecting

ERNŐ TÓTH CONSERVING OUR BRIDGES AND PROTECTING THEM AS MONUMENTS Although bridges form part of our architectural heritage in the same way as do buildings, they are regarded differently and are consequently the subject of less attention. Classical conservation of bridges as monuments is very difficult, but preserving the creative achievements that they embody is an urgent and binding obligation. BRIDGES ARE PART OF THE ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE The literature of architectural and engineering history and of monumental conservation embraces buildings and other constructional works in all their diversity. And indeed it is equally constructional activity which gives rise to houses, churches and bridges, but it is by their function that the latter stand apart from buildings, although there exist residential bridges (Ikva bridge in Sopron) and in modern architecture a station building can have a bridge structure (Kőbánya-Kispest). Up to the middle of the 19th century, bridge builders were generally building tradesmen and architects, and it was only subsequently that they divided into the two specialisations of engineering and architecture. For many centuries, wooden bridges were built by enterprising woodcarvers and carpenters, and vaulted bridges by masons and sometimes by eminent craftsmen and architects (Carlone, Jakab Fellner, József Francz, Antal Czigler, Ferenc Povolny, Károly Rábi and many others). Bridges only very exceptionally feature as part of vernacular architecture. Iron, steel and reinforced-concrete bridges are generally works of engineering, although since the 19th century similar materials and structural systems have found their way into other areas of architecture. Let us briefly examine whether the features that bridges share with buildings are accompanied by commensurate historical and artistic value. The historical significance of bridges can be illustrated by numerous examples. For instance, in the era of the Hunyadi kings (in the late Middle Ages), the word hid, meaning „bridge", appeared in the names of 40 settlements, such as Jánoshida, Rábahídvég, etc. (Dezső Csánki). Some of these go back much further, appearing mainly after the Mongol invasion, when we know that special bridge guards were posted along the line of the river Rába, for example. History has recorded the role of bridges since the Mongol invasion (Sajó bridge), throughout the Turkish era (the Dráva bridge at Eszék, and the pontoon bridges between Buda and Pest and at Esztergom), and during the Rákóczi War of Independence (Romhány bridge). And besides being a great technical achievement, the Chain Bridge in Budapest was, and still is, a symbol of historical progress. Bridges played an important role in many battles during the War of Independence of 1848-49 (Kápolna, Tápióbicske, Vác, etc.). Many bridges were destroyed during the World Wars: the Tisza bridge and others in 1919, and 1400 bridges in the Second World War. Bridges have also incorporated many works of art: poems