The designer of the bridge in the charming English town of Marlow in Buckinghamshire was the same William Tierney Clark who connected Buda and Pest in the 1840s with a significantly longer and more decorated but similar suspension bridge.
English sibling of Budapest’s iconic Chain Bridge
According to origo.hu, when Count István Széchenyi, the originator of the building of the Chain Bridge, was on route to find a pattern for the future bridge, he saw the Hammersmith Bridge in London overpassing River Thames and fell in love with it.
The designer was William Tierney Clark, and the bridge was inaugurated in 1827. Clark received the Hungarian project in 1838. However, he could not move to Hungary. Therefore, the Scottish Adam Clark won the project. The Scottish architect came to Hungary and remained here even after the Chain Bridge’s completion, marrying a Hungarian.
Currently, a plaque on the Thames bridge informs passers-by that the overpass they are looking at has an identical twin in Budapest.
Greek merchant behind the Chain Bridge project
Interestingly, a Greek merchant, Georgios Sinas, offered the highest donation for the Chain Bridge project. He also led the donation campaign to collect the financial resources for the overpass.
He had financial and land interests in the city, and his name is inscribed on the base of the southwestern foundation of the bridge on the Buda side. Pest’s “Greek colony” in those days was numerous. In the 1830s, more than 3 thousand “Greeks” were living around their “Greek Court” in today’s 5th district, Budapest’s heart. Their main occupation was foreign trade on the Danube. However, Hungarians named “Greek” multiple nations, including real Greeks, Macedonians, and Vlachs.
Find out how the Chain Bridge in Budapest got its name in THIS article.
Read also:
- 10 interesting moments in the history of the Chain Bridge – PHOTOS and more HERE