N. Kósa Judit - Szablyár Péter: Underground Pest - Our Budapest (Budapest, 2002)

Water-filled quarries in Quarry Town - the subterranean reservoirs of Kőbánya

houses were built here to accommodate employees of the factories and the thousands of refugees who settled here after the dictates of the Trianon Treaty. World War 11 did not spare Kőbánya either. The slum clearances which started in the early 1960s gradually rid the district of its unhealthy flats, which were replaced with housing estates resulting in the doubling of flats within thirty years. The increasing strain that accompanied this growth turned the deterio­rating cellars into a source of danger. The unwelcome effects of urbanisation (such as the greater weight of large buildings, the vibration caused by traffic, and faulty public utilities, which remained unnoticed for long periods of time) created a situation that necessitated, in 1992, the elaboration of the Kőbánya Prevention Project to Treat Dangerous Cellars in the framework of a broad, nation-wide programme (effecting hundreds of kilometres of cellars in 43 towns and villages). As the project unfolded, several million forints were spent on the discovery and reinforcement or filling of cavities. In 1997, a 1.2-kilometre system of holes stretching over 5,500 square metres in an abandoned quarry 32

Next

/
Thumbnails
Contents