Faster, higher, stronger – see how Budapest played sport back in the day

With summer now upon us and major tournaments on our TV screens, Budapest’s many parks and public spaces are awash with people playing sport and doing exercise. These days, you’ll find outdoor gyms and courts everywhere, but this wasn’t always the case – locals often had to make do with what they found. Starting from the late 1800s when organised sport first came to Hungary, we delve into the photo archive to see how Hungarians played tennis, rowed on the Danube and skied on Normafa in the pre-TV era.

Tennis, rowing, skiing, skating and sailing have long been popular in Hungary, particularly among the bourgeoisie a century or more ago. The snow-covered slopes of Normafa, the ice rink in City Park and the waters of the Danube have attracted generations of skiers, skaters and rowers.

In the early 1920s and 1930s, around Római-part, Margaret Island and Óbuda Island, kayakers, canoeists and rowers all took to the water. If rowing wasn’t your thing, there was always swimming, athletics, football and cycling.

The grassy spaces between housing estates, vacant plots and empty streets have always provided fertile ground for team games and outdoor activity.