Millennium Underground at Bajza utca
Why is it significant?
Look for the small entrance sunk into the pavement, with its iron railing and a short flight of steps going down.
Key Facts
| Place | Millennium Underground at Bajza utca |
|---|---|
| Address | Andrássy út / Bajza utca, 1062 Budapest, Hungary |
| Geo Coordinates | 47.51140, 19.07250 |
| Part of Walk | Budapest's Musical Boulevard: Andrássy Avenue from the Opera to Heroes' Square |
| Generated | Generated |
Look for the small entrance sunk into the pavement, with its iron railing and a short flight of steps going down. Go down a few of them, if you like, and you will find yourself almost immediately on a platform: white tiles, wooden details, slim cast-iron pillars, and a little yellow train that looks like a tram that took a wrong turn.
This is the M1, the Millennium Underground, opened in May 1896. London had its underground decades earlier, but this was the first on the European continent, and Budapest is very proud of that. It was built by the firm of Siemens and Halske in less than two years, in time for the celebrations of the thousandth anniversary of the Hungarian conquest.
Why so shallow? Because the city did not want trams on its brand-new boulevard. Andrássy út was meant to be elegant, for carriages and strollers, so the solution was to dig a trench just under the street, lay the line, and cover it again. The trains run only a few metres beneath your feet. Emperor Franz Joseph rode it shortly after the opening, and for years it carried his name.
The line runs about four kilometres, from the heart of Pest to the edge of City Park, with stations that have kept much of their original look. In 2002 the underground and the avenue above it were added together to the UNESCO World Heritage list. There is also a small museum of the old line inside Deák tér station, with a carriage from the first years.
And here is the musical link. In 1896, while the trains were being tested, the whole city was preparing for the Millennium Exhibition in City Park, with pavilions, concerts and parades. Visitors from across the empire arrived, rode this little train, and came up into the light at the end of the avenue. Do the same, on foot: carry on up Andrássy út until the trees part and an enormous open square appears, with a column soaring at its centre.