Monday, October 23, 2023

Budapest, Hungary: City Park Ice Rink

I thought I was taking a photo of a nice building near Heroes' Square. It turns out I was shooting something of a locker room.

Behind that building is a massive ice rink - the largest in Europe. It's also one of the oldest rinks on the continent, since it was built in 1870. The skating area checks in at 130,000 square feet; I'm not sure how that translates into ice cubes by area. 

Skating grew in popularity after the rink's construction. Lights were added in 1879 to increase the time that it could be used. The adjoining building was put up in 1893 to handle the large crowds. World War I put ice skating on the backburner for a while, but the sport soon returned to its former status. This facility hosted the 1929 world figure skating championships. World War II caused some damage to the place, but it was quickly fixed up. Skating tracks and a hockey rink are now part of the complex. And the adjoining building recently was returned to its 1926 standards. 

Oh - in the summer, the area turns into a pond that's used for boating. In the winter, the area does look glorious.

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