Zádor Anna: Neoclassical Pest - Our Budapest (Budapest, 1993)

was the demolition of the two towngates, which were an obstacle to free-flowing traffic: the Kecskeméti Gate, in what is now Kálvin tér, was demolished in 1795, and the Hatvani Gate (between Múzeum körút and Magyar utca) in 1803.

The first plans for controlling the growth of Lipótváros, and for its subdivision were formulated in 1789, presumably on the basis of earlier outlines. Real development got under way when Viceroy József (1796— 1847) took office: beginning in 1801 he was responsible for drafting proposals which emphasized aesthetic considerations. In 1804 he commissioned János Hild to prepare the first plan of the new district to be built together with those of the adjoining suburbs. (This is why this plan of great significance for Pest is listed under Hild’s name, even though he had obviously relied heavily on several preliminary outlines for his work, and in actual fact was only responsible for finalizing the plan.) János Hild’s plan for the development of the town was drawn up in 1805, its implementation, however, was delayed until 1808, when the court in Vienna finally confirmed Viceroy József s position.

The plan mainly affected the area stretching from present-day Erzsébet Bridge to Szabadság tér. At this point the so-called New Building, a military complex, hampered the opening of more streets. According to Hild, further development of the district would have reached approximately as far as what is today Szent István park. Here, he would have built a roundabout- this part of the plan, however, was never realized. Fortunately, two other squares, which still provide magnificent views, were built in the centre of Budapest: Vörösmarty tér-formerly Színház (Theatre) tér-and József Nádor tér. These still provide breathing space today to a Pest short of squares. Today’s Erzsébet tér used to be a market place, and therefore had no park on its territory.

Hild planned parallel streets between both ends of the district. These were intersected at right angles by more streets running parallel to one another from the Danube towards Országút (present-day Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út). He had also planned further expansion towards Városliget (City Park) by opening streets, among which the most important is today’s Király utca, whose section leading

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