Main Street

Király Bath - Király fürdõ

The part built by the Turks, called the Bath of the Cock Tower, was built around 1570 inside the Víziváros town wall, so that the garrison could enjoy the benefits of a bath even during a siege.
It was a smaller copy of the famous baths in Buda.

Main Street

Fõ utca is the main street of the district called Víziváros (literally 'Water town'). Main Street was probably the first street of Buda used from the 13th century moving the royal court from Esztergom to here. At this street was the main street of Buda side, this must be the reason, that there are so many churches in this street - altogether 7 churches, as each religion made a point of having at least one building along the main street.

Cable Car/Funicular - Sikló

The almost 100 meter long track, with a slope of 4.8 in 10, was opened for passengers in 1870.
The idea was to provide cheap transport for clerks working in the Castle District. Castle Hill rises only 50-60 meters above the riverbank, so you can walk to the top in 5 to 10 minutes. If you make a little detour to the left at the first point where paths cross, you can admire the fine proportions of Lánchíd from above the Tunnel and you can also see the cable car from a little bridge over the tracks.

The Chain Bridge

The bridge, 380 meters (420 yds.) long and 15.7 meters (17.5 yds.) wide, is supported by pillars shaped like antique triumphal arches. It was the first bridge over the Danube and it not only linked Buda with Pest but also the western with the eastern parts of the country. In 1820, a young captain of hussars, Count István Széchenyi, had to wait at the bank of the river for a week while traveling to the funeral of his father. He decided to found a society for building a bridge. "Hungary is not dead ; she will live again!" - this is how, in the first part of the nineteenth century, Count István Széchenyi, one of the greatest figures of the Reform Period, whom Lajos Kossuth called "the greatest Hungarian", encouraged the nation, groaning under foreign oppression. He brought over from England an architect, William Clark, and a master builder, Adam Clark, who in spite of their names, were not related to each other. The bridge was built between 1842-49 The span between the two pillars is 202 meters The weight of the original structure was 2,000 tons It was not quite finished when Austrian troops withdrawing to Buda towards the end of the Hungarian War of Independence tried to demolish it. The charges, however, had not been laid properly and no damage was done to the bridge; however the colonel who gave the order to set off the explosive charges was blown to pieces. In January 1945 German soldiers were, unfortunately, rather better at preparing demolition charges for bridges. They also pushed the button and dropped the central span into the Danube. In 1948-49 it was rebuilt in its original form.