When the Szabadság híd (Freedom Bridge) that spans the Danube in Budapest had to be closed to traffic for essential repairs and maintenance in 2016, the city seized the opportunity to turn the traffic-free road- and tramway into a public space, a floating park above the water, where people young and old could disport and recreate themselves while the bridge was being made safe for traffic again. The initiative proved so popular that the bridge was closed to traffic on four weekends in 2017-and once again this year, between mid-July and early August, the ‘Freedom Bridge Picnic’ has been promised. The phenomenon has also made it to this year’s Venice Architecture Biennale. For details, see here. The bridge, which was built in 1896, was originally named Franz Joseph Bridge after the reigning king and emperor. Badly damaged by the retreating Nazis at the end of WWII, it was given the name Freedom Bridge on its reopening in 1946.