Photos: metro culture in Budapest
Published on
Translation by:
Pedro PicónYou can’t evade the underground in everyday life in Budapest, which has the second oldest metro system in Europe after London
The numerous, long metro tunnels and underground passages are lined with clothes shops, bars, flower shops, restaurants, chemists. If we had to choose a common concept to define the underground aesthetic of the city, it would paradoxically be the lack of a unifying style. Although the underground system has only three lines (the fourth one has been under construction since 1972), we can see big differences between each one of them, from the decadence of Kőbánya-Kispest at the end of the line M3 to the beauty of the M1 lines, the oldest in continental Europe and the second oldest in the world (1896), after London´s tube (1863), which has been declared a World Heritage Site
Clamouring to buy in one of the underground shops in Nyugati metro on the M3 line
Checkmate: a game of chess in one of the underground corridors in Nyugati
Life going on in Budapest’s underground
Ferenciek Tere station on the M3. Street artists collide with the tunnel’s inhabitants
A carriage on the M3 (blue) line surfaces overground
Exit, Kőbánya-Kispest metro station
The bar and the casino are open, chemist works without problems, Péksütemény (Hungarian sweet speciality) at your disposal in the bakery… Posters inform commuters that, although the tunnel is closed for construction, shops inside are still open for business (Kőbánya-Kispest)
Phone home in one of the underground tunnels
Phone home in one of the underground tunnels
Deák Ferenc Tér platform on line 3, the only station where the three metro lines – M1, M2 and M3 - converge
Advertising explosion in one of the subways at Deák Ferenc Tér
Kálvin Tér on the M3 line. Metro tunnels and subways in Budapest are the home of many homeless people
Vörösmarty Tér station on the yellow M1 line, one of the oldest in the world
Graffiti and telephones in Ferenc Körut on the M3 north-south line
Kálvin Tér; an old mattress and two or three covers are enough for some who live in the subway
Policemen in Ferenc Körút station
Policemen in Ferenc Körút station
Entrance to Ferenc Körút station, under major transport artery Üllői út
Translated from Clichés sous terre