Szabadság híd (in English: Liberty Bridge or Freedom Bridge) in
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
,
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
, connects
Buda
Buda (; german: Ofen, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Budim, Будим, Czech and sk, Budín, tr, Budin) was the historic capital of the Kingdom of Hungary and since 1873 has been the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest, on the ...
and
Pest
Pest or The Pest may refer to:
Science and medicine
* Pest (organism), an animal or plant deemed to be detrimental to humans or human concerns
** Weed, a plant considered undesirable
* Infectious disease, an illness resulting from an infection
** ...
across the
River Danube. It is the third southernmost public road bridge in Budapest, located at the southern end of the
City Centre
A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...
. It was originally named Ferenc József híd (Franz Joseph Bridge).
At its two ends are two public squares, Gellért tér (at the foot of
Gellért Hill, with the
Gellért Spa and
Hotel Gellért) and Fővám tér (with the
Great Market Hall).
The Liberty Bridge is the shortest bridge in Budapest's center. Initially built as part of the Millennium World Exhibition at the end of the 19th century, the bridge features art nouveau design, mythological sculptures and the country's coat of arms adorned on its side.
The northeastern house contains a museum on the bridges of Budapest.
The bridge was the first in the city to be rebuilt after suffering heavy damage during World War II.
Construction
The bridge was built between 1894 and 1896 to the plans of
János Feketeházy
János or Janos may refer to:
* János, male Hungarian given name, a variant of John
Places
* Janos Municipality, a municipality of Chihuahua
** Janos, Chihuahua, town in Mexico
** Janos Biosphere Reserve, a nature reserve in Chihuahua
* Janos ...
. Although radically different in structure (it is a cantilever truss bridge with a suspended middle span), the bridge imitates the general outline of a chain-type bridge, which was considered an aesthetically preferable form at the time of construction. The bridge was opened in the presence of
Emperor Franz Joseph
Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...
; the last silver
rivet
A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener. Before being installed, a rivet consists of a smooth cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite to the head is called the ''tail''. On installation, the rivet is placed in a punched ...
on the Pest
abutment
An abutment is the substructure at the ends of a bridge span or dam supporting its superstructure. Single-span bridges have abutments at each end which provide vertical and lateral support for the span, as well as acting as retaining walls ...
was inserted into the iron structure by the Emperor himself, and the bridge was originally named after him.
Dimensions and decorations
The bridge is
333.6 m in length and
20.1 m in width. The top of the four masts are decorated with large bronze statues of the
Turul
The Turul is a mythological bird of prey, mostly depicted as a Falcon, in Hungarian tradition and Turkic tradition, and a national symbol of Hungarians.
Origin
The Turul is probably based on a large falcon. The Hungarian language word ''tur ...
, a falcon-like bird, prominent in ancient
Hungarian mythology.
Traffic
A number of trams cross the bridge
[https://pestbuda.hu/en/cikk/20211004_2021_10_04_9_00] as well as other road vehicles, but there is an initiative to convert it to a pedestrian-only crossing now that the fourth underground metro line is completed.
See also
*
Bridges of Budapest The bridges of Budapest, crossing the River Danube from north to south are as follows:
Table of the most famous Bridges of Budapest
This table excludes rail bridges, bridges to islands and bridges that are partially outside of Budapest. The whole l ...
*
List of crossings of the Danube River
This is a list of crossings of the Danube river, from its source in Germany to its mouth in the Black Sea. Next to each bridge listed is information regarding the year in which it was constructed and for what use it was constructed (foot bridge ...
References
External links
DBridges - Szabadsg hdPhotos of Budapest bridges*
*Four more photos
Bridges of Budapest - Liberty Bridge
Bridges in Budapest
Bridges completed in 1896
Bridges over the Danube
Cantilever bridges
Industrial archaeological sites in Hungary
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