# Budapest M1: Inside Continental Europe's Oldest Metro Network > Descend into the Millennium Underground: Budapest's subterranean secrets, hidden bunkers and one-of-a-kind art. Here's what makes the M1 line so surprising. - URL: https://langandtrip.com.ua/en/article/budapesht-m1-vseredyni-naistarishoi-merezhi-metro-kontynentalnoi-yevropy/ - Language: en - Published: 2025-05-21 - Categories: Culture, Historic Sites, Leisure, Museums, Tours, Hungary --- Just one metre beneath Budapest's UNESCO-protected Andrassy Avenue, yellow carriages rumble into the bustling platform of Oktogon station. Crowds pile on and off the tiled station, then a horn sounds and the doors slide shut. Although London's steam-powered underground opened first in 1863, Budapest lays claim to the first electric underground railway on the continent. Europe's second underground railway made its first journey more than 100 years ago, and it is still used every day by thousands of locals and tourists. “This isn't a metro, it's an underground railway,” says Iboya, a staff member at the museum dedicated to the M1, the yellow line. Tucked away behind an underground ticket office at Deak Ferenc Square, the Millennium Underground Museum is a monument to the golden age of the underground railway, where vintage brown and yellow carriages sit on the original rails, complete with wax figures of conductors in navy-blue uniforms. The M1 earned the name “Millennium Underground” thanks to its role in the 1896 celebrations marking the 1,000th anniversary of the Hungarian conquest of the region. Buildings such as the Millennium Monument on what is now Heroes' Square sprang up across the city for the occasion. ## The secret bunker ![](/storage/image/prev/june-article-image-17-1-2025.jpg) This pioneering railway soon had to keep pace with the demands of a growing city. Using state-of-the-art construction methods of the day, such as concrete mixers, pumps and excavators, it opened on schedule after just 21 months of building work. “Line two also has an interesting story,” adds Gabi, another museum staff member. “There's a secret bunker hidden right next to the metro at Kossuth Square.” Between the metro platforms at Kossuth Square and Deak Ferenc Square, a secret tunnel branching off the main track leads to Facility F-4, a bunker of 3,500 square metres sitting 39 metres underground. Commissioned by then prime minister Matyas Rakosi as preparation for a nuclear strike, the hidden nuclear bunker was built during the construction of the M2, the red line, in the 1950s. With a capacity of 2,200 people, it was built with a direct passage from the Hungarian parliament. The government planned to evacuate via the metro to Keleti station once an attack was over and to leave Budapest on an armoured train. Although it was never used, the bunker remained on standby into the 1970s. Its existence only became public knowledge in the 1990s. It stands empty and unused, visited only for maintenance or during very rare tours. ## The infamous inspectors ![](/storage/image/prev/june-article-image-17-2-2025.jpg) Most residents see the city's four underground lines simply as a way to get from A to B, and have little (if any) knowledge of these sorts of details. “I use the metro every day and I've never noticed anything unusual about it,” says tour guide Attila. “What I see most often is plenty of people who don't buy a ticket, then act surprised when they have to pay a fine. It's so obvious the service isn't free... yet people still argue with the inspectors.” When you bring up the metro with locals, the subject of the inspectors often comes up. The cult 2003 film “Control” immortalised the gloomy, oppressive metro stations where ticket inspectors work within a fictional transport network. Shot entirely on the M3, the blue line, the surreal film hints at an underground ecosystem where illegal raves take over the platforms and inspectors race one another for a bet along dusty tracks ahead of the “midnight express”. The M3 opened in the 1970s and runs 16 kilometres beneath the Pest side of the river, making it the city's longest metro line. It lacks the historic charm of the M1, but you can still spot intriguing things when you change lines. Bilingual poetry is scratched into the tiled walls behind the red plastic seats on the Deak Ferenc Square platform, written in Hungarian and Portuguese by the artist Joao Vieira. ## Metro art ![](/storage/image/prev/june-article-image-17-3-2025.jpg) Meanwhile, a curious red marble sculpture from the 1980s called “The Birth of the City” sits in the underground passage at Kalvin ter. Although many think it resembles female genitalia, this abstract artwork is in fact a tribute to the city's expansion. One of its most intriguing features is in the bottom right corner, where a cat makes a cameo appearance. Reportedly modelled on the sculptor Gyula Illes's pet, named Maci, urban legend says that stroking the cat's tail will bring you good luck. Budapest's most recent metro line, the M4 or green line, took 40 years to build. When construction finally began in 2004, the Hungarian architects tasked with designing its stations were determined that they should embody the city's modern spirit. That vision took shape as cavernous halls crossed by grand concrete beams, bold splashes of colour and, in the case of Bikas Park station, streams of light pouring through undulating glass panels. After years of struggling against corruption and controversy, the line opened in 2014 and became a stronghold of modern Hungarian architecture. The launch may have taken far longer than 21 months, but the M4 now serves as a contemporary time capsule, keeping Budapest on the move.