Budapest Castle Hill Funicular

The Castle Hill Funicular connects the Széchenyi Chain Bridge across the River Danube with Buda Castle. Built in 1868-9, it was one of Europe’s first passenger funiculars. It was severely damaged during the Second World War. Reconstruction did not begin until nearly four decades later and it reopened in 1986. Initially, the funicular was used by government officials with offices in the castle. The standard-gauge line is 95-m long and rises 51 m in height at a gradient of 48 per cent. It was originally hauled by steam, but now uses an electric motor. Stepped wooden carriages in the style of the originals are counterbalanced on two parallel tracks. The journey time is a minute and a half. Two pedestrian footbridges that crossed the funicular were removed in 1900 when the garden at Buda Castle was extended. They were reconstructed in 1983. The line has been in municipal ownership since the 1920s.