Holló Szilvia Andrea: Budapest's Public Works - Our Budapest (Budapest, 2010)

From gashouse to natural gas mains

■ lamplighter in Gül Baba utca (Mór Erdélyi)

city, too, even though there was cause for concern: in 1864 a tenement house exploded, the collapsing ruins killing six people. On the other hand, a picture advertisement published in the magazine Színházi Látcső (The Opera Glasses) refers to gas lighting as a major indicator of modern comforts:"... the Salon Párisién has been opened in the old Botanical Garden ...Alt is given here to enhance a sense of beauty and comfort. ... The hall, heated and lit by gas. will be open from to a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.” With exclusive rights of manufacture held by the new gas works, the National Theatre on Kerepesi út was banned from generating the airy fuel on its premises, and thus purchased gas had to be brought here from the Lóvásár tér gashouse. Pressure during performances was achieved by having the fire-fighters sit on the delivery hose. In his work Utazás Pestről Budapestre (The Journey from Pest to Budapest) Adolf Ágai recalled with patriotic pride how gas manufacture had been secured before the erection of the Austrian-owned works: "we had illumination gas during the performances of the National Theatre, when members of the public were still stumbling about in the twilight of the oil-wicker system. It is true, though, that the only way to enjoy the drama or opera being performed was by stopping one’s nose. ” Although the first gas works was built in Pest, Buda did not have to go without one for long either. Chain Bridge, that symbol of the city’s unification, was lit with gas in October of 1859, and then demands for the fuel in the region of Fő utca, Albrecht

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