Budapest’s newest thrasher playground offers thrills for all levels of skaters and it’s free for everybody – so unsurprisingly, it’s already a popular place. Located just a few minutes’ roll away from Óbuda’s central Szentlélek Square, the new skate park opened on June 6th near a school and a playground, and it quickly became a preferred hangout amongst wannabe Tony Hawks for a number of reasons: both experts and sportsmen were involved in its creation, and skaters say that it’s good for amateurs and pros alike.

The idea of a skate park in District III isn’t a new thing; the first architectural drawings were created a long time ago. The only problem was that good intentions weren’t enough – according to skaters, the site wasn’t ideal for skating or anything else, which meant a lost opportunity for them and a waste of money on something that wasn’t worth it.

Luckily, Padka Projekt convinced the district’s mayor that instead of the first version, they should work out a new park structure with professionals involved – and that’s how the Budapest’s rollers were granted a new favorite place.

The skate park is smaller than it was originally planned to be, but it feels great to roll around and imagine doing all the tricks that seemed so easy in “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater”. The park was opened by the NJoy Service crew, who are also responsible for the skater gatherings at Erzsébet Square. During the opening day, a small tournament was held with three competitive categories.

Since then, Óbuda’s freshes gathering place for wheel-based lifeforms continually becomes more and more popular, and thrashers are happy to have a place where they can practice in peace. The skate park has rails, launches, kickers, and many other ramps and obstacles, and professionals says that it’s great to drop by here and perform some tricks.

The only problem with the place that it’s too small to host professional championships (that’s what Görzenál is for), but that wasn’t the reason that it was built – members of Hungary’s skating scene are thankful for any space set aside for them, especially since the government didn’t care much for them in the last 20 years.

Entry is free of charge.