Hungarian pronunciation. This is a suspension bridge that spans the River Danube between Buda and Pest, the western and eastern sides of Budapest, the capital of Hungary. Designed by the English engineer William Tierney Clark, it was the first permanent bridge across the Danube in Budapest, and was opened in 1849. (It is a larger scale version of William Tierney Clark’s earlier Marlow Bridge, across the River Thames in Marlow, England.) It is also the oldest permanent bridge on the Danube. It is anchored on the Pest side of the river to SzAchenyi (formerly Roosevelt) Square, adjacent to the Gresham Palace and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and on the Buda side to Adam Clark Square, near the Zero Kilometer Stone and the lower end of the Castle Hill Funicular, leading to Buda Castle. The bridge has the name of IstvA?n SzAchenyi, a major supporter of its construction, attached to it, but is most commonly known as the Chain Bridge. At the time of its construction, it was regarded as one of the modern world’s engineering wonders. It has asserted an enormous significance in the country’s economic, social and cultural life, much as the Brooklyn Bridge has in New York and United States of America. Its decorations made of cast iron, and its construction, radiating calm dignity and balance, have elevated the Chain Bridge to a high stature in Europe. It became a symbol of advancement, national awakening, and the linkage between East and West. – The bridge was opened in 1849, and thus became the first permanent bridge in the Hungarian capital, after the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. At the time, its center span of 202 m was one of the largest in the world. The lions at each of the abutments were carved in stone in 1852, by the sculptor, JA?nos MarschalkA. They are visibly similar in design to the famous bronze lions of Trafalgar Square by Edwin Henry Landseer with Marochetti, installed 1867. They are also smaller (and appear from below to lack tongues). The bridge was given its current name in 1898.