The Széchenyi Chain Bridge at Budapest

Abstract

The Cover Design THE SZECHENYI CHAIN BRIDGE AT BUDAPEST JUDIT BRODY Ask any Hungarian who built the Szechenyi Chain Bridge (Szechenyi Lanchid) over the Danube in the center of Budapest and more than likely the answer will be: “Adam Clark, the Scottish en­ gineer.” Indeed, the square on the Buda side of the bridge even bears the name “Clark Adam ter.” Yet Adam Clark was only the resi­ dent engineer in the employment of the designer and contractor, Wil­ liam Tierney Clark.1 While Adam Clark endeared himself to the Hungarian nation, Wil­ liam Tierney Clark’s role was often ignored, and he himself was regarded, with suspicion and disdain, as an intruder. He was somewhat unfairly accused of not visiting the construction site often enough and in effect leaving the full responsibility in the hands of Adam Clark. This was not an unusual state of affairs, and a more likely explanation of William Tierney Clark’s unpopularity may be found in his antagonism toward the 1848—49 Hungarian rebellion against Austria.2 Adam Clark’s popularity, on the other hand, rests on his personal involvement with the whole engineering enterprise and with the Hungarian cause. In Britain the situation is reversed: W. T. Clark is well known for his Marlow Bridge (built 1824—27, reconstructed since, but in keepMs . Brody is on the staff of the Science Museum Library, South Kensington, Lon­ don. Grateful thanks are given to all who helped her, and especially to D. Bryden, Dr. J. V. Field, R. Hartnett, Prof. S. Stern, and the editor of this journal. ‘A biography ofW. T. Clark (1783-1852) appears in the Dictionary ofNationalBiogra­ phy, his obituary, in Minutes ofProceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers 12 (1853): 153-57. A recent biography of A. Clark (1811-66) is Horvai K.n6, Clark Adam (Buda­ pest, 1968). For a 20th-century account of the history of the bridge, see V. D. Bar­ ker, “Szechenyi and His ‘English Bridge,’ ” Hungarian Quarterly 4 (1938): 451-65. 2W. T. Clark made some scathing remarks in his “Some Account of the Progress of the Works, 1839-45,” in Supplement to the Theory, Practice and Architecture ofBridges, ed. G. R. Burnell (London, 1850), e.g., pp. 62, 63.© 1988 by the Society for the History of Technology. All rights reserved. 0040-165X/88/2901-0003$01.00 104 The Széchenyi Chain Bridge at Budapest 105 ing with its original appearance), and the old Hammersmith Bridge (built 1829—31), both similar to the Budapest suspension bridge, though on a smaller scale. Adam Clark’s name, however, is un­ known outside Hungary and does not conjure up any engineering monuments in British minds.3 Construction of the suspension bridge over the Danube between 1839 and 1849 was not just a typical example of the export of Brit­ ish technology. It also played a role in hastening social reforms in Hungary. Its significance was realized even at the time, as is sug­ gested in this observation made by a traveler: “It is hardly possible for us to imagine how the mere building of a single bridge between two towns should be a matter of such violent interest to the whole kingdom as to give rise to tediously protracted debates in the gen­ eral Diet.”4 The symbolic significance of bridges, both as representa­ tions of “the new technological world of metal” and as works of art, has recently been pointed out by David Billington.5 The Danube bridge also served as a symbol of a reform movement that was basi­ cally initiated by Count Széchenyi and as a symbol of the unity of the emerging nation. An independent kingdom in the past, Hungary had in time be­ come a constituent nation of the Habsburg Empire. Prior to 1848 it remained a feudal society where serfdom still existed and the nobil­ ity were exempt from all taxation. In addition, since the court was in Vienna, the upper classes were estranged from their native land to the extent that many could not speak the Hungarian language and considered it the peasants’ vernacular. In the 1780s Joseph II had attempted to implement some reforms, to introduce equality in...