In the last third of the 19th century, Hungary went through an industrial development which was unprecedented before. This was the era when railway lines were established and the banks of several rivers were connected by new iron bridges. The industry of the country was catching up to the European average, moreover, Hungarian industry presented world-class products in more areas. Bridges were not exceptions either. In case of bridges imagined by foreign designers and built of imported material, at first foreign designs were changed to plans of Hungarian designers, and later imported building material was changed to Hungarian.
A participant of this incredible development was János Feketeházy, the main designer of MÁV (Hungarian State Railway) bridges at that time. He was possibly the person who did most for the development of Hungarian bridge building. His name is mentioned in connection with bridges such as the Connective Railway Bridge, the Komárom Erzsébet Bridge, the first Downtown Bridge, the Mária Valéria Bridge, or his masterpiece, the Liberty Bridge.
The exhibition primarily focuses on the afterlife of bridges. Some bridges designed by Feketeházy are still visible today, serving traffic needs, his most important creation among them in Budapest. This fact proves that Hungarian bridge building – and János Feketeházy – in the late 19th century has produced world-class and enduring constructions.