Időkerék

The Időkerék, or Time Wheel, was a monumental hourglass in Budapest that was considered one of the largest of its kind in the world. The wheel, which measured eight meters (26 ft) in diameter and two and a half meters (8 ft) in width, was made of stainless steel, laminated safety glass, and red granite, and weighed sixty metric tons in total. It stood at the edge of City Park near Heroes' Square and symbolically celebrated Hungary's accession to the European Union in 2004. The structure comprised two laminated-glass containers holding 4.5 cubic meters of glass granules. Unlike ordinary sand, these granules consisted of uniformly sized, impact-resistant grains that flowed at a defined rate in pressurized nitrogen and spared the inner surfaces of the containers. A central control mechanism compensated for the effects of weather and accounted for leap years.

The idea for the Time Wheel came from cultural historian János Herner, who had originally conceived it as a movable object that would slowly roll through the city over the course of decades. Because construction projects beneath the streets made this unfeasible, the monument was anchored permanently in the ground. Construction was handled by a specialized stonemasonry firm that had already worked on the restoration of important Budapest landmarks. Particularly challenging was the development of a mechanism that allowed two people to manually rotate the heavy hourglass by 180 degrees once a year on New Year's Eve to restart the cycle. At the unveiling, visitors could symbolically contribute a spoonful of granules and received a certificate with a code that let them follow the progress of their "own time" online.

Despite its showpiece character, the Time Wheel was controversial among the public. Critics accused the government of building an expensive prestige project that also frequently required maintenance. Problems with water seeping in led to shutdowns, which were officially described as necessary repairs. In addition, the surrounding grounds often turned into a bog when it rained, making access difficult. In summer 2021, the hourglass was dismantled as part of a park renovation. Whether and where it will be rebuilt in the future is currently unclear.