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

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

PROTECTION OF BRIDGES AS MONUMENTS In various writings from 1923 onwards, Ede Lósy-Schmidt wrote of the significance of bridges in the history of engineering. His work included a fine piece on the Hortobágy bridge. The journal „Technika" first turned its interest to old stone bridges with the thorough article by János Harkányi on the reasons for demolishing four 13-metre span, 100-year-old arch bridge in Miskolc. It should be noted that Technika regularly published surveys of monuments, but only started on bridges in 1944. Imre Gáli continued Lósy-Schmidt's work. His writing is still an authoritative source. It should be noted as regards the list of monuments that Imre Gáli indicated some kind of ..installation" statue, niche, pedestal, etc. - on 19 bridges, but even statue niches are not always indicated on protected bridges. The description should be expanded with other information, such as year of construction, designer and builder. The body responsible for maintaining it should also be given, for practical reasons. In collaboration with the maintaining bodies, I produced a survey of old bridges and of those bridges between 30 and 50 years old which are particularly outstanding either because they were the first application of some kind of technology, or because of their size, or because of their aesthetic distinction. Of the 5900 bridges on national roads, we regard 194 as being worthy of protection, among which 43 are arch bridges. For want of a better term, they are labelled Technical Monuments, and entered as such in the computer records. Permission for their reconstruction or any major building work on them will only be granted if there is no other way of dealing with traffic. MÁV (Hungarian Railways) have issued Monument Regulations governing in exemplary detail aspects of selection and protection. It is unfortunate that they do not cover bridges in particular, despite so many fine examples having been produced in the course of railway construction. The study of art and architecture history would do well to pay more attention to bridges. The general public also needs to be better informed of the history and historical value of bridges. And protection of bridges as monuments must take into account the primary requirement for bridges to satisfy traffic demands, so that permission must be granted for widening them where there is good reason. Preservation without function is also an option, but only where the body responsible for the bridge is able to maintain its condition. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Lósy-Schmidt, E: Adalékok a hídépítés történetéhez, (Contributions to the history of bridges) Technika 1923 2. Lósy-Schmidt, E: A hortobágyi kőhíd (The stone bridge in Hortobágy), Magyar Mérnök és Építész Egylet Közlöny (Society of Hungarian Engineers and Architects Gazette), 1926 5-6 3. Technikai fejlődésünk története (History of Hungarian technology), (1876-1927) Stádium, Magyar Mérnök és Építész Egylet Közlöny, Budapest, 1928 4. Régi kőhidak (Old stone bridges), Technika, 1944.6 5. Széchy, K: A magyar hídépítés évszázados fejlődése (A century of development in Hungarian bridge building), Magyar Technika 1948.8 6. Folly, R: A hidak formáiról (Bridge forms), Természet és Technika (Nature and Technology), 1949.1 7. Andai, Pál: A mérnöki alkotás története (History of engineering achievements), Műszaki Könyvkiadó, Bp. 1959. 8. Mihailich, Gy: A XIX. és XX. századi magyar hídépítés története (History of Hungarian bridge building in the 19th and 20th centuries), Műszaki Könyvkiadó, 1960. 9. Palotás, L: Mérnöki szerkezetek kialakítása kulpos tekintettel azok esztétikájára (Engineering structures, with special regard to their aesthetics), Mély építéstudományi szemle (Civil Engineering Science Review), 1963.7.