Molnár József - Szilas Péter: Night Lights - Our Budapest (Budapest, 1993)
tasteful sight welcomed those who wanted to admire the customary sight of our beautiful Danube embankment. The lamps which they had hung in new lines stretching along the Pest side in the past few weeks were now lit... Only one word can give expression to the reaction which this lighting provoked in everybody with a modicum of aesthetic sense and good taste-ugh! From Buda the Pest embankment looked as though all the cheap side-shows of the City Park had been moved there with their gaudy, tasteless lights. As to looking at Buda across the river from Pest, that is downright agony. The lovely view had been stolen. Thanks to the unknown champions of “prettification”, the promenade along the Danube had been festooned with orange lamps: a yellow blight had been left on this beautiful prom of our capital.... Every pair of eyes was, as usual, turned towards Buda looking for the beautiful view they were accustomed to. What they found instead of a sight for sore eyes was the sorry sight of unpleasant orange lights.... Now that we have a law for compulsory retirement, it could be put to good use if those responsible for this scandal of horrendous lighting were promptly forced into retirement. The outrage prompted the authorities to have the more than kilometre long festoon removed overnight. The most pleasantly spectacular result of the floodlighting, however, was the row of lamps decorating the Lánchíd (Chain Bridge). In May 1936, the Mayor of Budapest instructed the Electricity Works to conduct experiments for the lighting of the bridge. Two alternative plans had been prepared by March 1937, one for a festoon of lights and another for the floodlighting of the large gateways on the bridge piers. The authorities eventually opted for the festooning of the supporting iron structure with a row of lamps following the graceful arc of the bridge. The total length of the festoons was two and a half kilometres. In 1937 the perfectly harmonized decorative lighting of the Lánchíd, the Mátyás Church, the Parliament buildings and the Royal Castle provided a beautiful addition to the night view of Budapest. The following year Budapest was the venue of the Eucharistic Congress. It was on that occasion that the floodlighting of St. Stephen’s Basilica was put into operation. Preparations for the event included the lighting of about a dozen, mainly religious, sculptures, such as St. Elizabeth’s statue in Rózsák tere or that of St. Imre 32
