From the beginning of May, the Balloon Lookout, i.e. a fixed-track hot air balloon, will be created on Mimóza Hill in the Városliget, offering a view of Budapest from a height of up to 150 meters.
The central element of the Városliget Playground realized as part of the Liget Budapest project is a giant climbing balloon, which evokes the colors of the famous painting by Pál Szinyei Merse - reminded the CEO of Városliget Zrt.
Benedek Gyorgyevics emphasized: with the opening of the Balloon observation deck, a 120-year-old tradition is being revived, since a similar device was already in operation at the Millennium Exhibition in Városliget during the millennium celebrations. In fact, the designer of the Városliget himself, Heinrich Nebbien, envisioned a lookout function for the Mimóza hill, he noted.
True to Szinyei's color scheme, the hot air balloon with red and white stripes will rise up to a height of 150 meters in suitable weather conditions, so it will offer a great view not only of the renewed City Park, but also of the entire city, he emphasized.
Benedek Gyorgyevics added: similar attractions operate in several foreign locations, such as Disneyland in Paris, the Safari Park in San Diego or Angkor Wat, but the only viewing platform of this kind in the Central European region will be in the Városliget.
Eric Bachelier, the project manager of Aérophile, which built the structure, announced that filling the hot air balloon with helium will begin on Tuesday afternoon. When asked by MTI, he said that the balloon with more than 6,000 cubic meters of air can lift up to 30 people in completely safe conditions in calm weather.
When designing the hot air balloon, special emphasis was placed on compliance with safety regulations, so all its elements comply with the EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) standard. The system also has a wind speed and direction gauge, an ambient temperature gauge, a dome pressure indicator and a charge gas temperature gauge, the device will only ascend in the right weather conditions.
According to the investor, the part of the park that houses the Ballon lookout, the Mimóza hill, has been completely rehabilitated as part of the landscape architecture renewal of the City Park. 10,000 square meters of green space and the related road network were renewed, new street furniture and trash cans were installed, the more than 700 square meter outdated Beer Tent was demolished, and instead a cafe and restrooms were created in the park area on a significantly smaller footprint, fitting the image of the renewed Liget.
The Városliget Zrt. announced an open tender for the operation of the Ballon observation tower in 2020, which was won by Ballon kilátó Zrt. for a period of 10+5 years, they announced.
Source: Magyar Hírlap
Photo: László Katona
