Industrial Heritage Hungary

17/09/2026

European Heritage Days in Hungary…
… will be held on 19-20 September

European Heritage Days (Kulturális Örökség Napjai) will be held on 19-20 September, 2026 (SAT-SUN). Hundreds of heritage sites, historic buildings and museums can be visited across Hungary, including several interesting industrial and railway heritage sites. You can find information on all participating sites, tours and programmes on https://oroksegnapok.gov.hu/.

In Budapest, industrial heritage enthusiasts can visit the Underground Railway Museum and the Ferenc Converter Station, an operating technical monument preserving more than a century of technology used to convert alternating current into direct current for Budapest's tram network.

Railway fans can join guided tours of the Keleti and Nyugati Railway Stations, including normally inaccessible parts of these historic stations.

Another particularly interesting industrial heritage programme is a visit to the former Haggenmacher Brewery in Budafok, today partly reused as the KULTIKUM event venue.

Railway heritage is particularly well represented in the countryside this year. In Pécs, visitors can explore both the historic Pécs Railway Station and the former railway directorate building with its operating Traffic Control Centre. Other interesting railway programmes include a guided tour of the Art Nouveau Körmend Railway Station, visits to Szeged Railway Station and its Traffic Control Centre, the railway-history exhibition at the Dombóvár Múzeum Megálló.

Within a short drive from Budapest, the Urban Public Transport Museum in Szentendre, housed in a listed former suburban railway depot dating from 1914, is also well worth a visit.

Some guided tours require prior registration, so it is advisable to check the detailed programme before travelling.

02/08/2026

Due to the drought, the wreckage of the Liberty Bridge is once again visible at the bottom of the Danube

The water level of the Danube has fallen to a historic low today. In Budapest, a depth of just 18 cm was measured at the Chain Bridge.

For several days now, the remains of the Liberty Bridge – which sank into the water in 1945 – have been visible beneath the bridge. Many news reports claim that the bridge was bombed, but in fact it was blown up by the German army on 16 January 1945 to halt the advance of Soviet troops.

Today, many people have come to view the wreckage: locals, tourists and members of the press. Some have been filming the remains with drones.

The wreckage is sure to remain visible for a good few days, or even a week. Anyone wishing to see them should walk from Gellért Square along the southern side of the bridge to the first pier, and look out over the water towards the Pest side from the protruding section.

21/07/2026

Industrial Heritage, Memory and Well-being…

Ruhr University Bochum and Stiftung Geschichte des Ruhrgebiets organise a 3-day conference in Bochum. The title and topic are „Industrial Heritage, Memory and Well-being: Community Engagement with Industrial Heritage in Post-industrial Contexts”.
You can participate online, you can register through this link.
https://tinyurl.com/Bochum-conference-registration

21/07/2026

Industrial Heritage Conference in Bochum

Ruhr University Bochum and Stiftung Geschichte des Ruhrgebiets are organising a 3-day conference in Bochum. The title and topic are „Industrial Heritage, Memory and Well-being: Community Engagement with Industrial Heritage in Post-industrial Contexts”.
You can participate online, you can register through this link.

https://www.facebook.com/ERIH.net/posts/pfbid02bo8hsSziFkLzpXydMVYW8F7pJ5569ipWPBGEtJ6QsBCbxDDH6jv6u8TSoDsXxtSVl

Beyond Preservation: Rethinking Industrial Heritage through Memory, Community and Well-being ⚒️🌍

How can industrial sites become places of dialogue, inclusion and collective well-being? How can communities reclaim their own histories and create new narratives beyond traditional heritage frameworks? These questions take centre stage at the international conference “Industrial Heritage, Memory and Well-being: Community Engagement with Industrial Heritage in Post-industrial Contexts” in Bochum this July.

The conference brings together researchers and practitioners from Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia to explore decolonial and community-based approaches that redefine industrial sites as terrains of resistance, remembrance and situated knowledge.

At its core is a dialogue between different regions of the world – especially between the Global North and the Global South – and the development of a more inclusive, interactive understanding of what industrial development means for the people who experienced it and for the communities that continue to live with its legacies.

Among the many perspectives discussed:

⛏️ “Coal Regions in Transition: Deindustrialisation and Productive Transformation in Lota-Coronel (Chile) and the Mining Areas of Asturias (Spain)” explores how former mining regions on different continents deal with industrial decline, transformation and new futures.

✊ “Mobilisations for Industrial Heritage: Community, Resistance, and the Reclamation of Memory in Global Contexts” looks at how communities actively fight for recognition of their industrial pasts and reclaim heritage as a resource for social empowerment.

🌱 “Reimagining the world: decolonisation and the promise of development” challenges established ideas of progress and explores alternative perspectives on development, knowledge and heritage.

👥 “Working with the youth, from the peripheries and from below” highlights the importance of young people and marginalised communities as active creators of heritage narratives.

💡 “Industrial Memory as Economic Asset: Lessons from the European South” examines how memories of industry can become resources for sustainable local development.

The programme also addresses artistic approaches, environmental legacies, social housing, memory research and the role of industrial heritage in creating new forms of belonging and well-being. A final site visit to the ERIH Anchor Point UNESCO World Heritage Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex will connect the conference discussions with a concrete industrial heritage landscape.

Conference facts:
🔘 22–24 July 2026
🔘 Institute for Social Movements, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany
🔘 10 panels, 2 keynote lectures and more than 20 international speakers
🔘 Organised by Ruhr University Bochum in cooperation with international partners including NUDISUR (Chile) and Universidad de Concepción

Online participation is available – allowing global exchange beyond geographical borders. Go to registration: https://tinyurl.com/Bochum-conference-registration

21/07/2026

This is a busy month for industrial heritage enthusiasts...
https://www.facebook.com/ERIH.net/posts/pfbid02bo8hsSziFkLzpXydMVYW8F7pJ5569ipWPBGEtJ6QsBCbxDDH6jv6u8TSoDsXxtSVl

Beyond Preservation: Rethinking Industrial Heritage through Memory, Community and Well-being ⚒️🌍

How can industrial sites become places of dialogue, inclusion and collective well-being? How can communities reclaim their own histories and create new narratives beyond traditional heritage frameworks? These questions take centre stage at the international conference “Industrial Heritage, Memory and Well-being: Community Engagement with Industrial Heritage in Post-industrial Contexts” in Bochum this July.

The conference brings together researchers and practitioners from Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia to explore decolonial and community-based approaches that redefine industrial sites as terrains of resistance, remembrance and situated knowledge.

At its core is a dialogue between different regions of the world – especially between the Global North and the Global South – and the development of a more inclusive, interactive understanding of what industrial development means for the people who experienced it and for the communities that continue to live with its legacies.

Among the many perspectives discussed:

⛏️ “Coal Regions in Transition: Deindustrialisation and Productive Transformation in Lota-Coronel (Chile) and the Mining Areas of Asturias (Spain)” explores how former mining regions on different continents deal with industrial decline, transformation and new futures.

✊ “Mobilisations for Industrial Heritage: Community, Resistance, and the Reclamation of Memory in Global Contexts” looks at how communities actively fight for recognition of their industrial pasts and reclaim heritage as a resource for social empowerment.

🌱 “Reimagining the world: decolonisation and the promise of development” challenges established ideas of progress and explores alternative perspectives on development, knowledge and heritage.

👥 “Working with the youth, from the peripheries and from below” highlights the importance of young people and marginalised communities as active creators of heritage narratives.

💡 “Industrial Memory as Economic Asset: Lessons from the European South” examines how memories of industry can become resources for sustainable local development.

The programme also addresses artistic approaches, environmental legacies, social housing, memory research and the role of industrial heritage in creating new forms of belonging and well-being. A final site visit to the ERIH Anchor Point UNESCO World Heritage Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex will connect the conference discussions with a concrete industrial heritage landscape.

Conference facts:
🔘 22–24 July 2026
🔘 Institute for Social Movements, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany
🔘 10 panels, 2 keynote lectures and more than 20 international speakers
🔘 Organised by Ruhr University Bochum in cooperation with international partners including NUDISUR (Chile) and Universidad de Concepción

Online participation is available – allowing global exchange beyond geographical borders. Go to registration: https://tinyurl.com/Bochum-conference-registration

21/07/2026

Historic trams in danger

We took part in a very interesting online seminar on 18 July 2026. Historic trams in Egypt and India have always fascinated lovers of railway heritage, and the TICCIH webinar focused on their past, present, and future. The event was titled “Historic Trams at Risk”, exploring how urban development and changing comfort and safety expectations create challenges for these old tram systems.

Through examples from Kolkata, Hong Kong, Melbourne, and Alexandria, we saw how strongly these trams shape each city’s identity and how deeply people feel connected to them. In Hong Kong’s busiest business district, residents managed to stop the removal of the popular double‑decker trams (locally called “ding-dings”). In Alexandria, however, many heritage railway buildings and platforms were lost due to modernization, causing strong emotional reactions among locals.

We hope the 2.5‑hour seminar recordings will become available. The talks are worth listening to — even rewatching.

18/07/2026

Open Factory World Forum Podcast – Czechia

In today's podcast by the Empath Foundation (July 18, 2026), our guest was Tomáš Raboch, who has spent more than two decades promoting industrial heritage in the Czech Republic through factory tours and industrial heritage experiences.

During the conversation, Tomáš shared how he led the development of the Pilsner Urquell Brewery Visitor Centre, transforming factory tours into one of the Czech Republic's most popular tourist attractions. He also spoke about founding one of Plzeň's leading tourism businesses and how his work in industrial heritage tours and factory visits led to him becoming the Czech representative of the European Route of Industrial Heritage (ERIH).

The episode also features fascinating anecdotes and the latest news from the Czech industrial heritage sector, including the dramatic story of how the legendary 11-storey listed Bata shoe factory building was destroyed by fire and subsequently collapsed.

28/06/2026

Open Factory World Forum Podcast

I had the honor of participating in the Empath Foundation’s podcast yesterday. Empath aims to inspire and strengthen local communities by sharing and showcasing good ideas and practices. In this spirit, the foundation organizes the "Open Factory World Forum," as part of which I had a conversation with Hironobu Matsuura, the founder of Empath, as well as with the forum participants.

Among other topics, we discussed the awareness raising activities of Industrial Heritage Hungary, the "7 Most Endangered" program and the Fábri Mill in Feked, the role of the Cattle Slaughterhouse in public health improvement in Budapest, and the innovative, cost-effective adaptive reuse of the Ostrava slaughterhouse for cultural purposes.

I trust that the examples presented and the ideas sparked will bring new momentum to local communities for the preservation and sustainable adaptive reuse of industrial heritage.
Among other topics, we discussed the awareness raising activities of Industrial Heritage Hungary, the "7 Most Endangered" program and the Fábri Mill in Feked, the role of the Cattle Slaughterhouse in public health improvement in Budapest, and the innovative, cost-effective adaptive reuse of the Ostrava slaughterhouse for cultural purposes. (Károly)

22/06/2026

Industrial Heritage Hungary on Open Factory World Forum Seminar

We are happy to share the invitation to the Open Factory World Forum seminar, where, on behalf of Industrial Heritage Hungary, we will present our work related to promoting and interpreting industrial heritage.

The webinar will take place on 27 June 2026 at 10:00 AM CET. You can register through the link provided in the first comment.

08/06/2026

The story of our V4 Industrial Heritage Project has been published on the official European Heritage Days website

Our mission is clear: Safeguard, Reuse, and Promote the industrial heritage of Central Europe.

We are proud that our work—highlighting 21 significant industrial sites across Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic—has gained European recognition.

👉 Read the full story here:
https://www.europeanheritagedays.com/Story/Beyond-the-Rust-Rediscovering-the-Industrial-Heritage-of-Central-Europe