Master Plan for a Promenade Alongside the River Danube

Komárom, Fort Monostor – Fort Csillag

Abstract

The fortress system is a unique historical and civilizational monument of Komárom, which has been an important military basis of the country at the time of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. The building ensemble from the Monarchy era was known as the largest fortress system in Europe. Its easy access and almost undamaged condition bring it into prominence from among other fortresses in Europe that had a harder time weathering the last centuries and, in many cases, have been significantly damaged. After WWII until 1990 it came under the management of the Soviet Army; they kept the largest shell-room of Hungary in the fortress which thus was a closed, inaccessible and obscure place to ordinary people. Thanks to its good condition and historical past, the fortification system, enriched with new functions, deserves to become part of the domestic and international cultural and touristic programs.

My thesis sets the objective of the creation of a promenade on the Danube embankment between Fort Monostor and Fort Csillag that contributes to the strengthening of the connection between the fortresses, the city and the Danube. The comprehensive concept aims at the creation of a promenade that, by its new functions, invites the inhabitants to use the river banks and at the same time contributes to the integration of the Danube embankment into the city’s bloodstream and to the presentation of Komárom’s most significant touristic sights. The degree work is divided into two parts: The first part presents the history of the planning area and the situation of the Danube embankment in the settlement structure; the second part is a design concept and the master plan.