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

The solution was found in breaking the line at the tip of Margaret Island forming an angle of 30°. The designer managed to enhance the beauty of the bridge out of necessity.

It is one of the secrets of bridge design that function and appearance must be in harmony. The mass of the structure must not weigh down on its environment but once a slim and graceful structure is achieved, this should suggest firmness all the same.

Each Danube bridge of Budapest offers an apt solution to this problem. It is indeed fitting to call the Hungarian capital the city of fine bridges.

Construction was somewhat delayed by a flood but the Margaret Bridge was completed by 1876. Its simple and clear structure suggests French elegance. The expert committee made a sound decision when selecting this design. Even its ornamentation, characteristic of the period, is moderate, avoiding as it does any exaggeration. This was not at all self-evident. Among the designs submitted were

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