'Budapest' (
Hungarian is the
capital city of
Hungary and the country's principal
political,
cultural,
commercial,
industrial and
transportation centre. The official language spoken is
Hungarian. Budapest had 1,697,343
[1] inhabitants in 2007 (with official agglomeration 2,421,831
[2]), down from a mid-
1980s peak of 2.1 million. Budapest became a single city occupying both banks of the river
Danube with the amalgamation on
17 November 1873 of right-bank (west)
Buda (''Ofen'' in
German) and
Ăbuda (Old Buda or ''Alt-Ofen'') together with
Pest on the left (east) bank.
History
Budapest's
recorded history begins with the
Roman town of ''
Aquincum'', founded around
AD 89 on the site of an earlier
Celtic settlement near what was to become
Ăbuda, and from
106 until the end of the
4th century the capital of the province of lower
Pannonia. Aquincum was the base camp of
Legio II ''Adiutrix''. The area of
Campona (today's
Nagytétény) belongs to Buda as well. Today's Pest became the site of ''Contra Aquincum'' (or ''Trans Aquincum''), a smaller sentry point. The word Pest (or ''Peshta'') is thought to originate from the
Bolgar language, (thought to be a
Turkic language, not related to modern
Bulgarian, which is a
Slavic language) because at the time of the reign of the Bulgarian Khan
Krum (approximately
796-
814), the town was under Bulgar dominion. The area then became a homeland for the
Avars and some
Slavic peoples.
The area was occupied around the year
900 by the
Magyars of
Central Asia, the cultural and linguistic ancestors of today's ethnic Hungarians, who a century later officially founded the
Kingdom of Hungary. Already a place of some significance, Pest recovered rapidly from its destruction by
Mongol invaders in
1241, but it was
Buda, the seat of a royal castle since
1247, which in
1361 became the
capital of
Hungary.
Matthias Corvinus was 15 when he was elected King of Hungary. Matthias was educated in
Italian, and his fascination with the achievements of the
Italian Renaissance led to the promotion of Mediterranean cultural influences in Hungary.
His library, the
Bibliotheca Corviniana, was Europe's greatest collection of historical chronicles and philosophic and scientific works in the 15th century, and second only in size to the
Vatican Library.
The
Ottoman Empire's
conquest of most of Hungary in the
16th century interrupted the cities' growth: Buda and Pest fell to the invaders in
1541. While Buda remained the seat of a Turkish pasha, and administrative centre of a whole
vilayet, Pest was largely derelict by the time of their recapture in
1686 by
Austria's
Habsburg rulers, who since 1526 had been
Kings of Hungary despite their loss of most of the country.
It was
Pest, a bustling commercial town, which enjoyed the faster growth rate in the
18th and
19th century and contributed the overwhelming majority of the cities' combined growth in the 19th century. By
1800 its population was larger than that of Buda and Ăbuda combined. The population of Pest grew twenty-fold in the following century to 600,000, while that of Buda and Ăbuda quintupled. Although the three cities remained separate, they were collectively referred to as Pest-Buda.
The first attempt to amalgamate the three cities under a single administration was enacted by the Hungarian revolutionary government in 1849 but was revoked on the subsequent restoration of Habsburg authority. Amalgamation was finally effected by the autonomous Hungarian royal government established under the
Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867; ''see
Austria-Hungary''. The total population of the unified Budapest grew nearly sevenfold between
1840 and
1900 to 730,000. In texts from around that period, Budapest was commonly rendered as "Buda-Pesth" (or "Budapesth") in English.
[3]
During the
20th century, most population growth occurred in the suburbs, with
Ăjpest more than doubling between
1890–
1910 and
Kispest more than quintupling in
1900–
1920, as much of the country's industry came to be concentrated in the city.
The country's human losses during
World War I and the subsequent loss of more than two thirds of the former kingdom's territory (
Treaty of Trianon,1920) dealt only a temporary blow, leaving Budapest as the capital of a smaller but now sovereign state. By 1930 the city proper contained a million inhabitants, with a further 400,000 in the suburbs.
In
1944, towards the end of
World War II, Budapest was partly destroyed by British and American air raids. From
24 December 1944 to
13 February 1945, the city was besieged during the
Battle of Budapest. Budapest suffered major damage caused by the attacking Soviet troops and the defending German and Hungarian troops. All bridges were disrupted by the Germans. More than 38,000 civilians lost their lives during the fighting.
Between 20% and 40% of Greater Budapest's 250,000 Jewish inhabitants died through
Nazi and
Arrow Cross genocide during 1944 and early 1945.
[4][5] Despite this, Budapest today has the highest number of
Jewish citizens per capita of any European city.
On
1 January 1950, the area of Budapest was significantly expanded: new districts were formed from the neighbouring cities and towns (see
Greater Budapest). From the severe damage during the Soviet siege in 1944, the city recovered in the
1950s and
1960s, becoming to some extent a showcase for the more pragmatic policies pursued by the country's
communist government (
1947–
1989) from the 1960s. Since the
1980s, the capital has shared with the country as a whole in increased emigration (mostly to the
agglomeration) coupled with
natural population decrease.
Politics
Gabor Demszky, a member of the liberal
Alliance of Free Democrats (''SZDSZ''), has been the mayor of Budapest since
1990.
The capital city is the centre of all political affairs, with most countries' embassies located in the city.
Districts
The District Map of Budapest
Originally Budapest had 10 districts after coming into existence upon the unification of the three cities in 1873. On
1 January 1950 Budapest was united with several neighboring towns and the number of its districts was raised to 22. At that time there were changes both in the order of districts and in their sizes. Now there are 23 districts, 6 in Buda, 16 in Pest and 1 on Csepel island between them. Each district can be associated with one or more city parts named after former towns within Budapest.
Islands
Seven islands can be found on the Danube: HajĂłgyĂĄri sziget (literal translation: Shipyard Island),
Margit-sziget (Margaret Island), and
Csepel sziget (the northernmost part of this island belonging to Budapest is a separate district of the city, the XXI., while the other islands are parts of other districts, the III. and XIII. respectively), Palotai-sziget (in fact, it's a peninsula today), NĂ©psziget (connected to the above, but mostly surrounded by water), HĂĄros-sziget and MolnĂĄr-sziget.
Notable islands:
Margaret Island (Margit-sziget)
★
Margit-sziget is a 2.5 km long island (and 0.965 kmÂČ in area) The island mostly consists of a park and is a popular recreational area for tourists and locals alike. The island lies between bridges
Margaret Bridge (south) and
ĂrpĂĄd Bridge (north). Dance clubs,
Swimming pools, an
Aqua park, athletic and fitness centers, bicycle and running tracks can be found around the Island. During the day the island is occupied by people doing sports, or just resting. In the summer (generally on the weekends) mostly young people go to the island at night to party in its terraces, or to recreate with a bottle of alcohol on a bench or on a grass (this form of entertainment is sometimes referred to as bench-partying)
★
Csepel-sziget [ËtÊÉpÉlsigÉt] or Csepel Island is the largest island of the River Danube in Hungary. It is 48 km long; its width is 6-8 km and its area comprises 257 kmÂČ, whereas only the northern tip is inside the city limits.
★ HajĂłgyĂĄri-sziget [ËhÉjo:Éa:ri sigÉt] (or Ăbudai-sziget) is a man built island, located in the third district. This island hosts many activities such as: wake-boarding, jet-skiing during the day, and
dance clubs during the night. This is the island where the famous
Sziget Festival takes place, hosting hundreds of performances per year and now around 400,000 visitors in its last edition. Many building projects are taking place to make this island into one of the biggest entertainment centers of Europe, the plan is to build
Apartment buildings, hotels, casinos and a marina.
★ Luppa-sziget is the smallest island of Budapest, located in the north region.
Landmarks and monuments
Panoramic view points
★
Naphegy panoramic view to
Gellért Hill, best near view to south side of
Buda Castle, historic district
KrisztinavĂĄros
★ The
Fisherman's Bastion panoramic view across the Danube to
Pest, in the heart of the Castle District.
★
TabĂĄn historic site, near panoramic view to
Buda Castle,
Danube Promenade,
Erzsébet Bridge, park and
1956 Hungarian Revolution Memorial
★
Gellért Hill best far view to the Danube Bridges,
Danube Promenade and
Gellért Baths
★
Danube Promenade view to
Buda Castle,
Gellert Hill
★
Sashegy impressive, far view from the top of the Natural Reserve Park to:
Gellérthegy,
Naphegy,
Buda Castle,
Danube Promenade. Bus schedule No. 8
[1] to LEJTĆ ĂT and 10 minutes to the end of the TĂĄjĂ©k utca.
★
Széchenyi-hegy, far view from the end of the bus-line 112 to:
Gellérthegy,
Naphegy,
Sashegy,
Buda Castle,
Danube Promenade. Bus schedule No. 112
[2] (view point
[3]: ThomĂĄn IstvĂĄn utca /TamĂĄsi Ăron lĂ©pcsĂ”).
Sights and historic places
:''(The below sights are grouped by location.)''
Opera
Museum of Fine Arts
Heroes' Square
★
AndrĂĄssy Avenue with its several sights including the
State Opera House, the
Pest Broadway and the
House of Terror
★
Bauhaus in Budapest: walk in NapraforgĂł Street, row of 22 Bauhaus villas,
Pasarét and
ĂjlipĂłtvĂĄros
★
Buda Castle with the Royal Palace, the Funicular, Hungarian National Gallery and
National Széchényi Library,
Matthias Church, Holy Trinity Column (a
plague column) and
Fisherman's Bastion
★
City Park with
Széchenyi Medicinal Bath,
Vajdahunyad Castle, the
Timewheel, the Zoo, the Municipal Grand Circus and the
Amusement Park
★
Danube Promenade or
DunakorzĂł with
VigadĂł Concert Hall
★
Ferenciek tere with
Paris Courtyard and
Erzsébet Bridge with
Inner City Parish Church nearby
★
Franz Liszt Academy of Music
★
Gellért Baths,
Gellért Hill with Gellért Statue,
Cave Church and
Citadel with
Liberty Statue
★
Geological Museum
★
Great Market Hall and
Liberty Bridge
★
Heroes' Square with the Millenary Monument, the
Palace of Art and the
Museum of Fine Arts
★
Margaret Island with the Centennial Memorial, a
Japanese garden, a
Musical Fountain, several recreation facilities and Franciscan, Dominican and Premonstratensian ruins from
the Middle Ages
★
Museum of Applied Arts
★
National Museum
★
Szabadsåg tér One of the most beautiful squares in downtown Budapest
★
Corvin tér Beautifully restored square at the foot of Castle Hill
★
DohĂĄny Street Synagogue with the Holocaust Memorial (
weeping willow statue)
★
New York Café
★
Ăbuda
★
Palace of Arts and
National Theatre
★
Parliament Building with
King Stephen's
crown and sceptre,
Kossuth Memorial,
Ethnographical Museum,
Attila JĂłzsef statue,
Imre Nagy statue
★
Saint Stephen's Basilica
★
Sashegy The largest Natural Reserve Park of Budapest
★
Shoes on the Danube Promenade Gyula Pauer - Holocaust Memorial
★
Statue Park
★
Széchenyi Chain Bridge,
Academy of Sciences and
Gresham Palace
★
Tomb of GĂŒl Baba
★
VĂĄci Street and
Vörösmarty Square
★
Western Railway Station
★
Erzsébetvåros District VII, the former Jewish quarter
Shopping
VĂĄci Utca, the main shopping street catering to tourists
DeĂĄk-mansion in Fashion Street
Budapest has the most
shopping centres in Europe, including
WestEnd City Center, the largest shopping centre in
Central and Eastern Europe until just recently, and the biggest
Tesco and
Auchan hypermarkets in the world. The
Great Market Hall is a large indoor market and a major tourist attraction.
Most luxurious brands can be found on the high streets, such as
AndrĂĄssy Avenue and
VĂĄci utca.
Transportation
Airport
Budapest Ferihegy International Airport, which has 3 different passenger terminals: Ferihegy 1, which tends to serve the many
discount airlines now flying to and from Budapest, Ferihegy 2/A and Ferihegy 2/B. Terminal 2/C is planned to be built. The airport is located to the east of the centre in the XVIII. district in
PestszentlĆrinc.
Malév (Hungarian Airlines) began to change its aircraft in 2003, and by 2005 owned the most modern fleet in Europe.
Roads
Budapest is the most important Hungarian road terminus; all the major highways end there. Between, the city
Street names were reverted from the names given under Soviet occupation back to their late-19th century names. Budapest is also a major
railway terminus.
Ring road M0 around Budapest is currently under construction.
Commuting with public transport
Budapest
public transport is well covered with services provided by
BKV, the company operates
buses,
trolleybuses,
trams, suburban railway lines, the
metro, boats and many other special vehicles.
Budapest's tram network is extensive, and reliable despite poor track infrastructure and an ageing fleet. Routes 4 and 6 combined form the busiest traditional city tram line in the world, with 50-metre long brand-new Siemens Combino trams running at 60 to 90 second intervals at peak time and 3-4 minutes off-peak and usually packed with people.
Day services operate from 4:30 a.m. until 11:30 p.m. each day. Night traffic (a reduced overnight service) is outstandingly good.
There are three metro lines and a fourth is currently under construction. The Yellow line, built in 1896, is one of the oldest subway lines in the world, following only the early lines of the
London Underground.
The city of Budapest proves that it is the frequency and quality of public transport services which attract people to use it, given the systems reliability and extensive coverage across the city. The city is currently updating and replacing its entire fleet.
Special vehicles
Beside metros,
suburban rails, buses, trams and boats, there are a couple of less usual vehicles in Budapest:
★
trolleybus ''(trolibusz)'' on several lines in
Pest
★
funicular ''(siklĂł)''; the
Castle Hill Funicular between the
Chain Bridge and
Buda Castle
★
cyclecar ''(bringĂłhintĂł)'' for rent in
Margaret Island
★
chairlift ''(libegĆ)''
★
rack railway ''(fogaskerekƱ vasĂșt)''; the
Budapest Cog-wheel Railway
★
children's railway ''(gyermekvasĂșt)''
The latter three vehicles run among
Buda hills
Railway
Main articles: MĂV,
HĂV
Budapest Keleti (Eastern) Railway Station
Hungarian main-line railways are operated by
MĂV. There are three main railway termini in Budapest,
Keleti (eastern),
Nyugati (western), and
DĂ©li (southern), operating both domestic and international rail services. Budapest was one of the main stops of the
Orient Express until
2001, when the service was cut back to Paris-Vienna.
There is also a
suburban rail service in and around Budapest, operated under the name
HĂV.
Waterways
The river
Danube flows through Budapest on its way to the
Black Sea. The river is easily navigable and so Budapest has historically been a major commercial port (at
Csepel). In the summer months a scheduled hydrofoil service operates up the Danube to Vienna.
International schools
Pest, old church
The Chain Bridge
Many embassies and
transnational companies are located in Budapest. They bring many expatriate foreigners and their families to town, creating demand for private and international schools. These schools are usually quite expensive and are attended by the expatriates as well as some richer Hungarians.
International schools:
★
Central European University -
Homepage
★ AndrĂĄssy Gyula Deutschsprachige UniversitĂ€t Budapest -
Homepage
★
McDaniel College (Budapest branch) -
Homepage
★
American International School of Budapest -
Homepage
★
Thomas Mann Gymnasium / Deutsche Schule Budapest -
Homepage
★
International Business School -
Homepage
★ International School of Budapest -
Homepage
★ International Christian School of Budapest -
Homepage
★ Greater Grace International School -
Homepage
★ British International School, Budapest -
Homepage
★ Budapest University of Technology and Economy International Secondary School -
Homepage
★ Britannica International School -
Homepage
★ SEK International School Budapest -
Homepage
★ Lauder Javne Jewish Community School and Kindergarten -
Homepage
★ Budapest French School (LycĂ©e
Gustave Eiffel) -
Homepage
★ Austrian-Hungarian European School -
Homepage
★ Japanese School of Budapest -
Homepage
★ Chinese-Hungarian Bilingual School -
Homepage (in Chinese and Hungarian)
Sister cities
These are the official sister cities of Budapest[6][7]: 'Berlin', Germany ''(1992)''
'Dublin', Ireland ''(2006)''
'Frankfurt', Germany ''(1990)''
'Fort Worth', United States ''(1990)''
'Lisbon', Portugal ''(1992)''
'Zagreb', Croatia ''(1994)''
| 'New York City', United States ''(1991)''
'Sarajevo', Bosnia and Herzegovina ''(1995)''
'Tel Aviv', Israel ''(1989)''
'Vienna', Austria ''(1990)''
'KoĆĄice', Slovakia (partner city) |
Some of the city's districts are also twinned to small cities or districts of other big cities, for details see the article
List of districts and towns in Budapest.
Gallery
References
1. http://www.ksh.hu/ Accessed July 13, 2007
2. http://portal.ksh.hu/portal/page?_pageid=37,412178&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL#sett/ TelepĂŒlĂ©sek/AgglomerĂĄciĂłk, 2005
3. http://www.fromoldbooks.org/Wood-NuttallEncyclopaedia/b/buda-pesth.html Accessed July 13, 2007
4. Hungary after the German Occupation
5. Budapest
6. http://www.budapest.hu/engine.aspx?page=20030224-cikk-testvervarosok
7. http://index.hu/politika/belfold/budapest/kvizkerdes74/
See also
★
Bauhaus in Budapest
★
Music of Budapest
★
List of cemeteries in Budapest
★
Urban and Suburban Transit Association (most of its activity is centred around Budapest)
★
Serbs of Budapest
External links
★
Official homepage
★
Touristic information
★
Public transport in Budapest
★
★
Budapest tourism map
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