Széchenyi Chain Bridge

The Széchenyi Chain Bridge (Széchenyi lánchíd ) is a chain bridge that spans the River Danube between Buda and Pest, the western and eastern sides of Budapest, the capital of Hungary. Designed by English engineer William Tierney Clark and built by Scottish engineer Adam Clark, it was the first permanent bridge across the Danube in Hungary. It was opened in 1849. It is anchored on the Pest side of the river to Széchenyi Square (formerly Roosevelt Square), adjacent to the Gresham Palace and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and on the Buda side to Adam Clark Square, near the Zero Kilometre Stone and the lower end of the Castle Hill Funicular, leading to Buda Castle.

The bridge bears the name of István Széchenyi, a major supporter of its construction, but is most commonly known as the "Chain Bridge". At the time of its construction, it was regarded as a marvel of modern engineering. Its decorations are made of cast iron.

History


The bridge was designed by English engineer William Tierney Clark in 1839, following an initiative by Count István Széchenyi, with construction supervised locally by Scottish engineer Adam Clark (no relation). It is a larger-scale version of Tierney Clark's earlier Marlow Bridge, across the River Thames in Marlow, England, and was designed in sections and shipped from the United Kingdom to Hungary for final construction.

It was funded to a considerable extent by the Greek merchant Georgios Sinas  who had financial and land interests in the city and whose name is inscribed on the base of the south-western foundation of the bridge on the Buda side.

The bridge opened in 1849, after the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, becoming the first permanent bridge in the Hungarian capital. At the time, its centre span of 202 m was one of the largest in the world. The lions at each of the abutments were carved in stone by the sculptor János Marschalkó and installed in 1852. The bronze lions of Trafalgar Square (commissioned in 1858 and installed in 1867) are similar in design to the Chain bridge lions. The bridge was given its current name in 1898.

The bridge's cast-iron structure was updated and strengthened in 1914. In World War II, the bridge was blown up on 18 January 1945 by the retreating Germans during the Siege of Budapest, with only the towers remaining. It was rebuilt, and reopened in 1949.

The inscription on each side of the bridge is to "Clark Adam", the bridge builder's name in the local Eastern name order. A plaque on the Pest side of the river reads "To commemorate the only two surviving bridges designed by William Tierney Clark: The Széchenyi Chain Bridge over the Danube at Budapest and the suspension bridge over the Thames at Marlow, England."

The bridge was closed for traffic between March 2021 and August 2023 for renovations;

In popular culture
In 2001 Hungarian stunt pilot Péter Besenyei flew upside down under the bridge, a manoeuvre that became a standard in Red Bull air races today.

The bridge is featured in the films Music Box, I Spy, Au Pair, Walking with the Enemy and Spy, and is the setting of the climax in the Bollywood blockbuster Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. The bridge appears in the opening shots of the 2021 Black Widow trailer, and season two of Baptiste.

The bridge featured prominently in Matthew Barney's Cremaster 5, serving as a reference to Harry Houdini, and also appears in Dan Brown's novel Origin and in Syfy channel's 12 Monkeys Season Two premiere episode in April 2016.

It also appears at the beginning of the video for Katy Perry's song "Firework", and K-pop vocal duo Davichi's music video for the song "Cry Again".

According to a Hungarian legend, the lions of Széchenyi Chain Bridge have no tongues. This legend is not true, the tongues are just not visible.

The bridge has been depicted on the Hungarian 200 Forint coin since 2012.