Elisabeth Bridge (Erzsébet Híd) Tours and Activities

Several bridges cross the Danube River connecting Buda and Pest, the two sides of Budapest, Hungary. The Elisabeth Bridge (Erzsébet Híd) was named after the Hapsburg Queen Elisabeth, who was the wife of Francis Joseph I. An international competition was held in 1894 for the design of the bridge, and construction began in 1897. The bridge was inaugurated on Oct. 10, 1903, and until 1926, it was the largest chain-type bridge in the world. Unfortunately Elisabeth Bridge was bombed by German troops towards the end of World War II, and it was the only bridge in Budapest so badly damaged that it had to be completely replaced. From 1960 to 1964, nearly two decades after the original bridge was destroyed, the new bridge was built in the same place to reconnect Gellért Hill on the Buda side to Ferenciek Ter on the Pest side of the city.

There was once a tram that went across the bridge, but it was stopped running this route in 1972. Several bus lines still go across the bridge. Today the Elisabeth Bridge receives the most amount of vehicle traffic of all the bridges in the city. It has three lanes of traffic in each direction.