City Park Ice Rink
Aerial view of the skating rink
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| Location | City Park, Budapest, Hungary |
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| Coordinates | 47°30′50″N 19°04′48″E / 47.5138969°N 19.0801155°ECoordinates: 47°30′50″N 19°04′48″E / 47.5138969°N 19.0801155°E |
| Owner | City of Budapest |
| Field size | 180x67 metres (bandy and skating rink) 60x30 metres (ice hockey rink) |
| Surface | Ice |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1869 |
| Opened | 29 January 1870 |
| Renovated | 1968, 2011 |
| Tenants | |
| Budapesti Korcsolyázó Egylet ; Hungarian Bandy Federation | |
| Website | |
| Official website | |
The City Park Ice Rink (Hungarian: Városligeti Műjégpálya) is a public ice rink located in the City Park of the Hungarian capital Budapest, between the Heroes' Square and the Vajdahunyad Castle. Opened in 1870, it is the largest and one of the oldest ice rinks in Europe. In summer months the area is filled up with water to create a pond, which is primarily used for boating, but also hosted several special events, such as the snowball fight world record attempt in 2009 or the Art on Lake exhibition in 2011.
It went through a complete renovation between 2009 and 2011, in which the main building was restored to its 19th-century look. The skating area was expanded to 12,000 square metres (130,000 sq ft) and a standard ice hockey rink was set up as well. The skating rink re-opened on 16 December 2011 and it was the home of the 2012 European Speed Skating Championships from 6 to 8 January.
The memorial of the Hungarian Ice Hockey Hall of Fame is also found at the City Park Ice Rink since its inauguration in February 2012.
In the second part of the nineteenth century the pleasant environment of the City Park became a beloved place for relaxation, entertainment and freetime activities. On the City Park Lake boating and rowing were popular sports to practice and during the winter skaters also appeared on the frozen lake.
In the end of 1869, with the guidance of Géza Kresz the Pesti Korcsolyázó Egylet (Skating Association of Pest) was founded, and they also obtained the permission of the city council to create an ice rink on a part of the City Park Lake. A wooden pavilion was built on the shore of the lake as well, where the visitors could warm up and change their skates. The official opening ceremony took place on 29 January 1870 in the presence of Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria, and skating got underway immediately, with the first ever race held on 2 February. This time the association had only 35 members, which increased to 432 by the end of the year.
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Wikipedia