Viziváros - Chain Bridge Széchenyi-lánchid

Chain Bridge, one of the landmarks of the Hungarian capital, was Budapest's first bridge over the Danube. It was constructed between 1839 and 1849 by the British engineers William Tierny Clark and Adam Clark. The latter also drew up the plans for the tunnel in Christian Town. The need for such a bridge had been pointed out some 20 years earlier by the Hungarian reformer Count Széchenyi. The bridge, 375m/410yds long and almost 16m/18yds wide, is supported by chains fixed to sturdy pillars 48m/158ft high. At the end of the bridge lie stone lions designed by J. Marschalkó. The bridge, together with others in Budapest, was blown up by retreating German troops in January 1945 but was re-opened to traffic on November 1949, exactly 100 years after its initial opening. It was restored in 1987.