Víztorony

Interesting, iconic place in Újpest! But neglected!

They work well quickly and beautifully

Because it's beautiful

They could really renovate ...

The Újpest water tower is a water tower that has been out of operation since 2003, and Budapest IV. district, especially one of the symbols of Újpest. The building was made in 1911–1912, using modern reinforced concrete (reinforced concrete with iron bars) technique, which was considered modern at the time, mainly of concrete and partly of brick. The XIX. century-XX. At the turn of the 19th century, the independent city of Újpest decided in 1905 to build a local water supply network. The competition was awarded to the Belgian company Compagnie Générále des Conduites d 'Eau Liége Belgique, one of the three candidates. In 1910, the Belgians established a Hungarian project company called Ister Magyar Vízmű Részvénytársaság with a share capital of 2 million Austrian-Hungarian crowns to carry out the task. As the area of ​​Újpest is flat, the system also needed a water tower to ensure an even water supply even on higher consumption days. Earthworks began on July 3, 1911, on the site of the building designed by Győző Mihailich and Ödön Dümmerling. The Újpest water tower is a so-called 1500 m³. It includes an Intze-system iron pool with a diameter of 15 meters. The foundation of the water tower is a 2.40 m thick concrete slab with a diameter of 19 m. The lower part of the tower - the main load-bearing - is a brick wall with an internal diameter of 9.50 m and an initial wall thickness of 1.80 m. The superstructure narrows by about 2 m to a height of 27 m, the outer diameter of the lower brackets is approx. 11.6 m. In the architectural design of the water tower, care was taken to make it an ornament of the city. Construction was completed on July 8, 1912, when the key to the tower was solemnly handed over to the head of the plumbing company. In 1944, the Arrow Cross wanted to blow it up, but he escaped thanks to the successful raid by the partisans of Újpest. The memory of this heroic act is preserved by a sign on the side of the tower. Until February 2003, it provided industrial water supply to nearby factories. According to the experts of the Budapest Waterworks, the artefact has since been taken out of use.