Are we overusing Margitsziget? – The capital would reduce the number of visitors
Margitsziget is one of the most popular parts of Budapest, many people come here in the morning or in the late hours to run, walk their dogs, others go to the swimming pool, in good weather groups of friends picnic on the huge green lawns, but many people just walk under the foliage of the giant ancient trees.
There is everything here to stimulate the eyes and mouth, an open-air theater, a lookout made from a water tower, a working chapel, a sculpture park and an artist’s walk, and even medieval ruins: the second founder of the country, IV. Béla’s daughter, Princess Margit, was the nun of the Dominican monastery here after the Tartar invasion.
Margitsziget is the capital’s most visited park (Photo: Balázs Both/pestbuda.hu)
Those arriving from Margit Bridge are greeted by the Zenélő Fountain, which was renovated in 2013, and the Zenélő Fountain at the other end of the island, in the north, was restored in 2014, at the same time the Japanese Garden was renovated, and the 5,285-meter-long Margitsziget running circuit was widened. The Hajós Alfréd National Sports Swimming Pool was renovated in 2014, and the expanded and renovated Palatinus beach bath was handed over in 2017. At the same time, the restoration of the former Lower Island restaurant (the later Casino, then Holdudvar) designed by Miklós Ybl was completed.
There are many other things here, the Athletic Center, two hotels – one of which is a 150-year-old creation of Miklós Ybl -, a petting zoo, a rose garden, the oak trees of János Arany, and mainly a small train and bike carriage for the entertainment of tourists, and food is provided by mobile vendors next to the restaurants. Running competitions, sports competitions and countless cultural and other programs and events await visitors.
A clearing on Margaret Island (Photo: Both Balázs/pestbuda.hu)
It’s no wonder, it attracts crowds, and especially the well-kept park, the renovated environment, and the huge offer not seen anywhere else. Margitsziget has so many guests that, according to the Metropolitan Municipality, we are now “overusing” our favorite public park.
“Due to the high number of visitors and the variety of activities taking place on the island, a kind of overuse has been felt in the past period,” reads the website of the Metropolitan Municipality. In the same place, it is also announced that in order to reduce the load on Margitsziget and strengthen the nature of the “rest island”, the local government decree 3/2013.(III.8.) must be amended. This law deals with the use of public lands owned by the Capital City Municipality.
The city administration therefore plans to reduce the number of visitors to the island.
The kind of amendment he is thinking about in the capital can be clearly seen from the from a questionnaire, which the Budapest municipality can fill out until October 19, i.e. until today: in it, the city administration asks the users of Margitsziget to express their opinion about the services. The presence of the light train, bike carriages and mobile vendors concerns so many issues that there is a good chance that he wants to limit these services in the capital. the questionnaire offers a list of disturbing factors, here the traffic of the main asphalt road, the traffic of the promenades, the light train, the bike carriages, the mobile vendors, the excessive crowd, the garbage, as well as the volume of the musical fountain, it can be said that from 1 to 7 on a scale ranging from to how much it disturbs the visitors.
It has not yet been announced when the questionnaires will be processed and to what extent their content will be taken into account in the planned legislative amendment.
Source: budapest.hu
Opening image: Margaret Island (Photo: Both Balázs/pestbuda.hu)