Chapter 8

XXI. District.

Csepel. Red Csepel. If you google it you’ll probably get a bunch of links that will lead you to various pages on motorcycles, bicycles and engines. This is no coincidence. Even with Hungarian Google you are more likely to find pictures of good ol’ bike riding folk than the actual district. The reason is quite simple: It was here where the Csepel branded bikes were created. Not only bikes, though. During the communism Csepel became the heavy industrial center of Budapest; it had the widest range of products in Central-eastern Europe. Some of the products manufactured here even made it to Tibet. Csepel bikes are still popular today, a certain kind of nostalgic air is around them.

However, the Communist regime was banished, and many of its industrial enterprises were deemed to failure. Needless to say, the heavy industry had to go, and Csepel was left without its main income source. The huge industrial park is nowadays housing several businesses. The islanders (Csepel is the only district that is situated on an island, the Csepel Island), however, seemed to have a problem of breaking away from the past. Years after the Soviet occupation the residents were known to the country as the red remnants of the previous era. Clearly, the heavy industry based economics favored this area and people of Csepel always thought of those times as the ever-lost Golden Age. Speaking of the population, it is not complicated to figure out their sociological features; they mostly consist of working class citizens. The buildings accommodate to the people; tall concrete buildings cast their shadows upon the land. Even the lights were dimmer when I visited the district; although this was just due to the weather.

Still, a subtle, yet ever-present smell of Communism is in the air. Many of the country looked like this in the 80’s. I do not mean to harm the people of Csepel, I simply can’t escape from the impression. Cultural houses, hostels for workers, tones of gray. Their isolation is probably a major factor. Although there are several bus lines leading to the city, it is still hard to overcome the natural barrier: the Danube. Csepel was only annexed to Budapest in the 50’s, before that it was a separate town; the autonomy has left its marks and can be seen even today.

The people are either looking back at the past or are hoping for a better future. They are the ones who were struck by the crisis and probably they are the ones who will benefit the last from a booming economy. They are growing impatient. As I rode the bus I saw several stickers with ultra right winged messages. The people riding on the bus read right winged material. Red Csepel is about to turn its colors.