page_title: Margaret Island
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Margaret Island / History
caption_attribution_description: Donauinsel in Budapest / Centennial Memorial English: Unification of Pest-Buda 100 anniversary memorial (1972) by István Kiss on Margaret Island, Budapest, Hungary This reproduction is permitted under article 68 of the Hungarian copyright law (1999/LXXVI), which specifies that if a fine art, architectural or applied art creation is erected with a permanent character outdoors in a public place, a view of it may be made and used without the authorization of the author and paying remuneration to him. Note: According to the article 68 Paragraph (5), the provision of Article 34, Paragraph (1), that "from a disclosed work any part may be cited by indication of the source and naming the author indicated as such", shall not be applicable to the use of fine art, artistic photographic and applied art creations. According to the article 67 Paragraph (3) the author’s name has to be indicated on a view if this is intended to present a specific fine art, architectural, applied art or industrial design creation or engineering structure. The author’s name has likewise to be indicated if such creations are used for presentation in scientific and educational lectures as well as for school education purposes (Article 33, Paragraph (4)). See COM:CRT/Hungary#Freedom of panorama for more information. English&#160;| magyar&#160;| +/−
context_page_description: Margaret Island is a 2.5 km long island, 500 metres wide, in the middle of the Danube in central Budapest, Hungary. The island is mostly covered by landscape parks, and is a popular recreational area. Its medieval ruins are reminders of its importance in the Middle Ages as a religious centre. The island spans the area between the Margaret Bridge and the Árpád Bridge. Before the 14th century the island was called Insula leporum. Administratively Margaret Island used to belong to the 13th district, but now is directly under the control of the city.
  Its appearance today was developed through the connection of three separate islands, the Festő, the Fürdő and the Nyulak, during the end of the 19th century, to control the flow of the Danube. Originally, the island was 102.5 metres above sea level, but now has been built up to 104.85 metres above sea level to control flooding.
context_section_description: The Knights of St. John settled on the island in the 12th century. Among the present historical monuments of the island are the 13th century ruins of a Franciscan church and a Dominican church and convent, as well as a Premonstratensian church from the 12th century. Members of the Augustinian order also lived on the island.
  The island was dominated by nunneries, churches and cloisters until the 16th century. During the Ottoman wars the monks and nuns fled and the buildings were destroyed. In the 18th century it was chosen to be the resort of palatines. It was declared a public garden in 1908.
  During World War II and the siege of Budapest the island was a site of fierce combat. Soviet troops attempted to cross from the Pest riverside by boats in January 1945, but the defending Hungarian and German units thwarted their attempt and sunk the rubber dinghies. On the night of January 19 the ice on the river was thick enough for a few Soviet patrols to cross on foot, and as the sentries in the boat houses overlooking the river fell asleep, they managed to infiltrate and established a bridgehead. The attack soon stalled as the defenders, now trapped in the northern end of the island, managed to stop their advance. Additionally a Soviet marine platoon was also trapped in the northernmost tip of the island, among the half-finished pillars of Árpád Bridge. Several days of close quarters battle followed for the buildings of the island, particularly in the bath houses where the opposing units spent days in their close vicinity. During this time both sides pounded the island with artillery, the Soviets from the Pest side, the Hungarians from the Castle of Buda. Ultimately on January 28 the defenders managed to sneak out with under the darkness of the night on rowboats and through the still standing western span of Margaret Bridge to Buda, which was later blown up by Ukrainian SS troops.
  Since the 1980s, entry by cars has been limited; only a single bus line and taxis, alongside the service traffic of local stores and restaurants are allowed to enter. On the northern end of the island a car park houses the cars of hotel guests.
caption: The Centennial Memorial
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