Buza Péter: Bridges of the Danube - Our Budapest (Budapest, 1999)

ly for its realisation. At the same meeting the principles of the renovation were discussed. A long time passed before the work was finally carried out, even though the ever increasing traffic made the structural weaknesses of the bridge apparent.

There was serious concern that the broadening of the chains that acted as the main truss, the reinforcement of the structure and the increase of the carrying capacity could impair the bridge’s aesthetic value. The operation turned out to be successful. The design and the direction of the works was carried out much to everybody’s satisfaction by the best experienced Hungarian bridge engineers, Antal Kherndl, József Beke and István Gállik.

Near the end of World War II the Széchenyi Chain Bridge shared the fate of all the bridges of Budapest: it was blown up by the retreating German army. After careful reconstruction it was reopened on 20 November 1949, the 100th anniversary of its inauguration.

Since then there have been two major renovations. Now that the 150th anniversary of the bridge has been celebrated, the real question is how to proceed from here. The once tremendous capacity is considered rather modest today, and even after two phases of broadening, the issue of restricted traffic is being studied. Should it be transformed into a pedestrian bridge? Or should it be turned into a bridge museum after the year 2000? What does the future hold for the first permanent and still the most beautiful bridge of the Danube? That is for the authorities of tomorrow to decide. So far nothing has changed. The youthful Pest still shakes hands with the ancient castle of Corvinus in the elegant arch over the river.

French finesse at the Isle of St. Margaret

The share company which created the Chain Bridge was granted significant legal guarantees by the state that their enterprise would be profitable. The

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