Elisabeth Bridge (Budapest)

Coordinates: 47°29′27″N 19°02′56″E / 47.49083°N 19.04889°E / 47.49083; 19.04889
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Elisabeth Bridge


Erzsébet híd
road bridge
CrossesDanube
LocaleBudapest, Hungary
Preceded byElisabeth Bridge (1903)
Characteristics
DesignSuspension bridge, portal frame, gravity-anchored
Total length378.6 m
Width27.1 m
Longest span290.0 m
History
DesignerPál Sávoly
Construction start1961
Construction end1964
Inaugurated21 November 1964
Location
Map
Film footage about the original bridge in 1906
The original eclectic flamboyant style bridge
The bridge in 2017
The bridge from above
The bridge from the Pest side by the March 15 Square

Elisabeth Bridge (

bronze statue sits by the bridge's Buda side connection in the middle of a small garden.[1][2]

The original eclectic flamboyant style bridge was built between 1897 and 1903. It was destroyed during World War II, and a significantly simplified brutalist version was built without any ornamentation between 1961 and 1964.

Its two ends are:

History

The original permanent crossing, a decorative suspension bridge of chains, was built between 1897 and 1903,[3] amid a corruption scandal. The Buda end of Erzsébet bridge runs directly into the massive foot of Gellért Hill, necessitating a complicated arrangement of roads to connect to the bridge. The bridge was designed in such a way because a wealthy nobleman, a member of the city council, owned the particular area of the riverbank. He wanted to make a fortune by selling the piece of land for bridge construction purposes, bribing the other councilmen and engineers for that purpose. He managed to sell the land at greatly inflated prices.[citation needed] In the era of horse-drawn carriages the geometry issue was not considered significant and the resulting cost overruns were covered up, therefore no prosecution took place. In recent decades, many motorists have been permanently injured or killed in the sharp turn that immediately follows the bridgehead. After an accident in 2004, which killed a family, a speed limit of 40 km/h was posted for the west-bound lanes.[4][5][6]

The original Erzsébet Bridge, along with many other bridges all over the country, was blown up at the end of

Museum of Transport in City Park
.

The currently standing slender white

hexagonal
in cross section, composed of thousands of elementary steel wires of seven different diameters, partly because early computers were unable to provide a solution for a circular cross section main cable batch.

The design, by Pál Sávoly[8] and based on that of Mülheim Bridge, Cologne, was a first in Central Europe and not without weaknesses. BKV tram traffic and its heavy tracks had to be removed from the bridge in 1973 after signs of cracks appeared in the structure.

The special lighting for Elisabeth Bridge has been created by renowned Japanese lighting designer

Austro-Hungarian Monarchy
and Japan, and the 50th anniversary of re-establishing diplomatic links between Japan and Hungary.

Budapest, Hungary Elisabeth Bridge Medallion 1974 in commemoration of the 10th Anniversary of Intermetall

Statue of Elisabeth of Bavaria

Following her assassination in 1898 there was such an outpouring of grief that when an appeal was made in 1900 to erect a memorial to Elisabeth of Bavaria in Budapest, it was over subscribed. Successive committees organized to a number of competitions to select a suitable design, but it wasn't until 1919 and the fifth attempt that a design by the sculptor György Zala was selected. It then took another 13 years for the memorial to be completed and installed on the Pest side of the bridge. It was damaged by the German army when they blew up the bridge in 1945. It was quickly repaired, but then more damage was found which required its removal in 1953. It wasn't until 1957 that a full restoration was completed and it was installed in its present location on the Buda side of the bridge.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Elizabeth Bridge". bridgesofbudapest.com. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  2. ^ "Elisabeth Bridge". aviewoncities.com. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  3. ^ "Elisabeth bridge - Budapest Bridges".
  4. ^ "Budapest History, a Gripping Story From the Early Times to Present Days". budapestbylocals.com. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  5. ^ "Elisabeth Bridge (Erzsébet Híd) in Budapest". forbudapest.com. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  6. ^ "ELISABETH BRIDGE". budapest.com. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  7. ^ "Elisabeth bridge - Budapest Bridges".
  8. ^ "Elisabeth bridge - Budapest Bridges".
  9. ISBN 9781474609999
    .

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Erzsébet híd.

47°29′27″N 19°02′56″E / 47.49083°N 19.04889°E / 47.49083; 19.04889

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