Buda Castle Tunnel

[ edit edit ]

Buda Castle Tunnel
East entrance to the tunnel from the Danube, 23 August 2007
Its location	Castle Hill
Function	road tunnel
Total length	350 m
Number of lanes	2
Beginning of construction	1853 . February 10
Time of delivery	1857 . April 30
Its location
Buda Castle Tunnel Position on the map of Budapest
y. s. 47 ° 29 ′ 51 ″ , kh 19 ° 02 ′ 15 ″Coordinates : é. s. 47 ° 29 ′ 51 ″ , kh 19 ° 02 ′ 15 ″ map ▼
The Wikimedia Commons contains Buda tunnel under Castle -themed media files.

Western Entrance to the Tunnel, November 19, 2008

The Várhegy tunnel in Budapest or the Váralagút ( Boulevard of the Buda) - in the common language simply the Tunnel - is a 350 meter long tunnel connecting the Széchenyi Chain Bridge to Buda ( Clark Ádám Square ) with Krisztinavár . Bus 16 and 105 pass through it .

The need István Széchenyi raised, Joseph Ürményi 1852 in [1] has established the troupe construction. Construction began in 1853according to Adam Clark's plans. It was sold in 1857 , [2] until 1918 , a fee had to be paid for its use. Eastern doorways eclectic neoclassic building style. The Western gate was destroyed during the war, and was rebuilt in 1949 .

At the end of the tunnel at Clark Ádám Square, you will find the service of the Chain Bridge Bridge Master. [3] On the south side of the tunnel, a pavement runs along, but its use by pedestrians is not recommended due to the noise and air pollution caused by the cars, and the sign posted there also draws attention. At the top of the eastern exit of the tunnel, he also warned people that climbing out of the fence that had been set up at the top of the gate was forbidden. [4] In 2013, the roof of the tunnel gate was renovated and a new barrier has been built to prevent fatal accidents, which also fits in with the city. [5]

The tunnel washing is done twice a year, in the spring and autumn, by the Metropolitan Public Utility Co., [6] normally closed for traffic from 11 to 12 o'clock in the evening, from 4 am to 4 pm every day.

History [ edit ]

History [ edit ]

The XIX. Since the beginning of the 20th century several plans have been made to build a permanent Danube bridge connecting Pest and Buda . For this bridge an area that could be easily accessed, not yet built and is relatively close to the city center could be considered. There were two such places: one is the area between today's Marcius 15th square and Tabán and the other is between Széchenyi István Square and the Castle Hill. Although the distance between the two shores was smaller, the swift stream caused by the narrowing bed, as well as the bursting springs, would have made the work much more difficult. The decision fell on the castle hill, but the approach of the future bridge to the Water Town , Tabán andIt would have been quite uncomfortable for Krisztinaváros to get to the Castle first and then to the Buda side.

Adam Clark, the tunnel designer

Miklós Barabás : William Tierney Clark

In 1837, engineer Dániel Novák made a proposal to connect Pest and Buda with a tunnel. This tunnel would have started with a sloping slope at the Krisztinavár parish church, and would have surfaced over the Danube (today the Libra) along the Danube. Despite the fact that the London Thames Tunnel was built at this time, this plan was considered unrealistic, so a year later the author had a more modest version. Technical Poster for the Pest Flood Report to Novak at Pester Handelszeitunga tunnel plan that would have been bound only by the Water Castle and the Danube, with the same tunnel built later on. This new plan also reminded me of the Thames Tunnel: in one version, two unidirectional tunnels were suggested next to each other, joined by a common gate. In addition to its construction, Novák argued:“As for my offer, namely to build a one- or two-pillar permanent bridge between Buda and Pest somewhere between now and now. kir. around the bridge with the body of the bridge at the same time under the Castle Hill and into the Krisztinavár,… it would be more desirable, because in the case of higher water levels the bridge on the Buda side can hardly be approached from the suburbs. For example, if the water level rises 20 feet above zero water level, they can only reach the bridge through the Castle Hill. ”

In 1842, Count István Széchenyi suggested drilling through the Castle Hill at the Buda side of the Chain Bridge.

Mór Jókai wrote about the idea of ​​building a tunnel in 1847: "The Buda Castle Hill is pierced, just opposite the Chain Bridge; The exhibition is brilliant, the Tunnel is a fabulous outfit, side-by-side shop windows, shops, everything is ready, it's just not decided to start outside or inside. " [7]

Start Building [ edit ]

In 1845 the final plan was adopted, which resembled Novak, but comes from a Clark engineer. What Clark's plan is, in fact, has not yet revealed scientific research. Earlier, Clark was thought to be the owner of the idea, but István Darvas attributed it to William Tierney Clark in 1946 , and listed several convincing arguments to justify it.

“ Dear Clark!... There were many meetings in the Buda tunnel: Two pairs opposed. Consequently, signatures do not go too fast: One party, headed by some of Buda, would like to put the technical execution of the thing into the hands of our country, while I and the Baron do not want to know about the experimental masters, but we want you to control the matter. The price of the shares is £ 10 each, and they say that it will be a very rewarding business, I don't know what to think about it, but maybe some of you should take it too . ”

- Letter from István Széchenyi to William Tierney Clark Pest, January 16, 1846 [8]

Nowadays, it seems most likely that WT Clark measured the terrain, and the first plans come from him, but the final designs were made by Adam Clark, who also directed the construction. (They were just two relatives, they even knew each other in England, where Adam Clark was still a factory worker, and later he became a well-known engineer beside William Tierney. and led to hostility.)

The eastern entrance of the tunnel from the Danube in 1908

There was also news about the construction of the tunnel both domestically and abroad, and the papers had several reports from 1845 to 1848, when the work had not started. The company that was granted permission to carry out the work would have started to drill it in April 1848, but in the meantime the revolution broke out. Later on, Haynau and Alexander Bach lost their jobs, referring to the strategic role of the Castle, as they watched the Pest states from there. The Austrians saw an attempt in the tunnel plan to undermine the strength of the Castle.

József Ürményi, a former alderman, reorganized the tunnel construction company and then besieged the court with his pleadings, while they finally gave permission for execution. Ferenc József gave 800 pounds of gunpowder for the construction, and in return the free passage of the army on the facility was secured.

But the suspicion did not leave below, as the Board of Governors imposed the following condition in 1845: the workers must first make a 4 foot high, 3 foot wide cut on both sides of the mountain "to show whether the plan can be created or not ” . Later in 1851, it was expanded by the closure of the two exits with a strong iron gate, thus preventing any potential attackers from entering the Castle through the tunnel vent.

In addition to Austrian officials, many others were distrustful, many believed the plan to be suspicious because they were allowed. Many people were convinced that what Vienna had to do with it was just bad for us. Almost everyone agreed that the cuts from the two directions would not come together.

The builders tried to persuade the builders that their clauses were superfluous, but after they had not been carried through, they still gave up their waist and started building the tunnel according to the council's requirements.

Commemorative plaque at the Chain Bridge gate on the Budavári Sikló side

The day after the opening of the test tunnel, William T. Clark wrote to his parents: “I started drilling on both sides of the mountain at the same time, and at the same time deepened the shaft from above. The drills met exactly each other. When we opened the last rock layers at the opening, we were able to see the mountain from one end of the magazine to the other. Surely the good people were astonished, because many smart heads had previously predicted that we would only search each other in the stomach of the mountain without ever having to meet… My trial tunnel was as straight as the ruler… The whole mass of water flows almost by itself (the entire length 15 feet). However, while we were not interconnected, we had to push the accumulated water out of the deeper layers, and at the same time, we pressed the fresh air into the miners with great speed. ”

The miners left only one thin wall between the grooves, which was in 1853 . On October 25th , they crashed in the presence of the management of the Tunnel Company, and the entrances were flagged with yellow-black flags. In his speech, József Ürményi, president of the company, lived in Széchenyi, and after the partition was opened, the guests went under the Castle Hill. Then, on a Sunday, the audience was released on a Sunday.

Hence, the cuts made against each other, so the work was accelerated. Clark's Order of the Council of Presidents, to test first, only to construct a two-meter-wide tunnel was ignored. He drove the rock out of a 39-meter deep mine deep in St. George's Square, and then built a cross-sectional guide that was considerably larger than the standard. Following the English tunnel construction method, he made upright uprights up to 3-4 meters from this repository, then drove another flight under the tunnel's future ceiling, and then formed the two sides of the tunnel. Being lower than the ceiling in the middle of the tunnel as the two exits was a special solution, as sunlight could penetrate the building better. Illumination initially with oil candles,

1856 . March 6, the work progressed to such an extent that the tunnel was made accessible to pedestrians. At that time, people were able to get through the mines, in high noise and often in huge dust, then free.

The Castle Hill was drilled 9.5 meters wide and 349.66 meters long in seven and a half months. In the middle, only 7.83 meters high for lighting, up to 10.6 meters to the entrances. In spite of this, gas lamps were still needed. The Tunnel descends 1.8 percent, 6.1 meters down the Danube, which solves drainage. The 82-100 cm thick horseshoe-shaped brickwork was later covered with tiles, and the stone was sold to build the Danube wharf. The classicist eastern facade was designed by Clark, the romantic western gate by Lajos Frey . The total work was 524 thousand forints.

The completed tunnel [ edit ]

1857 . On 30 April , the tunnel was opened for car traffic, although the gates were not yet ready. From that day onwards, every passer-by had to pay: pedestrians had a cage, the owners of one-wheeled wagons were three, and the owners of two-wheeled wagons were required to hand over six cadres. Even with these small sums, there was a nice income, enriching the owners with 5968 forints in the first two months.

A plaque standing next to the residence of the Chain Bridge Bridge Master

Wagering under the Castle Hill soon became a fashionable thing for the well-off citizens of Pest and Buda, but others were also eager to visit the tunnel, especially in the evening, when gas lamps flooded the area with brilliant light.

It was only after 1858 that the building was completed, and by that time, Adam Clark had only taken smaller jobs because he retired and lived with his family. The tunnel gates were completed by Ferenc Reitter , the builder of the Budapest quays, presumably based on the plans of the English engineer. The Maintenance Council resigned from the iron bars, and the Danube gate became a Pest-Buda ornament with simple, noble lines.

At the top of both gates of the tunnel, a terrace was set up, and there was a restaurant at the top of the east gate. [9] (The western gate is a two-thousand-year-old restaurant that is still in operation today.)

20th Century [ edit ]

At the turn of the century, they switched to gas lighting and then from 1915 to electric lighting.

In 1918, the compulsory charge for passing through was abolished, and in 1919, the wooden cubes, originally covering the roadway, were replaced with small stone stones.

In 1944, during the Second World War , the German SS and the Arrow Cross deployed a battlefield in the Tunnel, which was also used by the St. George Square mine. In the war, the romantic western gate was destroyed, and restored in 1949, which was rebuilt by Agh Benkhard's plans from quaternary stones . At that time, the road was paved and the 6-meter highway was widened to 6.90 meters by closing the northern pavement.

In 1973, the tunnel was reconstructed and modernized for the centenary of the unification of Buda , Pest and Óbuda : a 9 cm thick steel insert with a watertight concrete layer, a glass mosaic cover and a new ventilation device. The latter pushes 2600 cubic meters of air through the middle of the parallel repository, as the cars have made the breathing almost unbearable inside. A pipe network was built to drain the layer water.

In the 21st century [ edit ]

In the two thousand years, there were more fatal accidents at the touristicly frequented eastern doorway of Clark Adam's Square, as more people climbed to the edge of the gate-top terrace and drowned to fall down from there. [4] Since 2005, attempts have been made to prevent accidents, but outbound plant bands and wire fences have been quickly scraped, and an external warning board containing the names of previous victims has disappeared. By 2013, we managed to find a solution after the Budapest Transport Center operating the tunneland, after consultation with the Cultural Heritage Office of the Capital Government Office, they were granted a final building permit by July for the construction of a cast iron so-called "Ybl barrier". Since there are several public areas around the castle, so the footbridges above the nearby Sikló have such a barrier, so they fit into the monumental environment (as opposed to previous attempts). [10] [11] The construction of the railing together with the renovation of the terrace took place in autumn 2013. [5] [11]