From the Western to Eastern Railway Station
To the south of
Szent István körút
side streets lead
to the administrative and government district, and to
the north to new residential quarters. This section of
the Great Boulevard ends in the busy traffic junction
of Nyugati tér. On this square is the main entrance of
the Western Railway Station (see picture below), which was the first
station in Budapest and is still a very busy one. The
present building was erected in 1874-77 on the site of
the original station of 1846. It was designed by the
Paris firm of Gustave Eifel; the iron roof-structure of
the great hall is a characteristic feature of its architecture.
The Western Railway Station and its vicinity
are being completely rebuilt; the project, to be completed
by the mid-1980s, includes the construction of
an overpass for motor traffic, underground passages for
pedestrians, a metro station, and a new big department
store, as well as the complete reconstruction of the
railway station itself, an architectural landmark. From
Nyugati tér the Great Boulevard continues as Terez
körút, crosses
Andrássy út
and Rákóczi út, the
busiest shopping street, which is full of department
stores. The latter will take you to the Eastern Railway
Station. The Great Boulevard continues to Petôfi Bridge
as József körút and then as Ferenc körút. From Nyugati
tér, Váci út, lined with factories, leads northwards in
the direction of the Slovak frontier and, to
the south, Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út takes us to the
Little Boulevard.