Which Hungarian bridge, opened in 1849, was the first permanent crossing over Budapest’s Danube?

The Széchenyi Chain Bridge, opened in 1849, was the first permanent bridge connecting Buda and Pest across the Danube.

William Tierney Clark designed the suspension bridge, while Adam Clark supervised construction. Count István Széchenyi promoted the project, which helped link the two cities economically and geographically before they unified as Budapest in 1873.

The bridge was destroyed during World War II in January 1945 as German forces retreated. It reopened in 1949, exactly a century after its original inauguration, and later underwent another major restoration.

Its lion sculptures are famous, but the lions are not the bridge’s namesake. “Chain” refers to its suspension system, whose main chains support the roadway from the towers.