Stop 5 · Underground Walk
Szőke Tisza
Disco boat next to the Belvárosi Bridge · now a wreck in the Tápé bay
An imperial steamer became Szeged's legendary disco boat. Today it's a rusting wreck on the bank at Tápé.
Built in 1917 at the Ganz shipyard in Újpest, named IV. Károly. Two funnels, paddle wheels, over 77 metres: the largest Hungarian river paddle steamer. Later it was called Sas, Szent Imre and Felszabadulás too.
In 1938 it was one of the main venues of the Eucharistic World Congress, and afterwards it carried the Holy Right relic on the Danube. In the war the Germans took it to Linz; the crew brought it home in 1947.
In 1979 Szeged bought it and towed it here. From July 1980 it was a restaurant and bar next to the Belvárosi Bridge, near the museum, with a bathing raft at the bow in summer. From 1990 to 2000 it was a disco boat where plenty of locals partied.
In 2000 the disco era ended; the boat ended up in the Tápé bay and kept decaying. A former owner poured concrete into the hull, and in 2012 the hull broke in the middle and the wreck sank.
In January 2020 the roughly 300-tonne wreck was hauled ashore on 15 giant rolling balloons. In 2023 it was announced that József Kreinbacher's company had received 5 billion forints of state funding to rebuild the boat and take it next to the Chain Bridge in Budapest. In August 2026 the grass on the bank caught fire and the flames reached the wreck. At that point it was still in Tápé.
Open in the app →Animated scene, old photos, stamps and the full map. Free, nothing to install.Facts and labels
- True1917: Ganz, Újpest, named IV. Károly. Two funnels, paddle wheels.
- True1938: it also carried the Holy Right relic.
- True1980–1990 restaurant and bar, 1990–2000 disco boat.
- TrueSank in 2012, hauled ashore in January 2020, hit by fire in August 2026.
- Open questionReborn by the Chain Bridge? The plan is from 2023; in summer 2026 the wreck was still in Tápé.
- TrueFrom 1980 to 2000 it was moored next to the Belvárosi Bridge, near the museum.