Zeidler Miklós: Sporting Spaces - Our Budapest (Budapest, 2000)

imens of Hungary’s sports architecture with its bold structural design, its clear and elegant shape and, last but not least, with the splendid setting that the natural scenery of Margaret Island provides. In 1937, a 50 by 20 metre open-air pool, terraces with a seating capacity of 6,000, and highboard and springboard platforms were added to the existing facilities, which were further expanded in 1958 when a 33-metre pool, covered with a tent roof in winter, was built. At 25 metres, a partition wall that can be sunk into the bottom was built into the indoor pool in 1983. The swimming pool now bears the name of its designer, Alfréd Hajós.

The idyllic environment of Margaret Island was a haven for aristocratic sports, too. What was perhaps the most beautiful horse-polo field in Europe was built in 1928 on the meadow stretching between the MAC stadium and Palatínus Lido Baths. North of the baths and opposite the water tower was the “Centre Court”, the predecessor of today’s tennis stadium, opened in 1927. In the north-western corner of the island, members of the Skeet Shooters’ Association fired their guns until their range was closed down after World War II.

The indoor pool of the Sports Swimming Pool

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