Budapest Guide
The Belváros
Underground Railway Museum
Opening time: Tues– Sun 10am–5pm
Price: 270Ft or one BKV ticket
Address: Accessible via the upper sub-level of Deák tér metro
The Underground Railway Museum (Földalattivasút Múzeum;) extols the history of Budapest's original metro. The exhibits include two elegant wooden carriages (one used up until 1973) and period fixtures and posters, which enhance the museum's nostalgic appeal.
The metro's genesis was a treatise by Mór Balazs, proposing a steam-driven tram network starting with a route along Andrássy út, an underground line being suggested as a fallback in case the overground option was rejected. Completed in under two years, it was inaugurated in 1896 – in time for the Millennial Exhibition – by Emperor Franz Josef, who agreed to allow it to bear his name, which it kept until 1918. The metro was the first on the European continent and the second in the world (after London's Metropolitan line), and originally ran from Vörösmarty tér as far as the Millennial Exhibition grounds at Hősök tere.