The Margaret Island
Árpád Bridge to the north, and Margaret Bridge to the
south connect Margaret Island with the city. The
island is 2.5 km (1.4 m.) long, 500 m (550 yds.) wide,
and it covers 225 acres (see map 4/b). In contrast to
similar islands in other great cities, this one has not
been built over, but has remained a huge park in the
heart of the city. In the Middle Ages cloisters were
built on the "Rabbits' Island", as it was then called
at the beginning of the nineteenth century members of
the royal family living in Buda transformed it into a
landscape garden. By the turn of the century it had
become a health resort owing to its therapeutic springs.