We have already seen how Budapest has coped with epidemics through history but whatever the particular circumstances and challenges, the lack of modern equipment was the cause of so much damage in the past. Hungary had no organised fire-fighting crew until 1870 and, with a lack of knowledge about chemical processes, overcrowded streets, flammable household items and chaotic fire-control methods, even the smallest of mistakes led to great disaster.
Mongol hordes
The majority of fire-related disasters were not the result of accidents, however, but war. For instance, after the Battle of Muhi in 1241, the Mongol army burned the city of Pest and, after crossing the frozen Danube, they set fire to Óbuda as well. Hungarian King Béla IV later repopulated these areas and started building stone castles to combat future attack. This led to the creation of the Castle District in Buda.
Ottoman flames
Invasion by the Ottomans a few centuries later again saw the country in flames. After the Hungarian defeat at Mohács in 1526, Sultan Suleiman also torched the capital, with only the castle and a few houses left intact. During the Recapture of Buda in 1686, the city once again burned for several days. Another aspect was the cultural differences, the Turks using their own cooking methods as well as flammable items such as incense. Yet the most devastating fire of the 16th century was a natural disaster and took place on Pentecost Sunday, when lightning struck a tower in front of the Zsigmond Palace at Buda Castle. The gunpowder it stored caused an explosion that led to a mass of burning houses and an estimated 2,000 deaths.
The tragedy of Easter Sunday
Disaster struck again on another public holiday at Buda Castle. On Easter Sunday 1723, a domestic accident at a cooper’s house on what we know today as Kard utca caused flames to spread, although one source claimed that the incident was linked to a Turkish gang of arsonists.
What is interesting is that the house itself did not burn down, but the wind blew the fire towards the inner part of the castle and reached Matthias Church, as well as a structure containing 40 tonnes of gunpowder. The strength of the explosion could be felt all the way over in Pest.
It took two hours for the fire to destroy the wooden houses in the area, the Jesuit college and the convent of the Carmelites, while Matthias Church could not even begin to be saved due to the heavy smoke, although a few soldiers still managed to plunder it. The city archives, as well as goods and work tools were destroyed, putting people’s livelihoods at risk.
The destruction of the Tabán
Another great fire in the city’s history took place in 1810 around the Tabán, a hugger-mugger community of artisans in Buda. Wine-growing was prevalent here at the time, with many locals making their living from viticulture. In the early afternoon during harvest-time in September, a cooper’s assistant was working on a barrel, when the flame hit the roof. The day was windy and dry, with barely any water in the wells, and the narrow and tightly packed streets only helped the fire along. According to legend, people used wine to combat the flames due to the lack of water.
By nightfall, the entire Tabán quarter had caught fire, which had spread to the Víziváros and Krisztinaváros as well, even the ships on the Buda bank, and the pontoon bridge between Buda and Pest. 500 houses were destroyed by the accident, as well as both churches in the Tabán and a military food and munitions depot. Fifty people lost their lives, while 1,000 were left homeless. Thanks to public donations, the Tabán was rebuilt with similarly small, ground-floor properties as before, but with more attention paid to fire walls and non-flammable construction materials.
The quarter was still a lively and vibrant cultural crossroads in the early 20th century, with many of the capital’s artists and socialites frequenting the cosy taverns and restaurants found on its atmospheric streets. But this rustic neighbourhood lagged behind the developing city, and was demolished in 1933. Grandiose plans for its rebuilding were forgotten about after the war.
Causes
The main cause of past fires was wooden housing, predominant until the 19th century because of its affordability. In addition, roofing was usually made out of straw or reeds. The urbanisation of the 18th century meant that people starting moving closer to one another, without putting fire-walls between the tightly packed houses. Many cooked on an open fire, and used a number of flammable materials in their backyards.
National fire regulations were already starting to emerge in the 17th century, albeit with rather low success rates, with restrictions on night-time cooking and cleaning, outlawing rifle-shots within city walls and limits on smoking as well. Fire control was usually done by the military, while citizens’ guilds also took responsibility. The tools used to combat fires were stored at City Hall, but lack of organisation often caused chaos during emergencies.
Send for the fire brigade
For this reason, Count Ödön Széchenyi, son of István of Chain Bridge fame, pushed for the creation of a fire service to oversee Budapest. The first official body was established in the early 1870s, first on a voluntarily basis, but then a much more effective salaried organisation.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that all fire-related disasters were eliminated from this point on. Industrial plants on the Pest side were prone to catching fire, and there also used to be a number of mills in the capital, a major hazard. Flour is highly flammable, as proved by the burning down of the Concordia steam mill in 1902, which destroyed the entire complex and killed two firefighters. Today, the Mill Museum stands on its former site on Soroksári út.
Loss and devastation
The worst incident of the time took place in August 1903 at the Párisi Department Store. The lamps used to illuminate the shop windows at the shop, then located at Rákóczi út 38, malfunctioned and caused the flammable textiles and all other items to burn.
The business only occupied the ground and first floors while other levels of the four-storey building consisted of private flats, whose residents became trapped. These were among 12 of the fire’s 13 casualties, jumping from their windows but missing the soft landing spot the firefighters had created because of the smoke.
The building burned down in front of hundreds of bystanders who came to witness the tragedy. Store owner Sámuel Goldberg reopened it in 1911 on Andrássy út, where it can be found today, embellishing its surroundings with its Art Nouveau façade.
Another electrical fault caused Count Lajos Batthyány’s gallery to catch fire in 1912, breaking out in the salon of an apartment in the Károlyi Palace while he was asleep. The damage was inestimable – a portrait by Van Dyck, obtained through a London inheritance, had only recently had someone over from the Louvre to offer him a near fortune. Works by renowned Hungarian artists such as Barabás, Munkácsy and Lotz were also destroyed.
References
Ádám Masát Katasztrófák Budapest történetében, Napút, 2007
Eleonóra Géra Az apokalipszis lovasai Budán, Fons, 2012
Katalin Simon Az 1723-as budai tűzvész, Fons, 2011
Csaba Fazekas A tabáni tűzvész, História, 1994/02
Honismeret Aug 2016
Egy tűzvész negyedszázados évfordulója, Budai Napló, 29.7.1937
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