Hidden Places in Budapest, Hungary
The enormous water reservoir, built between 1869 and 1871 and still operating flawlessly today, is usually open to visitors during the Waterworks’ open days.
Address: 1105 Budapest, Ihász Street 29.
The foundations of an organized water supply system were laid in Pest in 1868: the first pumping station stood on today’s Kossuth Square, and the counter-pressure reservoir basin was built in Kőbánya. Under the direction of William Lindley, a London-born civil engineer, the water reservoir—part of the First Pest Waterworks—was completed between 1869 and 1871 on a hill outside the city, with a storage capacity of 2 × 11,500 cubic metres. The two-storey structure, built from Hungarian brick with the help of Italian masons, was expanded in 1970 with four additional basins of 5,000 cubic metres each.
The architectural solutions of the facility are stunning and impressive; the vast halls, still functioning perfectly today, with their columns and brick-vaulted ceilings, evoke the atmosphere of a three-nave church. On the surface, the area housing the reservoir draws attention with its ancient trees and rare plant species.
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