Budapest
Budapest (
pronounced , Hungarian ) is the
capital city of
Hungary and the country's principal
political,
cultural,
commercial,
industrial and
transportation center.
Budapest has approximately 1.7 million inhabitants, 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
"buda (Old Buda or
Alt-Ofen) together with
Pest on the left (east) bank. It is the
eighth largest city in the European Union.
Budapest's recorded history begins with the
Roman town of
Aquincum, founded around
89 AD on the site of an earlier
Celtic settlement near what was to become
"buda, 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, 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.
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 center 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. By
1800 its population was larger than that of Buda and "buda combined. The population of Pest grew twentyfold in the following century to 600,000, while that of Buda and "buda quintupled.The fusion of the three cities under a single administration, first enacted by the Hungarian revolutionary government in
1849 but revoked on the subsequent restoration of Habsburg authority, was finally effected by the autonomous Hungarian royal government established under the Austro-Hungarian
Ausgleich ("Compromise") of
1867;
see Austria-Hungary. The total population of the unified capital grew nearly sevenfold in
1840–
1900 to 730,000.
During the
20th century, most population growth occurred in the suburbs, with
Újpest 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 (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.
Towards the end of World War II in 1944 Budapest was partly destroyed by British and American air raids.
The following siege lasted from
December 24 1944 to
February 13 1945, and major damages were caused by the attacking Soviet and 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. [
1], [
2] Despite this, Budapest today has the highest number of Jewish citizens per capita of any European city.
On
January 1,
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.
Demographic history
 |
Population Graph |
Population:
*
1800: 54,200
*
1830: 102,700
*
1850: 178,000
*
1880: 370,800
*
1900: 733,400
*
1910: 882,000
*
1925: 957,800
*
1990: 2,016,100
*
2003: 1,719,343
Main article: List of districts and towns in Budapest
Budapest's districts are numbered clockwise, in widening circles, and are organized similarly to the
arrondissements in Metropolitan Paris.
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.
Seven islands can be found on the Danube: Hajógyári sziget (literal translation: Shipyard Island),
Margitsziget (Margaret Island), and Csepel sziget (this island is a separate district of Budapest, 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), Népsziget (connected to the above, but mostly surrounded by water), Háros-sziget and Molnár-sziget.
Notable Islands:
*The Csepel-sziget (pronounced CHE-pel see-get) 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 km², whereas only the northern tip is inside the city limits.
*
Margitsziget is a 2.5 km long island (and 0.965 km² in area) The island mostly consists of a park and is a popular recreational area for tourists as well as for local people. The island lies between bridges Margaret Bridge (south) and Árpád 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 night (generally on the weekends) teenagers go to the island to party (in a dance club) or to just 'chill' with a bottle of alcohol on a bench or on a grass (this form of entertainment is sometimes referred to as bench-partying)
*Hajógyári-sziget (or "budai-sziget) is a man built island, located in the third district. This island hosts many activities such as: wakeboarding, jetskiing during the day, and dance clubs during the night. This is the island where the famous
Sziget Festival takes place, hosting 1000 performances per year and now having 400,000 visitors. Many building projects are taking place to make this is island into one of the biggest enertainment centers of Europe, the plan is to build apartement buildings, hotels, casinos and a marina.
(The below sights are grouped by location.)*
Andrássy Avenue with its several sights including the
State Opera House, the
Pest Broadway and the
House of Terror*
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 (Duna-korzó) with
Vigadó 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
*
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*
New York Café*
Dohány Street Synagogue with the Holocaust Memorial (weeping willow statue)
*
"buda*
Palace of Arts and
National Theatre*
Parliament Building with
King Stephen's
crown and sceptre,
Kossuth Memorial,
Ethnographical Museum,
Attila József statue,
Imre Nagy statue
*
Saint Stephen's Basilica*
Statue Park*
Széchenyi Chain Bridge,
Academy of Sciences and
Gresham Palace*
Tomb of Gül Baba*
Váci Street and
Vörösmarty Square*
Western Railway StationImage:Tehen.jpg|A cow at the 2006 Cow ParadeImage:Hosok2.jpg|Heroes' SquareImage:Budparliament.jpg|The ParliamentImage:Basilicabu2.jpg|St. Stephen Basilica |
Váci Street (The main shopping street) |
Budapest has the most shopping centers in Europe, including
WestEnd City Center, the largest shopping centre in Central and Eastern Europe, and the biggest
Tesco in the world.
All luxurious brands can be found, on the high streets, such as
Andrássy Avenue and
Váci utca.
Electronics are somewhat cheaper than in Western Europe, because the taxes are low, and the stores' pricing is adjusted to the below average wages of Hungary.
Airport
Budapest Ferihegy International Airport, which has 3 different passenger terminals: Ferihegy 1, Ferihegy 2/A and Ferihegy 2/B. The airport is located to the east of the centre in the XVIII. district in
Pestszentlőrinc.
Malév (Hungarian Airlines) had begun 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 1990-1994, the city street names were reverted back to their late 19th century names, which were changed under the Soviet occupation. Budapest is also a major railway terminus.
 |
Budapest Keleti (Eastern) Railway Station |
Commuting with Public Transport
Budapest public transport is mainly provided by
BKV, the company operates Buses, Trolley Buses, Trams, Suburban Railway lines, the Metro, Boats and many other special vehicles.
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 (sikló) between the
Chain Bridge and
Buda Castle*
cyclecar (bringóhintó) for rent in
Margaret Island*
chairlift (libegő)*
cog-wheel railway (fogaskerekű vasút)*
children's railway (gyermekvasút)The latter three vehicles run among
Buda hills.
Railway
Main articles: MÁV, HÉVHungarian main-line railways are operated by
MÁV. There are three main railway termini in Budapest,
Keleti (eastern),
Nyugati (western), and
Déli (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
HÉV.
Subway
Main articles: Budapest Metro, List of Budapest metro stations.The Budapest Subway system is the oldest subway in Continental Europe (the shallow M1 line was operational in 1896). The original subway line is now the M1 or Yellow line. It was fully restored to its original condition, for a historical ride. Two other lines, the M2 (red) and M3 (blue), were built later and serve other parts of the city. The M4 is currently under construction and the M5 is expected to be started in 2007. Both lines M2 and M4 will be fully automated and operate without drivers. The Budapest Subway was the scene of the
2004 film
Kontroll.
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).
Budapest is usually the place where big companies locate their main offices. Because of this, there are many foreigners that work in Budapest, naturally some have children. Therefore Budapest and the surrounding cities have many private and international schools. These schools are usually quite expensive, therefore they are attented by childrens of employees of varies Trans-National Companies and workers at an embassy (the tuition is usually paid by the company or embassy), and some children of richer Hungarians.
List of International schools:
*American International School of Budapest -
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*McDaniel College Budapest -
Homepage*Lauder Javne Jewish Community School and Kindergarten -
Homepage*Budapest French School (Lycée Gustave Eiffel) -
Homepage*Austrian-Hungarian European School -
Homepage*
Thomas Mann Gymnasium / Deutsche Schule Budapest -
Homepage*Japanese School of Budapest -
Homepage*
Franz Xaver von Zach 1754 born in Pest, astronomer
*
Ignaz Semmelweis (Semmelweis, Ignác Fülöp) born 1818 in Buda, physician
*
Árpád Doppler born in 1857 in Budapest, composer
*
Theodor Herzl born in 1860 in Budapest, journalist and founder of modern political Zionism
*
George de Hevesy (Hevesy, György) born in 1885 in Budapest, Nobel Prize winner in chemistry (1943)
*
Georg Lukács (Lukács, György) born in 1885 in Budapest, philosopher
*
Michael Curtiz (Kaminer, Manó Kertész) born in 1886 in Budapest, film director
*
Fritz Reiner born in 1888 in Budapest, conductor
*
Albert von Szent-Györgyi Nagyrapolt born in 1893 in Budapest, Nobel Prize winner biologist, first isolated and described the vitamin C
*
Karl Mannheim (Mannheim, Károly) in 1893 in Budapest, philosopher
*
George Szell (Széll, György) born in 1897 in Budapest, conductor
*
Leó Szilárd born in 1898 in Budapest, developed the nuclear bomb
*
Béla Bartók lived from 1899 to 1940 in Budapest, composer
*
László József Bíró born in 1899 in Budapest, developed the
biro*
Edward Teller (Teller, Ede) born in 1908 in Budapest, "father of the hydrogen bomb" nuclear physicist
*
Sir Georg Solti (Stern, György) born in 1912 in Budapest, conductor
*
Amrita Sher-Gil born in 1913 in Budapest, painter
*
László Papp born in 1926 in Budapest, boxer
*
Ferenc Puskás born in 1927 in Budapest,
football player
*
Tom Lantos (Lantos, Tamás Péter) born in 1928 in Budapest, US Congressman
*
Imre Kertész born in 1929 in Budapest, author, Nobel Prize 2002
*
István Kertész born in 1929 in Budapest, conductor
*
George Soros (Soros György) born in 1930 in Budapest
*
Andy Grove (Gróf, András István) born in 1936 in Budapest, founder and former Chairman and CEO of Intel Corporation
*
Ernő Rubik born in 1944 in Budapest, developed
Rubik's Cube*
Péter Esterházy born in 1950 in Budapest, author
*
Zoltán Kocsis born in 1952 in Budapest, pianist
*
Zoltán Kodály lived and died 1967 in Budapest, composer
*
Pál Erdős born in 1913 in Budapest, mathematician
*
Robert Capa born 1913, grew up in Budapest, reporter, photographer
{| valign="top" |
*
Berlin,
Germany (1992)*
Fort Worth,
United States (1990)*
Frankfurt,
Germany (1990)*
Košice,
Slovakia*
Lisbon,
Portugal (1992)*
New York City,
United States (1991)
* Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (1995)
* Tel Aviv, Israel (1989)
* Vienna, Austria (1990)
* Vilnius, Lithuania
* Zagreb, Croatia (1994)'' | 
