Liberty Bridge

The shortest bridge in central Budapest is also arguably the most beautiful. Liberty Bridge stretches 333 metres across the Danube connecting Gellért Hill and its famous baths on the Buda side to the Central Market Hall on the Pest side. Its Art Nouveau ironwork, green paint, and mythological sculptures make it the most distinctive bridge in the city — and its story is pure Budapest theatre.

The bridge was built for the 1896 Millennium celebrations and originally named after Emperor Franz Joseph, who personally hammered the last silver rivet into the structure at the inauguration on October 4, 1896. The tops of the four main pillars are crowned with bronze statues of the Turul, a falcon-like bird from ancient Hungarian mythology that is said to have guided the Magyar tribes to the Carpathian Basin. The Turul grips a sword in its talons, and each one weighs several tonnes.

When the Germans retreated from Budapest in 1945, they blew up every bridge across the Danube. Liberty Bridge was the first to be rebuilt, reopening on August 20, 1946, as a testament to the city's determination to reconnect its two halves. There was one problem: the necessary paint was available only in grey. The bridge did not regain its original green colour until 1984.

In recent years, Budapest locals have made a tradition of sitting on the bridge's iron trusses on warm summer evenings, dangling their legs over the Danube with beers and guitars. The city periodically closes the bridge to traffic for pedestrian festivals. At sunset, facing upstream toward Buda Castle and the Chain Bridge, the view from Liberty Bridge is one of the great free experiences in Budapest.