Gems of the Hungarian bridge-building - the two Elizabeth bridges Elizabeth Bridge was named after Queen Elizabeth, the spouse of Francis Joseph I assassinated in Geneva in 1898. With only one 290-meter span stretching over the Danube, the original bridge built in eclectic style was known as the longest suspension bridge of the world. The international design competition for its construction was launched 1894 together with that of the present Liberty Bridge (originally called the Franz Joseph Bridge). In total, there were 74 design concepts coming in for the two bridges, 53 of which concerned the Elizabeth Bridge. Among the 74 applicants there were 15 Hungarians, even more Americans (16), some Italian, Austrian, German and French engineers as well as one participant each from Belgium, the Netherlands, Russia and Algeria. The prize-winning plans were submitted by German engineer Julius Kübler and his architect colleagues Eisenlohr and Weigle. However, their draft for a suspension bridge could not be realized from Hungarian materials. For this reason, new plans had to be developed, on the basis of which the Elizabeth Bridge became a three-span chain bridge. The construction of the bridge was started in 1897 to the plans of Aurél Czekelius and Antal Kherndl. At that time, it was considered a most up-to-date solution to place the pillars supporting the portal of the bridge onto the river bank instead of the river bed. Thus the middle span of the bridge amounted to 290 meters, making the old Elizabeth Bridge the public bridge with the largest span in the world for 23 years. At the beginning of 1902, construction works were disturbed by an unexpected incident: a 33-millimeter slip of the main-chain mountings was noticed at the Buda end. The installation was suspended until the complete investigation of the causes and the utilization of the necessary preventive measures. In order to prevent further slips, the abutments were propped by 17-meter tall socle-like stone buildings at both ends. Further support was provided by the installed cast iron weights as well as by gullet tooth-like basements enabling for the buildings to be attached to the riverside even more. Thus further slips could be prevented. In the course of investigations it had been found that the slips at the Buda end were provoked by the heating effect of Gellért Hill’s thermal springs. The bridge was inaugurated on 10 October 1903. The complete length of the bridge structure amounted to 378.6 meters, with the driveway being 11.0 meters wide, the pavements 3.5 meters each. The suspension bridge was ornamented with Art Nouveau elements. At the beginning, a wood brick road connected the rapidly developing Pest to the romantic Buda. Four lanes were available for public traffic, so that two rows of cars were able to proceed in each direction. Unfortunately, the Elizabeth Bridge, along with many other bridges, was blown up by German troops at the end of World War II, on 18 January 1945. The Elizabeth Bridge is the only Danube bridge in Budapest that would not be rebuilt after the devastations of World War II. Instead, a completely new bridge was built between 1960 and 1964, nearly two decades after the destruction of the original Elizabeth Bridge. During the planning phase, the chain bridge vs. suspension bridge dilemma was brought up again. One side wanted the nice old bridge, others opted however for a new modern one saying that the original Elizabeth bridge was also quite up-to-date in its day. Finally, the latter idea was to be realized. Pál Sávoly designed a new suspension bridge with modern lines but also using the original pillars. As to the measures, the only difference between the old and the new bridge is that in the case of the new bridge, both pavements were added to the edges so that it is slightly wider than the old one. To commemorate the reconstruction of the bridge, two identical plaques have been placed at the southern part of the pillars in Pest and in Buda: “There has always been a favorable crossing-place here. From the 16th century on, there had been a boat-bridge. Later on, between 1898 and 1903 the Elizabeth Bridge, the fourth vehicular bridge of the new metropolis, Budapest was constructed here. This gem of the Hungarian bridge-building was blown up by the already defeated and pointlessly all-destroying fascists on 18 January 1945. The new Elizabeth Bridge had been constructed with three years’ work and was completed in 1964. Preach this work the living will and the peaceful, creating labors of our people building the socialism.” The public resistance test was a spectacular “dress rehearsal” for the bridge. 126 vehicles, buses loaded with sandbags, trams and lorries would drive up onto the bridge. The bridge was loaded with 2 000 metric tons, the sinking measured at the central part amounted to 90 centimeters. Evertyhing went according to plan. The rebuilt bridge was inaugurated on 21 November 1964. The length of its span - 290 meters - is identical to that of the old Elizabeth Bridge.
Posted on: Thu, 22 Jan 2015 09:56:00 +0000
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