Buda Castle Funicular

This guide to the Buda Castle Funicular in Budapest follows the railway from its 1870 opening, built by Odon Szechenyi, son of the statesman Hungarians call the Greatest Hungarian, to link the Chain Bridge with the government offices on the hill above. It traces the funicular through the bombing raids of the Second World War that wrecked its cars and stations, and the long stretch of years afterward when a bus covered the route instead while planners argued over what to do. You'll hear about the escalators someone proposed as a replacement. Take a seat facing the Danube as you climb.