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The capital and largest city of Hungary, in the north-central part of the country on the Danube River. It was formed in 1873 by the union of Buda on the right bank of the river with Pest on the left bank. The city was the center of the Hungarian uprising against the Communist government in 1956. Population: 1,700,000.
For more information on Budapest, visit Britannica.com.
Budapest was formed in 1873 by the union of Buda (Ger. Ofen) and Óbuda (Ger. Alt-Ofen) on the right bank of the Danube River with Pest on the left bank. Buda, situated among a series of hills, was traditionally the center of government buildings, palaces, and villas belonging to the landed gentry. Pest, a flat area, has long been a commercial and industrial center.
History
The area around Budapest may have been settled as early as the Neolithic era. Aquincum, the Roman capital of Lower Pannonia, was near the modern Óbuda, and Pest developed around another Roman town. Both cities were destroyed by Mongols in 1241, but in the 13th cent. King Béla IV built a fortress (Buda) on a hill around there, and in the 14th cent. Emperor Sigismund built a palace for the Hungarian rulers. Buda became the capital of Hungary in 1361, reaching its height as a cultural center under Matthias Corvinus. Pest fell to the Turks in 1526, Buda in 1541.
When Charles V of Lorraine conquered them for the Hapsburgs in 1686, both Buda and Pest were in ruins. They were resettled, Buda with Germans, Pest with Serbs and Hungarians. Buda, a free royal town after 1703, had a renaissance under Maria Theresa, who built a royal palace and in 1777 transferred to Buda the university founded in 1635 by Peter Pazmany at Nagyzombat. The university was later moved (1784) to Pest. In the 19th cent. Pest flourished as an intellectual and commercial center; after the flood of 1838, it was rebuilt on modern lines. Buda became largely a residential sector.
After the union of Buda and Pest in 1873, the united city grew rapidly as one of the two capitals of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. The city was by 1917 Hungary's leading commercial center and was already ringed by industrial suburbs. Also a beautiful city, Budapest became famed for its literary, theatrical, and musical life and attracted tourists with its mineral springs, its historic buildings, and its parks. Especially notable is the large municipal park and the showplace of Margaret Island (Hung. Margit Sziget), in the Danube, where St. Margaret, daughter of Béla IV, had lived in a convent.
With the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy (Oct., 1918), Hungary, under Count Michael Karolyi, was proclaimed an independent republic. Budapest became its capital. When Karolyi resigned (Mar., 1919) the Communists, led by Béla Kun, gained temporary control of the city and established a Soviet republic in Hungary; but his troops were defeated in July, and Budapest was occupied and looted by Romanian forces. In Nov., 1919, Budapest was seized by forces of Admiral Horthy, who in Mar., 1920, was proclaimed regent of Hungary.
Horthy allied Hungary with Germany in World War II until Oct., 1944, and that same month German troops occupied Budapest. After a 14-week siege the city fell (Feb., 1945) to Soviet troops. Almost 70% of Buda was destroyed or heavily damaged, including the royal palace and the Romanesque Coronation Church. When Hungary was proclaimed a republic (Jan., 1946), Budapest became its capital. In 1948 the Hungarian Communists, backed by Soviet troops, seized control of Hungary and proclaimed it (Aug., 1949) a people's republic. Budapest was the center of a popular uprising against the Hungarian Communist regime in Oct.–Nov., 1956 (see Hungary).
Buda and Pest, which along with the rural borough of Óbuda (Old Buda) united in 1873 to form the modern Hungarian capital Budapest, were Hungary's geographical and economic centers in the early modern era. By the mid-fifteenth century Buda had become an economically and culturally vibrant royal city and seat of government. In 1541 it was conquered by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (ruled 1520–1566), and until its reconquest by the allied forces of the Holy League in 1686 it remained the center of the Ottoman Empire's northernmost province. From 1686 until 1703 Buda and Pest were under the jurisdiction of the Viennese Court Chamber (Hofkammer). In 1703 they regained their status as royal free cities, opening the way for their spectacular development within the Habsburg Monarchy. Buda, however, never regained its former status as the royal seat, for the Habsburgs ruled Hungary from Vienna, their imperial capital situated over 150 miles to the west.
The population of Buda at the end of the fifteenth century is estimated at twelve thousand, while that of Pest was around ten thousand; under Ottoman rule (1541–1686) Buda and Pest had, respectively, about eight thousand and twelve thousand inhabitants. As a result of Habsburg policy and immigration, the eighteenth century saw a spectacular population surge. By 1820 Pest had become Hungary's largest city, with more than fifty thousand inhabitants as compared to Buda's thirty thousand. In the fifteenth century the majority of Buda's inhabitants were Hungarians, and there were significant German and Jewish minorities. Under the Ottomans, Muslim Turks and Orthodox Slavs made up 50 to 75 percent of the population. By 1714 Germans constituted 52 percent of the population, followed by the Serbs (41 percent) and a tiny minority of Hungarians (5 percent). The relative proportions did not change significantly during the remainder of the century. Although at the beginning of the eighteenth century Hungarians had a plurality in Pest (40 percent), by mid-century Pest, too, had become a German city; in 1746, 67 percent of its population was German, while Serbs and Hungarians made up 17 and 16 percent, respectively.
The administration and economic life of Buda from the 1420s until the Ottoman conquest was regulated by the Ofner Stadtrecht (Buda book of statutes). Under King Matthias I Corvinus (ruled 1458–1490) Buda became the center of the Hungarian Renaissance, contributing significantly to education and culture. The king's library, the Bibliotheca Corviniana, housed some three thousand volumes and was one of the richest libraries in Europe, equaled only by that of the Vatican. Under Ottoman rule, Buda and Pest acquired a clear Oriental character, with mosques and Turkish baths, several of which were still in use at the beginning of the twenty-first century. In the eighteenth century Buda and Pest regained their status as the country's political and cultural centers. New churches, monasteries, and schools were built by various religious orders—Jesuits, Franciscans, Poor Clares, Carmelites, Capuchins, and Augustinians. These new edifices, along with the baroque palace erected by Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI (ruled 1711–1740; king of Hungary as Charles III) and Maria Theresa (queen of Hungary, 1740–1780), gave the twin cities their distinct baroque look.
Bibliography
Balázs, Éva H. Hungary and the Habsburgs, 1765–1800: An Experiment in Enlightened Absolutism. Translated by Tim Wilkinson. Budapest, 1997.
Fekete, Lajos. Buda and Pest under Turkish Rule. Budapest, 1976.
Gerő, András, and János Poór, eds. Budapest: A History from its Beginnings to 1998. Translated by Judit Zinner, Cecil D. Eby, and Nóra Arató. Boulder, Colo., 1997.
—GÁBOR ÁGOSTON
Capital of Hungary and largest city in the country, located in north-central Hungary on both banks of the Danube River; the industrial, cultural, and transportation center of Hungary.
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The country code is: 36
The city code is: 1
Local Time: Jul 27, 2:14 AM
| Budapest | |||
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| Nickname: "Pearl of the Danube" or "Queen of the Danube", "Heart of Europe", "Capital of Freedom" |
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| Coordinates: | |||
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| Country | Hungary | ||
| County | Budapest, Capital City | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Gábor Demszky (SZDSZ) | ||
| Area | |||
| - City | km² ( sq mi) | ||
| Population (2007) | |||
| - City | {{formatnum:1,697,343 HCSO}} | ||
| - Density | /km² (/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | CET ([[UTC+1]]) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | CEST ([[UTC+2]]) | ||
| Website: budapest.hu | |||
| Budapest, including the Banks of the Danube, the Buda Castle Quarter and Andrássy Avenue* | |
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| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
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| State Party |  Hungary |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | ii, iv |
| Reference | 400 |
| Region† | Europe and North America |
| Inscription History | |
| Inscription | 1987 (11th Session) |
| Extensions | 2002 |
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* Name as
inscribed on World Heritage List. † Region as classified by UNESCO. |
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Budapest (Hungarian IPA: ['budɒpɛʃt] 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 Óbuda (Old Buda or Alt-Ofen) together with Pest on the left (east) bank.
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 Óbuda, 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. 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, 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 Óbuda combined. The population of Pest grew twentyfold in the following century to 600,000, while that of Buda and Óbuda 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
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 (
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 blown up 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.
Gábor 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.
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), 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), Népsziget (connected to the above, but mostly surrounded by water), Háros-sziget and Molnár-sziget.
Notable islands:
Budapest has many shopping centres, including WestEnd City Center, one of the largest shopping centres in Central and Eastern Europe. Other shopping malls include Mammut, MOM Park or Duna Plaza. 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 Andrássy Avenue and
Váci utca.
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 Pestszentlőrinc. Malév (Hungarian Airlines) began to change its aircraft in 2003, and by 2005 owned the most modern fleet in Europe.
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.
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 metre ( ft) 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.
Beside metros, suburban rails, buses, trams and boats, there are a couple of less usual vehicles in Budapest:
The latter three vehicles run among Buda hills
 Line 4-6 |
 Budapest Funicular |
 Batthyány tér |
 Millennium Underground old phase at Heroes' Square |
Hungarian main-line railways are operated by MÁV. There are three main railway termini in Budapest, Keleti (eastern), Nyugati (westbound), and Déli (southbound), 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.
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.
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:
These are the official sister cities of Budapest[1][2]:
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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.
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