Lions of Budapest

As you may know, Budapest consists of 2 “separate” cities – Buda and Pest, which are connected by several bridges over Danube river. The most famous from those bridges is The Chain Bridge, which was the first permanent stone-bridge built in the city.

Except being famous in Budapest, this 380 meter long and 16 meter wide bridge is recorded among the largest and most beautiful bridges in the world. The construction of the bridge started in 1842 but it was opened in 1849 only, on November 20. During the World War II the bridge was blown up by the Germans but it was reconstructed and reopened in 1949. The current bridge is an exact copy of the original.

You can see impressive stone lions on either side of the bridge, which are the work of sculptor János Marschalkó. There are several legends related to those lions. Here is one of them.

During the opening ceremony of the bridge one of the spectators cried out loudly that the lions have no tongue because the sculptor forgot to create it for them. The whole country made fun of this poor sculptor and being ashamed, he committed suicide by jumping into the Danube from the bridge.

But reality is else. He didn’t jump, lived long life after and died in old ages. The sculptor responded to those rumors that his lions have tongues, which are not visible, because they are carved on the bottom of mouth and if you go and check real lions, you will see that their tongues are also not “falling out” from their mouth. People went to see the lions in the “traveling zoo” and were convinced that the sculptor was right.

Today the bridge is a famous landmark to go and check. It is open for public transport and has special “paths” for pedestrians as well. It is a great way to cross the river, have beautiful views around and take great pictures. Doesn’t matter it’s a daytime or night, bridge will marvel you at any time of the day.

There is an interesting place here, which you shouldn’t miss. Next to the funicular, which departs up to Castle District, a strange-looking oval stone stands near. This is the 0 kilometer stone from where all road distances in Budapest are measured.

Budapest is indeed a wonderful city with a lot of things to see and do. Don’t miss your chance to be a part of this amazing journey 😉