The oldest of the bridges connecting Buda and Pest, the two cities that together make up the modern capital of Hungary, is the Chain Bridge in Budapest (formally known as Széchenyi lánchd).

It is a suspension bridge structurally, with robust chain links in place of the main cables. When it first opened, its 202-meter central span was one of the longest in the entire globe. One of the most well-known bridges crossing the Danube is this one.

The Chain Bridge, the first permanent span over the Danube in Hungary and the second across the entire river, is a representation of Budapest. Prior to its construction, travellers used ferries to cross the river, a crucial commercial route, though a temporary pontoon bridge had been in place since the beginning of the 15th century. The frozen Danube could be traversed during the winter months on foot or by horse-drawn carriage. But once the thaw got going, the link between the two banks vanished entirely. The search for a navigator courageous enough to transport the count from Pest to Buda over the churning ice floes took Count Stephen Széchenyi a full week in 1820. At that point, he made a year's worth of rent payments available for the construction of a bridge over the river.

Plans for this, modelled after the Charles Bridge in Prague and supported by several pillars, date back to the late 1700s. But afterwards, a different technological option was picked. Count Széchenyi, who hired William Tierney Clark to create the blueprints for the first permanent Hungarian bridge, visited the Hammersmith Bridge in London, a suspension bridge spanning the Thames. The project was given to the Scottish engineer Adam Clark, whose last name is the same as the English engineer, and the little square outside the bridge on the Buda side is named in his honour.

The bridge was opened on November 20, 1849, after work on it had started in 1839. For a number of years, those crossing the bridge had to go around Palace Hill in order to reach the coast.

In their departure from the Soviet siege of Budapest at the end of World War II, German troops dynamited the bridge and the other four in the city. On November 21, 1949, the bridge's 100th anniversary of completion, it was officially opened after extensive reconstruction.

Since it was built, the bridge has served as Budapest's most enduring emblem. Presentations on Hungary and Budapest must include its photograph. It has appeared on numerous stamps, banknotes, and coins issued by Hungary, including the 200 forint coin that year.