Horváth M. Ferenc (szerk.): Vác The heart of the Danube Bend. A historical guide for residents and globetrotters (Vác, 2009)
Tartalom
SIGHTSEEING 239 The Danube bank, which has always played THE DANUBE BANK an important part in the life of the inhabitants of the town It is easy to include the promenade on the Danube bank into the sightseeing tour. The prom is also a characteristic of Vác, the embodiment of the relationship between the river and the town. When the royal family visited the town in 1764, they took walks hy the riverhank beyond the downtown section and enjoyed the water spectacles. Although the footpaths over gullies were mainly used for everyday traffic, the ornate footbridges of the age indicate that people other than the ones earning their living hy the river also visited the riverside. The constructions of early times were damaged and destroyed by floods. The riverhank was built over a century ago when the water was separated from the town with a stone embankment and there were only a few places left for the carts to get down to the river. The buildings by the jetty at the foot of the bishop's palace and the openair bath were set on piles. The fine iron railings of the prom came from the Danube bank in Budapest: when Parliament was being built, some sections of the railings there became superfluous and were moved to Vác. In the 1960s the riverbed beyond the ferry was filled. As a result the river was farther away from the southern part of the town. Today the embankment is a landscaped area and part of the walkway. The waterfront of Szentendre Island opposite the town on the right-hand side of the Danube used to belong to Vác and it was a public recreational area. It has a beach suitable for swimming; in the summer half the population went camping and enjoyed themselves there. The old Pokolcsárda (“Hell’s Inn’’) near the ferry used to be the scene of busy social life.
