Landing stage
As of the spring of 2027, you will be able to launch from Bázel’s own landing stage. In order to keep in line with the tradition of the place, Bázel will definitely have its own touring rowing boat (keelboat) available to hire, and we also plan to offer canoes, kayaks and SUPs.
History
Bázel Boathouse was previously operated by the Külker Sports Association; its nickname, Fila, refers to the neighbourhood which is called Filatorigát. The building served scullers, housing touring rowing boats and skiffs. Mrs. Kati and her family also lived here in a caretaker’s flat. Employees of the Foreign Trade Company (Külker) used the grounds for sport and recreation, and the rowing events of the Külker Olympics were held here on the smaller branch of the Danube. The association’s successor still operates on the Római-part banks as Külker Rowing Club, led by legendary Tibor Mihály, who was once also in charge of the Fila. Following Hungary’s political transition in 1989, the boathouse was privatised and a motorboat storage building was added; this is currently Kisbázel (Small Bázel). Today, Miklós Tömör, founder of the Valyo – City and River Association, brings back Danube life to the banks of the small branch.
The banks of the side channel between Hajógyári Island and Óbuda once had a thriving water-sports scene, much as the Római-part banks did later. With the construction of the gasworks factory and K Bridge, these boathouses disappeared, leaving Fila as the last remaining example until 1992. Today, many athletes and recreational paddlers still take to the water in this urban yet untamed setting: kayakers and canoeists from Honvéd and Újpest sport club, and rowers from Külker and the DNHE boathouse on Margaret Island. Individual and group SUP paddlers have also appeared. There is currently no launching point on the small branch, and we would like to change that at Bázel Boathouse by building our own landing stage.
This part of the city is closely connected to the Danube and bathing culture. The ruins of Aquincum are scattered throughout the area, and the district is also associated with the shipyard and the Római-part banks. Óbuda’s long-term vision is a pedestrian corridor running through the district from Szentlélek tér to the Római-part. The walking route links important cultural assets of the third district. Bázel, beside the shipyard gate, could become one of its stops, along with the avenue of plane trees on the Béla Hamvas Promenade starting here and the beautifully restored buildings of the former gasworks. The Danube cycle route EuroVelo 6, which runs from the Black Forest to the Black Sea, also passes through this stretch.
In the Swiss city of Basel – written Bázel in Hungarian –, the use of the river is exemplary, and the swimming lane has become a symbol of the city. Almost everyone has a swim bag that makes them visible in the water, keeps them afloat and keeps their clothes and phone dry. A typical way of bathing there, unfamiliar here, is to enter the river at one point and get out a kilometre downstream, walk back to the starting point with a drink or an ice cream, and drift down again. We would like to introduce this at Bázel Boathouse in the future, which is what the new name of the boathouse refers to. At present, seepage from soil contamination at the former gasworks factory pollutes this stretch of the Danube at low water levels, unlike areas of the main Danube channel that are highly suitable for swimming. To make swimming at Bázel possible, the seepage from the contamination approximately 700 metres away must be stopped. Until that happens, the channel can be used for rowing and SUP paddling.