A hot-air balloon should soon be soaring skywards at City Park, the main feature of a new playground just announced by Liget Budapest, the organisation behind the wide-ranging Liget project. Resembling the candy-coloured attraction famously depicted by 19th-century painter Pál Szinyei Merse, this balloon will be permanently anchored in City Park to serve as a climbing frame within the new facility.
Set to open this autumn, this large area for alfresco adventures – almost the size of the space occupied by Parliament – will include slides and a long-jump pit equipped with interactive tools to measure performance. Sites to practise skating, skateboarding and rock climbing will also be added. This Hungarian-language video presents more details of the plans:
This new facility, set in the park’s south-east corner where the main arteries of Ajtósi Dürer sor and Dózsa György út meet, involved teachers, psychologists, landscape artists and students in its design. Last summer saw the opening here of outdoor sports courts, including street-workout facilities and a floodlit running track.
Undergoing major gentrification, City Park has attracted generations of locals seeking green space and tranquillity. Although elements of the project have sparked public controversy, most agree that revitalisation was long overdue.
Beyond renovating the recreational facilities, Liget plans involve the construction of a new Museum of Ethnography, the House of Hungarian Music and a restoration centre for the National Gallery.
