Bagdy Gábor, Deputy Mayor for Finance, said that plenty of new investments and developments were launched due to the 17th FINA World Championships, which were held in Budapest this summer. One of these investments was the construction of the Moszkva promenade on a previously vacant stretch of land on the banks of the river Danube.

Visitors of the World Championships could already use it during the event, but this week it was officially handed over to cyclist and pedestrian traffic.

The promenade is a 1150 m long, divided pedestrian and cycle path between the junction of Dráva and Népfürdő Street and Árpád Bridge.

The walkway brought a total renewal of the surrounding areas of the embankment on the Pest side. Green areas, custom designed street furniture, and bicycle storage facilities were installed, alongside public lighting and so-called smart city solutions.

Environmental friendly and energy efficient LED lampposts, convertible to “smart points” were installed as well – this will be one of the first places in Budapest where free public wi-fi will be available.

At the opening ceremony, Bagdy said that the investment has an international significance, since it “symbolizes the good relationship between Moscow and Budapest and their mutual respect towards each other”. He added that it is a great and important achievement that lately, Hungarian-Russian relations have been “developing again”.

Leonid Pechatnikov, deputy mayor of Moscow pointed out in his speech that the “Hungarian and Russian culture and history date back to hundreds of years”. Vladimir Sergeev, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Hungary, said that the two countries open a new era of cooperation now that the name of the Russian capital can be found on the map of Budapest.

Interestingly, this is not the first public space in Budapest to bear the name of Russia’s capital. From 1951 to 2011, one of Buda’s most important squares, Kálmán Széll Square, was officially known as Moszkva Square; in fact, this is the name that many city residents use for it to this very day.

MTI photo: Illyés Tibor

Source: Hungary Today

Republished with permission