Bathing in the Danube in the area of the capital has always raised important issues regarding the use of urban space. The first so-called wooden pools in the 1810s–20s were small enclosed areas of the Danube, which made open water bathing safely available until the Second World War, when it was later banned by decree due to pollution and budget shortage. It was not until the late 2010s that a turn came for bathing in Budapest: thanks to improved water quality and continuous monitoring, a free public beach on the Római-part riverbank was opened for a single day in 2019 and 2020, and from 2021 it is open every summer as the only designated Danube beach in the city.
Programs | 2023
Opening
River Baths in Budapest
Opening | Gideon Horváth: Memory That Could Have Been
Run Together | Luca Petrányi: Running with Saint Margaret
Virág Bogyó, Flóra Madácsi: Playstreet?!
Virág Bogyó, Flóra Madácsi: Playstreet?!
Roundtable Discussion | Virág Bogyó, Flóra Madácsi: A Play Street?!
Community Dance Performance | Luca Borsos, Márk Bartha: Dance the District
Guided tour | Gideon Horváth: Memory That Could Have Been
Book Club | Virág Bogyó, Flóra Madácsi: Play Street?!
Community Ritual | Gideon Horváth: Memory That Could Have Been
Picking and Preserving Quince | Anna Bíró, Dudás Andrea Fajgerné, Eszter Ágnes Szabó: Common Jam Map
Community Dance Performance | Luca Borsos, Márk Bartha: Dance the District
Bike tour, mental mapping of the wooden swimming pools, and water-touching exercises | Valyo – City and River Association: River Baths in Budapest – Swimming in the Danube in the Past and Future
Symposium | Anna Bíró, Andrea Fajgerné Dudás, Eszter Ágnes Szabó: Common Jam Map
A Walk with the Artist | Luca Petrányi: Running with Saint Margaret
Kristóf Kelemen, Tímea Török: Habitual Residence
Running with Konrád Dejcsics | Luca Petrányi: Running with Saint Margaret
Interactive Presentation | Gideon Horváth: Memory That Could Have Been
Film Screening | Valyo – City and River Association: River Baths in Budapest – Swimming in the Danube in the Past and Future
Performance | Kristóf Kelemen, Tímea Török: Habitual Residence
Tree Planting | Anna Bíró, Andrea Fajgerné Dudás, Eszter Ágnes Szabó: Common Jam Map
A Walk Through the Memory of the Porajmos | DePART Collective: If All Ears Could Hear
Guided Walk | Balázs Antal: Niche
Opening | DePART Collective: If All Ears Could Hear
Island Circuit with Saint Margaret | Group Run – Luca Petrányi: Running with Saint Margaret
Bike tour, mental mapping of the wooden swimming pools, and water-touching exercises | Valyo – City and River Association: River Baths in Budapest – Swimming in the Danube in the Past and Future
DePART Collective: If All Ears Could Hear