Budapest (German: Ofen-Pesth or Budapest, Latin: Budapestinum,
Slovak and Czech: Budapešť, Polish: Budapeszt, Croatian: Budapesta,
Yiddish: בודאפעשט, Romanian: Budapesta) is the capital and largest
and most populous city of Hungary, currently the European Union 9
.'s most populous city. It is the political, cultural, commercial,
industrial and transport center of the country, and it is also the
seat of Pest County, but it is not part of it. In 2017, its
registered population exceeded 1.7 (2.5 including suburbs) million
people. The city's population was the largest in 1989, with a
population of 2.1 million at the time, and it remained the country's
most populous city even after the subsequent suburbanization. The
area of the city is 525.14 square kilometers, and in this respect it
is also first among the country's settlements. It is located 161 km
southeast of Bratislava, 214 km southeast of Vienna, 441 km
southeast of Prague, 545 km southwest of Warsaw, and 688 km
southeast of Berlin.
The history of Budapest dates back to
the Celts in the 1st century, as the city was originally a Celtic
settlement. Around 89, the Romans founded the city of Aquincum on
the right bank of the Danubius River, which served as the seat of
the province of Pannonia Inferior, and which corresponds to today's
Óbuda. Opposite Aquincum on the left bank of the Danube lay
Contra-Aquincum, which corresponded to today's Pest. The Roman
fortress was one of the important stations of the Pannonian limes.
It was built at the beginning of the 2nd century and rebuilt from
the ground up at the end of the 3rd century. Its significance was
given by its unusually thick walls, control of the Eraviscus
"capital" and supervision of an ancient commercial crossing. The
fall of Rome and migration caused the depopulation of Aquincum.
Huns, Ostrogoths, Longobards, Avars and Slavs arrived in Pannonia,
followed by Hungarians in the 9th century. The first settlement they
established was completely looted and destroyed by the Mongols
between 1241 and 1242, during the Tatar invasion. The construction
of Buda Castle began in 1243 on what was then known as "Pest
Újhegy", today's Várhegy in Buda. In the 15th century, the restored
city became the center of Renaissance humanism in the Kingdom of
Hungary. At the time of the Jagiellonians, the three cities had
25,000 to 30,000 inhabitants, making them one of the largest cities
in Europe, together with Prague, Vienna and Krakow. The city became
an important center for the cattle and wine trade. This idyll was
overturned by the Hungarian defeat in the Battle of Mohács in 1526,
and then by the capture of Buda by the Turks in 1541. During the 150
years of Turkish subjugation, Christian churches were converted into
mosques, and it was then that the spa culture of the capital became
important. With the help of the Habsburgs, Buda was recaptured by
the Christians from the Turks in 1686, but the area was only
inhabited in the 18th and 19th centuries. century it was able to
develop again. This was enhanced by the fact that, after the
agreement, it was the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy
alongside Vienna. On November 17, 1873, Buda, Pest and Óbuda were
united, which is when Budapest was created. During this time, the
city's most famous buildings were built, and it was then that it
grew into a world city. The Second World War caused enormous damage
to the city. In 1944, the retreating German army blew up all the
bridges on the Danube, and for the next 6 months fierce fighting
raged on the right bank. Part of the Castle Quarter was completely
destroyed as a result of the artillery fire. In 1950, the
administrative division of the city, which is still valid to this
day, was introduced, 23 neighboring cities were united with the
capital, thanks to which the area of the city increased by 2.5 times
and its population by 1.5 times. In the fall of 1956, Budapest
became the center of the revolution aiming to eliminate the
communist power. The popular uprising was crushed by the Soviets.
Budapest is a Beta+ ranked global city, strong in trade,
finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education and
entertainment. The financial center of Hungary, in 2014 it was the
second fastest growing urban economy in Europe. The European
Institute of Innovation and Technology, the European Police Academy
and the first foreign office of the Chinese Investment Agency are
located in Budapest. More than 40 colleges and universities are
located here, including Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), Corvinus
University, Semmelweis University, University of Veterinary Medicine
and Budapest University of Technology and Economics.
There
are several UNESCO World Heritage sites in Budapest, including the
view of the Danube bank, the Buda Castle Quarter, Andrássy út, Hősök
tere and the Millennium Underground Railway, the world's first
electric-powered underground railway and Europe's second underground
railway after London. In addition, the city's Danube bridges are
also important for tourism. There are about 80 geothermal springs in
the city. Budapest is the capital with the most spas in the world.
The world's largest thermal water cave system, Europe's largest
synagogue (the Dohany Street Synagogue) and the third largest
parliamentary building in the world, the Hungarian Parliament, are
located here. Budapest attracts around 12 million international
tourists every year, making it one of the most popular destinations
in Europe. Top of Big7Media's 2020 list of the best European
destinations, Which? and it was the third best European city in a
public opinion poll.
Budapest is administratively divided into 23 districts. For travel
purposes, a division according to the old subdivision of the city into:
Pest: the flat part of the city, east of the Danube
Buda: the hilly
part of the city, west of the Danube
Óbuda: a special part of Buda on
the west bank of the Danube, the oldest part of Budapest
Mnemonic:
Buda = mountain, Pest = flat
By plane
Budapest has one international airport: Ferihegy (BUD,
Ferihegyi nemzetközi repülőtér; pronounced "Farihädj"), or since the end
of March 2011 Franz Liszt Airport (after the Austro-Hungarian composer).
The airport consists of three terminals (Terminal 1 and Terminals 2a and
2b), of which Terminal 1 was closed after the liquidation of Malev
Airline in May 2012.
There are scheduled flights to Budapest from
German-speaking countries from Swiss or the operating line Helvetic
Airways (three times a day) from Zurich, with Austrian from Vienna (3
times a day), as well as from Lufthansa (from Frankfurt am Main and
Munich) and Eurowings (among others Hamburg, Berlin, Bremen, Hanover,
Düsseldorf, Cologne, Stuttgart, Nuremberg and Munich). The flight time
from Frankfurt Airport is 1 hour 40 minutes, from Zurich about 1 hour 30
minutes, from Düsseldorf about 1 hour 30 minutes. The Hungarian low-cost
airline Wizz Air also offers scheduled flights from Budapest to
Dortmund, Hahn, Eindhoven and Maastricht-Aachen .
The Airport
Terminal 2 is connected to the terminus of the M3 line Kőbánya-Kispest
of the Budapest Metro by the city bus line 200E. In Kőbánya-Kispest it
is possible to buy daily and weekly tickets, and the center of Budapest
and central transfer points can be reached easily and quickly by metro.
If you take line 200E to the subway station and from there only continue
by subway, you need two single tickets for 350 forints each. With the
first, the bus ride is compensated and with the second, you can travel
any route on the subway. The line can also be changed. You can also
purchase all types of tickets at the BKV information point at the
airport. However, this only opens at 9 a.m., so it is not manned when an
early flight arrives. However, it is possible to buy all types of
tickets (single trip, day ticket, group ticket, ...) at the ticket
machine in cash or with a credit card. Bus line 100E, which also starts
at Terminal 2, goes straight through to Deak Ferenc ter and costs 900
forints per trip. The airport also has a train connection to
Westbahnhof, which has about 100 trains a day. However, trains depart
from Terminal 1, which is out of service.
Budapest Liszt Ferenc
(Ferihegy) Airport internet (Budapest Liszt Ferenc nemzetközi repülőtér,
IATA: BUD), H 1675, Budapest Pf 53, 1185 Budapest, BUD Nemzetközi
Repülőtér. Tel.: +36 1 296 7000, fax: +36 1 296 6000, e-mail:
info@bud.hu.
By train
Budapest is only about three hours by
train from Vienna. The city has several major train stations, all of
which are connected by metro but are far from each other. It is
therefore advisable to find out about the exact point of
arrival/departure well in advance.
South Railway Station Déli
pályaudvar, Buda, Krisztina krt. 37/ A. the trains from the direction of
Balaton arrive. Train connections start and end here with e.g. Zagreb,
Ljubljana, Osijek and Sarajevo.
Western Railway Station Nyugati
pályaudvar wikipediacommons, Pest, Nyugati tér. Many domestic trains
come here from the west, such as from Szombathely and Esztergom. But
international long-distance trains from Prague (Berlin) and Bratislava
also go to the Nyugati.
East Railway Station Keleti pályaudvar, Pest,
Baross tér, the international railway station. Numerous international
long-distance and night trains start and end here, e.g. from Belgrade,
Bucharest, Košice, Kiev and Lviv.
The Keleti train station is served
every hour between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. by trains from Vienna Central
Station (journey time approx. 2:40 h). There are cheap ÖBB and MÁV
tickets for around €20 per person and direction. Some of these trains go
beyond Vienna e.g. also to Salzburg, Munich and Zurich.
Budapest-Kelenföld railway station Kelenföldi pályaudvar - the "suburban
railway station" in the west of Budapest: Almost all long-distance
trains that go to/from Budapest Déli and Keleti also stop there. The
train station can be reached from e.g. with the new metro line M4.
Kelenföld train station is recommended for travelers who have a
destination in the west and south of the city. Coming from Vienna, you
also save 20-30 minutes travel time compared to the "city tour" to the
Keleti terminal station. There are also international ticket counters at
Kelenföld train station.
Among others, the following
long-distance connections Railjet and ÖBB-Eurocity Budapest pass through
or start there:
Bratislava - Dresden - Berlin - Hamburg
Vienna -
Munich
Brasov - Bucharest
Ljubljana
Belgrade
Zagreb
Graz
By bus
The Népliget bus station in the southeast of the city is
served by numerous international and domestic long-distance bus lines:
Budapest Népliget bus station, 9th district, Üllői út 131 (Metro
Népliget). Tel.: +36 (1) 382-0888 (information weekdays 9am-4pm), +36
(1) 219-8086 (travel agency weekdays 8am-6pm weekends and public
holidays 8am-4pm), email: info@ volanbusz.hu. Open: 4:30am-11pm.
There are international bus connections from Vienna (5 times a day, from
6.50 euros), numerous German and Swiss cities (including Munich,
Stuttgart, Zurich, Basel; several times a week) as well as Poland
(Krakow and Wroclaw), Croatia, Slovenia, Ukraine and Bratislava . There
is a direct bus connection from Cluj-Napoca (Romania), costs about 20
euros.
In the street
From southern Germany, Switzerland or
Austria, the best way to get to Budapest is via Vienna via the Austrian
A4 motorway and the Hungarian M1 via Győr and Tatabánya to Budapest.
From the north and east of Germany, the route via the Czech Republic and
Slovakia is an option. Here you follow the A17 from Dresden, which turns
into the D8 at the Czech border. From Prague you follow the D1 to Brno
and further on the D2, through Slovakia via Bratislava to the border at
Rusovce/Rajka. Via the Hungarian M15 you reach the M1 at
Mosonmagyaróvár. From here you take the M1 via Györ and Tatabánya to
Budapest. The motorways and expressways in Austria, the Czech Republic,
Slovakia and Hungary require a vignette!
The most important trunk
roads lead away from Budapest like a spider's web. In the inner city,
the destination of the street is often not signposted, only the number.
Since the streets are numbered clockwise starting from the west (M1)
(two-digit and three-digit numbers are subclasses of the single-digit
main streets), it is still easy to find your way around:
M1:
Budapest-Győr-Vienna/Bratislava
M2: Budapest-Vac-Slovakia
M3:
Budapest-Nyíregyháza-Ukraine/Romania
F4: Budapest Airport Szolnok
Debrecen Ukraine/Romania
M5: Budapest-Szeged-Serbia
M6:
Budapest-Dunaújváros-Pécs-Osijek
M7:
Budapest-Balaton-Zagreb/Ljubljana
All those important main
arterial roads have a connection to the M0 ring road. The bypass around
Budapest, on which there is a constant risk of traffic jams and
accidents due to the heavy volume of traffic and the state of the road,
has been expanded in the past few years to up to 6 lanes and thus
defused. The ring road has a gap in the mountainous northwest of the
city.
By boat
Budapest can be reached in Germany from the
departure port of Passau via a multi-day boat trip on the Danube.
Budapest has a well-developed public transport network consisting of
buses, trolleybuses, trams, the suburban-like HEV train and, most
importantly, the metro. Opened on May 2, 1896, the M1 Földalatti
(yellow) is the oldest subway in continental Europe and a special
attraction because it was built extremely low with a tunnel height of
2.85 m. The M2 (red, 1970) and the M3 (blue, 1976) are of Soviet design.
The automatic M4 has been in operation on a section since 2014. • All
lines run every 2-5 minutes and are fast. The tickets can be drawn from
machines that can also be operated in English.
BKK provides a
good overview of routes, timetables and tickets. Single tickets for bus
or metro cost 350 Ft., from the bus driver (not all lines; then without
transfer authorization) 450 Ft. Tickets that allow you to transfer
between the bus and the metro are valid for 30 or 90 minutes; they cost
530/750 Ft. As a discount coupon book (10 pcs) of 10: 3,000 HUF. The
strips can be torn off individually (so they are transferrable if you
are not traveling alone). You can also use it over several days. It
should be noted that one lane must be used for each individual journey.
As an example, from Okotogon to Obuda Sziget you need one strip for the
stretch Oktogon to Margit Sziget and then one for the stretch Margit hid
to Obuda Sziget.
For bus lines with an H in front of the number,
you pay extra if you go beyond the city limits. Short-term tickets are
available for 24 hours / 72 hours / 7 days for resp. 2500/5000/6500 ft.
The 5/30 card for 4550 HUF is also interesting: here you get 5 24-hour
tickets that can be used within a month. The date must be entered before
the first trip of the day.
Fare evasion costs HUF 12,000 if you pay
immediately, HUF 16,000 if you pay within 30 days, then HUF 32,000.
(Status: Sep 2022)
Yellow: Vörösmarty tér ↔ Mexikói út.,
important stations: Opera (Opera), Hősök tere (Heroes' Square),
Széchenyi fürdő (Széchenyi Bath)
Red: Déli pályaudvar ↔ Örs vezér
tere, important stations: Déli pályaudvar (southern railway station),
Batthyány tér (square on the Danube, opposite Parliament and at the foot
of Castle Hill), Kossuth tér (parliament square), Keleti pályaudvar
(eastern railway station)
Blue: Kőbánya-Kispest ↔ Újpest-Központ,
important stations: Ferenciek tere, Nyugati pályaudvar (Western Railway
Station), Árpád híd (Árpád Bridge) The route between Nagyvárad tér and
Lehel tér is being reconstructed, rail replacement buses will operate
here.
Green: Kelenföld vasútállomás ↔ Keleti pályaudvar, important
stations Szent Gellért tér (Gellért Thermal Bath), Fövám tér (Market
Hall)
The M1, M2 and M3 metro lines only intersect at one point,
the Déak Ferenc tér. Metro line M4 crosses line M3 at Kálvin tér and
meets line M2 at Keleti pályaudvar. Labels and notices on the metro are
often in three languages (Hungarian, English, German), on buses and
trains mostly only in Hungarian. In the metro, the stations are
announced in good time, after a few days you can at least understand the
names.
The Budapest Card is a discount card that, depending on
the variant, replaces the travel card for two days (HUF 9,990) or three
days (HUF 12,990) on all routes in the city and at the same time offers
discounts on admission to museums, monuments, restaurants, etc. brings
with it. Since entry to the permanent exhibitions has been free for some
time anyway, the Budapest Card is hardly worth it anymore.
Seniors from EU countries and Switzerland (from 65) can use public
transport in Budapest free of charge upon presentation of their passport
or identity card.
Park
There is a fee for parking in much of
the city. There are corresponding zones, the prices in 2022 are 175-440
Ft./hour.
Yellow zigzag lines or continuous and broken yellow
lines indicate stopping or parking restrictions.
taxi
Taxis
are equipped with meters, as of 2022: basic price 700 Ft. + 300 Ft./km
or 75 Ft./min waiting time.
Building
1 Castle (Bus 16). In the south of the
castle hill is the castle, which towers over the Danube and the
chain bridge. Inside the building complex are the Hungarian National
Gallery, the Ludwig Museum, the Budapest History Museum and the
Szechenyi National Library. Since 2002 the castle has also been the
seat of the Hungarian President. The castle has been destroyed
several times in its history. The first fortifications at this point
were built by King Béla IV in the 13th century, after the Mongol
invasion of 1241, and have been the seat of the Hungarian kings ever
since. The first documented mention of the then Gothic palace, the
remains of which can still be seen today, dates from 1255. Later,
the palace was increasingly rebuilt and expanded in the Gothic
style, including under King Matthias, who introduced the Renaissance
style. After years of siege, the invading Turks finally managed to
conquer the castle in 1541. In the 145 years of occupation that
followed, the castle palace gradually fell into disrepair, as the
premises were used as stables, powder rooms and other storage rooms.
Certain strategic areas were also important to the Turks, and they
strengthened and expanded the fortifications so that repeated
attempts by Christian armies to take the castle were doomed to
failure. Finally, in 1686, the castle was besieged again, this time
by Duke Charles V of Lorraine. After two months of bombardment of
the castle hill and countless bitter battles, in which the complex
was almost completely destroyed, the decisive attack took place on
September 2, 1686, in which the Turks were crushed and finally
driven out. Under the Habsburgs, the palace was gradually rebuilt
from the early 18th century. At the end of the Second World War,
however, it was again almost completely destroyed. And again it was
rebuilt, this time according to the plans of the previous centuries.
As early as 1968, certain sub-areas were opened for viewing, but
further excavations and reconstructions are still taking place
today. In 1987, the castle was finally declared a UNESCO World
Heritage Site together with the banks of the Danube and Andrássy út.
2 Fisherman's Bastion (Halászbástya; Bus 16) . The section of the
fortress wall surrounding the Fisherman's Bastion was defended by
the fishermen from the neighborhood below in the olden days. At the
end of the 19th century, the bastion was redesigned and given its
current neo-Romanesque appearance. The seven towers are symbols for
the seven conquering tribes. The Fisherman's Bastion offers a great
view over the Danube to the Pest district. The upper part of the
fortifications is chargeable during the day in the season. However,
later in the evening you can enjoy the view of the nocturnal
metropolis for free. In the bastion stands the equestrian statue of
King Stephen I, which was erected here only a few years later. The
Hilton Hotel, which is directly adjacent to the Fischerbastei, forms
a strong contrast. The hotel was built in the 1970s and the
reflection of the bastion in the brown glass front is a popular
photo motif.
Parliament (Országház; metro station Kossuth Lajos
tér, line 2 (red)). The third largest parliament building in the
world and at the same time the largest building in Hungary is the
symbol of Budapest. The neo-Gothic palace, which lies directly on
the Danube, was built between 1885 and 1902. Inside there are over
700 rooms and 29 staircases. The building is modeled on Westminster
Abbey in London. The Parliament can be visited, tickets for guided
tours are sold in the visitor center, which is located at the north
end of the building in a structure below street level (tram line 2,
station "Országház, látogatóközpont"). There are German-speaking
tours at least once a day, more often in the high season. You should
find out whether there are any official dates on which Parliament is
closed to visitors on the day you wish to visit. Sometimes there are
long queues (waiting time over an hour), so it is advisable to queue
early or the day before. It is also possible to order tickets
online. The tour begins in a magnificent staircase made of marble
and gold. The crown jewels of Hungary can be viewed in the central
domed hall (the only room where photography is prohibited). In the
further course of the tour you will also see the Gobelin Hall, in
which there is an almost 30 square meter carpet with a historical
depiction, and the Parliament Hall. Price: adult EU citizens HUF
3,500, non-EU citizens HUF 6,700, students up to 24 years of age
about half each, children under 6 years of age have free admission.
3 Citadel (Citadella). Perched on top of Gellért Hill, the citadel,
now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was built from the experience of
the March Revolution. When the Hungarian Reichstag declared its
independence from Habsburg-Lorraine and proclaimed the republic on
April 14, 1849, the Hungarian urge for freedom was crushed by the
Austrian army with the help of Russian and Croatian troops. Plans
were now being made in Vienna to encircle Budapest with a fortress
belt in order to be able to better control the capital militarily
and to remind the population of Austrian supremacy. Except for the
citadel, however, these plans were never implemented. On February
12, 1945, after heavy fighting with the German Wehrmacht, it was
occupied by the Soviet Army. A Statue of Liberty was erected at the
southern tip in 1947 to commemorate this liberation day.
Great Synagogue (Dohany Zsinagoga), VII. Dohány utca 2 / Budapest
(metro lines 1, 2 or 3 to Dak tr; tram lines 47 or 49; bus lines 7,
7A or 78; trolleybus 74). Tel.: +36 1 342 13 35, fax: +36 1 342 89
49. The Great Synagogue in Budapest was built in Moorish style by
Ludwig Förster between 1854 and 1859 and is the largest synagogue in
Europe and the second largest in the world (the largest located in
New York). During World War II, it was first damaged by the Germans
in 1939. It later suffered further damage during the siege by the
Soviet Army at the end of World War II. In 1991 the building was
extensively restored. Open: Mon-Fri 10am-3pm, Sun 10am-1pm; closed
on Jewish holidays. Price: 600 HUF. edit info
Actually, one
cannot speak of a building here, but of a whole complex, which
consists of the following five parts:
The synagogue itself
has a length of 53 meters, width of 26.5 meters and 43 meter high
towers and a capacity for almost 3000 people.
The Jewish Museum
was built in 1931 and contains a collection of religious relics and
a Holocaust memorial room (see also under Museums).
The Temple of
Heroes was designed and built by Lazlo Vágó and Ferenc Faragó in
1931. This originally served to commemorate the Hungarian Jews who
lost their lives during the First World War and has a capacity of
approx. 250 people.
The Jewish cemetery is in the courtyard of
the synagogue. In 1944/45 alone, two thousand Jews who had died of
cold and hunger in the Jewish ghetto were buried there.
The Raoul
Wallenberg Holocaust Memorial Park commemorates the 400,000
Hungarian Jews who died during the Holocaust and those who risked
their lives to save many Jews from death.
Rumbach Synagogue
(Rumbach Zsinagoga), Rumbach Sebestyén utca 9, 1075 VII. kerület,
Budapest (metro lines 1, 2 or 3 to Dak tr; tram lines 47 or 49; bus
lines 7, 7A or 78; trolleybus 74 (approx. 150 meters from the Dohány
Street Synagogue)). This synagogue owes its name to the street on
which it is found. Rumbach Sebestyén Utca, in turn, was named after
Pest's medical officer, Sebestyén Rumbach, who lived here from 1764
to 1844. The synagogue was dedicated in 1872 and built by the
conservative community. The women's gallery is separated here, there
is no organ and the Torah lectern is in the centre. In 1941, the
synagogue in the Jewish ghetto was converted into a barracks and
Jewish prisoners were held here. The synagogue is now closed, but
its external appearance is well worth seeing.
Central Market Hall
(Nagy Vásárcsarnok), Vámház körút 1–3 / Budapest (metro from Kálvin
Tér or tram line 47). The Great Market Hall (nagy = big) was
designed and built from 1894 to 1896 by Samu Pecz, an architect and
teacher at the Technical University. Originally, a ship canal and a
railway line led directly to the hall to enable goods to be
transshipped quickly. The building, based on a steel structure, is
clad in colorful glazed bricks. There are almost 200 shops on three
levels, offering the entire range of regional products, from fresh
food and textiles to tourist souvenir shops. There are other,
somewhat smaller market halls in the same style distributed
throughout the city, which serve to supply the residents of the
district and direct marketing by farmers in the surrounding area.
These smaller halls are a bit more original and are also well worth
seeing. Just look out for brick facades that resemble train station
buildings and bear the lettering Vásárcsarnok. Open: Mon-Fri
6am-6pm, Sat 7am-1pm.
Opera House (Operahaz), Andrássy Út /
Budapest. Tel: +36-1-332-8197, Email: latogatas@operabal.com.
Located on Andrássy Út, the opera was inaugurated on September 27,
1884. This was preceded by a 10-year tendering and construction
phase, during which work often came to a standstill for financial
reasons. What is remarkable here is that almost all the works were
carried out only by Hungarian artists/companies. The only exceptions
are the chandelier, which comes from Mainz, and parts of the stage,
which come from Vienna. In June 1980, the opera house was closed for
extensive renovations and reopened on September 27, 1984 to mark its
100th birthday. Open: Visit daily at 3:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. Price:
2800 HUF.
Zoo (Budapesti Állatkert), Állatkerti krt. 6-12 /
H-1146 Budapest (tram line 17 to Szent Lukács Gyógyfürdő). This was
opened in 1866 and is certainly one of the oldest zoological gardens
in Europe. Both Hungarian Art Nouveau and oriental influences can be
found in the architecture. The so-called palm house, which was
designed by Gustave Eiffel, and the elephant house, which has
received several awards, are particularly interesting and worth
seeing. In addition to 500 animal and 4000 plant species, there is
also a 3D cinema. Open: daily 10:00-16:00, closed on Mondays; in
summer sometimes until 6 p.m.
Gül Baba Türbe (Gül Baba
türbéje), II., Mecset utca 14/ Budapest (tram line 17 to Szent
Lukács Gyógyfürdő. From there directly to Gül Baba utca and this
about 100 meters up the hill. The paved road is in poor condition
and only for off-road vehicles and pedestrians. After 100 meters, a
staircase leads up to the left around the facility to the entrance.
Alternatively, S-Bahn H5 and trams 2,4 & 6 to the stop at Margit
Hid, the footpath is only slightly further) . Tel.: +36 (1)
326-0062, e-mail: polonyi2@enternet.hu. The tomb of Gül Baba, who
was born Cafer in Merzifon in the 15th century AD. In the service of
Süleiman the Magnificent, he increasingly ended up in the conquered
areas of the Balkan region with the Ottoman campaigns, until he
finally reached Budapest in 1531. Here he founded a dervish
association and in the course of this foundation was increasingly
called Gül Baba (rose father), since he always carried a rose with
him. According to the story, he is said to have introduced the rose
to Hungary for the first time. He also wrote numerous poems that
still influenced the works of the Hungarian composer Jenő Huszka 400
years later. In 1541, the year of the final conquest of the city,
Gül Baba died in Budapest. Whether his death is related to the
conquest is still disputed to this day. What is certain is that he
was made the patron saint of the city of Buda and his body was
buried on the Rose Hill (Rózsadomb). The mausoleum is considered the
northernmost shrine of Islam. It is set in a small, very well kept
rose garden with a large cedar and a water feature. Upon request
from the security officer, the mausoleum will be opened. The whole
complex is very peaceful and invites you to linger. The view of the
Margit Sziged is certainly not fantastic but worth seeing. In the
basement of the surrounding, newly built facility there is also a
freely accessible exhibition, which u.a. shows historical maps of
the area at that time. Open: daily 10:00-16:00.
Nyugati
pályaudvar, Budapest (metro line 3 to Nyugati pályaudvar). The
Western Railway Station is one of the three major train stations in
Budapest and the most interesting historically and architecturally.
From here a train left for Vac on July 15, 1846, ushering in the
railway age in Hungary. The original building soon could not
withstand the growth of the following years, since by the end of the
19th century half of today's railway network was built in Hungary.
After a tender, Gustave Eiffel's Paris company was awarded the
contract to build a new building. The new building was constructed
between 1874 and 1877 while the station was in operation. In 1911
the railway depot was added. In 1990, McDonalds became an investor
in the aging building. The station restaurant was converted into a
fast food restaurant, which was adapted in concept and design to the
more than 100 year old building.
Keleti pályaudvar, Baross
tér / District VIII / Budapest (metro line 2 to Keleti pályaudvar).
In terms of transport, the Eastern Railway Station is certainly the
most important railway station in Budapest, as all international
trains arrive and depart here. In the period from 1881 to 1884 this
building was built in Neo-Renaissance style by the architect Gyula
Rochlitz. At that time, the station was one of the first to have
electric lighting and a central signal box. Monuments to inventors
James Watt and George Stephenson stand in front of the entrance.
Vajdahunyad Castle (Vajdahunyadvár), Városliget / Budapest
(metro line 1 to Széchenyi fürdő). Tel: (0)6 1 363-1973. This
castle, located in the city park, is not only a popular destination
because of the agricultural museum housed in the building. The
castle, which is architecturally reminiscent of the Middle Ages, was
built by Ignác Alpár in 1896 for the millennium celebrations. He
used the famous castle of Hunedoara in Romania as a model. What is
special about this building, however, only becomes apparent when you
enter the complex, since all the architectural styles found in
Hungary have been used here. Borrowings from the monastery church in
Ják can be found here, as well as parts of buildings in the
classicist and baroque styles. In front of the castle is the
monument of Anonymus, dedicated to the legendary unknown historian
of King Béla IV, who died in the 13th century. wrote the first
Hungarian chronicle.
Magyar Állami Földtani Intézet, Stefáni
utca 14 / Budapest (bus line 5 or 7 to Stefánia út / Thököly út).
The Hungarian Geological Institute is just outside the city near the
city park and is not only known for its collection of rocks and
minerals. It is one of the most beautiful Art Nouveau buildings.
Responsible for this building erected in 1899 was Ödön Lechner, who
also designed the town hall of Szeged, among other things.
Particular attention should be paid to the three figures on the
pediment supporting a globe.
Academy of Sciences (Magyar
Tudományos Akadémia), Roosevelt tér 9 / Budapest (tram line 2 to
Roosevelt tér). When the reform movement gained momentum in the 19th
century, it was Count István Széchenyi who founded the Hungarian
Academy of Sciences. The Berlin architect Stüler created the
appropriate building in the Neo-Renaissance style, which was handed
over to its intended purpose on December 11, 1865. It still contains
an important library with a distinctive oriental section. In
addition to lecture and meeting rooms, the building also contains a
magnificent ballroom with pictures by Károly Lotz. Smaller classical
concerts are often given here. In 1999 the building was extensively
restored.
Gresham Palace (Gresham-palota), Roosevelt Tér 5-6.
/ Budapest (tram line 2 to Roosevelt tér). Phone: +36 1 268-6000,
Fax: +36 1 268-5000. London insurance company Gresham built this
magnificent Art Nouveau building in 1907. In addition to ornaments,
the facade also contains the bust of Sir Thomas Gresham, who gave
the building its name and who is known to have founded the London
Stock Exchange. The building, which at the time was equipped with
the finest materials and the latest technical refinements, such as
an elevator and central heating, initially served as a setting for a
café, which was mainly frequented by the Hungarian elite. Today
there is a hotel here.
Freedom Bridge (Szabadság híd). The so-called Freedom Bridge was
opened in 1896 under the name "Franz-Joseph-Bridge". As the last
structural measure, he ceremonially drew a silver rivet with his
monogram into the bridge. In keeping with the 1000th anniversary of the
conquest, the bridge was equipped with 4 Turul birds, the same bird
that, according to legend, led the Magyars here. In 1945, this bridge
was also blown up by the retreating German Wehrmacht, but it was put
back into operation in 1946. In 1956 the silver rivet was stolen from
the bridge. Since then, a copy has been displayed under a pane of glass.
Chain Bridge (Szechenyi Lanchid). At the instigation of Count István
Széchenyi, the renowned English engineer William Tierny Clark was
commissioned to design a bridge in Budapest. In 1839, work began under
the direction of Clark's namesake, Adam Clark. Finally, on November 20,
1849, this suspension bridge, which was the largest at the time, was
ceremonially handed over to the population after work had been
repeatedly delayed due to the freedom struggle. This first bridge over
the Danube in the Budapest area was also the trigger for efforts to
unite the cities of Pest and Buda, which was implemented around 1870.
The bridge was completely destroyed in World War II, but rebuilt in 1949
for the 100th anniversary. For the 150th anniversary, the building was
restored again and additionally equipped with fairy lights.
Elizabeth Bridge (Erzsébet híd). Today's Elisabeth Bridge dates from
1964 and is therefore a comparatively young structure. But in this place
the river crossing durau has its tradition. Already in Roman times there
was one of the main crossings over the Danube, so this is the narrowest
point. The ruins of the Roman fortifications Contra Aquincum Castrum at
the inner-city main parish church still bear witness to this today. So
it was not surprising that the construction of a bridge began here in
1898 and was completed in 1903. The bridge, designed as a chain bridge,
was the longest of its kind in the world at the time. This bridge was
also blown up by the German troops in 1945 during the retreat.
Construction of the new bridge did not begin until 1960. This bridge was
the only one that was not rebuilt according to the old plans for traffic
reasons. Instead, a suspension bridge was used. Only the old bridge
pillars were reused. If you still want to look at the old bridge again,
you can do so in Munich in the Deutsches Museum.
Castle District
(Budai várnegyed). The district, which is completely under monument
protection, which is directly adjacent to the Buda Castle and is also
located on the Castle Hill, stretches from Szent György tér to Bécsi
kapu over a length of about one kilometer and a width of about 200
meters. Here is the old town of Buda with numerous baroque buildings,
columns and churches. In addition to the Fisherman's Bastion and the
Matthias Church, there are many other buildings worth seeing and steeped
in history.
Andrássy Út. The boulevard, which has been a UNESCO
World Heritage Site since 2002, starts near Deak Ferenc tér and leads to
Heroes' Square. The street was built in 1870 after the parallel Kiraly
Utca proved too narrow. Important buildings and places on or along
Andrassy Út are the Hungarian State Opera, the Operetta Theatre, the
Moulin Rouge, the Liszt Ferenc tér with the Music Academy, Oktogon
Square and the Franz Liszt Memorial Museum in the Old Music Academy.
Under Andrássy Út runs the "yellow" Millennium Metro - the oldest metro
in continental Europe. The stops are seen from the city center:
Bajcsy-Zsilinsky út, Opera, Oktogon, Vörösmarty utca, Kodály körönd,
Bajza utca and Hösök tere.
Király utca. The heart of the Jewish
quarter near the large synagogue and the Rumbach synagogue is currently
threatened with demolition.
Heroes' Square (Hősök tere).
Consisting of the Millennium Monument and the Hero Monument in the
middle of the square and framed by the colonnade. The memorial, whose
erection was decided by Parliament on the occasion of the millennium
celebrations in 1896, was created by Albert Schickedanz and György Zala
and completed in 1929. The 36m high column supports the archangel
Gabriel, who in turn carries the Hungarian crown in one hand and the
apostolic cross in the other. On the pedestal are the equestrian statues
of Árpád and six other chieftains at the time of the conquest. In the
surrounding colonnade one can find the most important historical
characters of Hungary; from its beginnings under King Stefan I
(Hungarian (Szent) István) to Lajos Kossuth de Kossuth et Udvard, a
19th-century Hungarian freedom hero. The square is closed off on the
left by the Museum of Fine Arts (Szépművészeti Múzeum) and on the right
by the Art Hall (Műcsarnok).
Vaci utca. The so-called
Waiznergasse is the shopping mile of Budapest. Located in the center of
Pest, the oldest trade route runs from Vörösmarty tér to the market
hall. However, this can be divided into two parts. The first part runs
from Vörösmarty tér to the access road to Erzsébet híd. Here you will
find numerous department stores, boutiques and cafés and invite you to
go shopping. Behind the underpass under the feeder to Erzsébet híd there
are fewer shops but many restaurants join them.
Vörösmarty Square
(Vörösmarty tér). The square, named after the Hungarian poet of the same
name, is also the center of Pest. The M1 metro starts here and no other
place in Pest is more frequented. In the center of the square there is a
monument to the Hungarian poet Mihály Vörösmarty, which depicts him
above the Hungarian people. Here is the engraved quote "Hazádnak
rendületlenül légy híve, ó magyar", which means something like "From
love and loyalty to the fatherland, Hungarian, always fulfilled". The
square is surrounded by numerous former trading posts. Since the late
19th century, the Gerbeaud café and pastry shop has been located north
of the square and is known nationally.
Matthias Church (Mátyás-templom; bus 16). Next to the Fisherman's
Bastion is the Matthias Church on the Castle Hill. There has always been
a church on this site since the middle of the 13th century. This place
of worship was originally the 'Church of the German Congregation' in
Budapest and was given a Gothic makeover by King Matthias in the 15th
century. During the Turkish rule, the Matthias Church was a mosque.
After the compromise between Austria and Hungary, Emperor Franz Joseph
and Empress Elisabeth were crowned King and Queen of Hungary in this
church on June 8, 1867. The current design of the church dates from the
second half of the 19th century. The church presents itself as a white
neo-Gothic building with a colorful roof made of majolica tiles.
Cathedral of St. Stephen (Szent István Bazilika). The largest church in
Budapest is located near the Deák Ferenc tér (metro junction). The
construction of this impressive cathedral was ill-fated from the start.
Even the earthworks from 1848 had to be interrupted several times
because Hungary's fight for freedom had broken out. The construction of
the cathedral did not start until 1851, but the nature of the soil was
misjudged. Due to faults in the foundation, the dome collapsed in 1868.
It was finally completed in 1902. In the more than fifty years of
building history, 2 construction managers died (only the third was able
to complete the cathedral) and the building style was changed. During
construction there was a saying "I'll do that when the cathedral is
finished" when it was assumed that this would never happen. But the
cathedral, which was finally completed and dedicated to the first
Christian king István, is impressive with its 96 meter high dome and
capacity for 8,500 people. Among other things, the right hand of the
namesake is kept in it. The dome can be climbed over almost 300 steps to
enjoy the wonderful panoramic view over Pest.
Reformed Church
(Kálvin téri református templom). The Református templom near Kálvin tér
was built in the 19th century. built in neo-gothic style. Characteristic
is the porch with four columns. Worth seeing are the stained glass
windows by Miksa Róth, the organ gallery and the pulpit by József Hild.
Among other things, liturgical objects from the 17th and 18th centuries
are kept in the church.
Franciscan Church (Alcantarai Szent
Péter-templom), Ferenciek tere 9. Already in 1288 a Gothic-style
Franciscan monastery was built here on Ferenciek tér, and in 1298 the
Hungarian constitution was promulgated. The Turks temporarily used this
house as a mosque until the Franciscans returned the building to its old
purpose in 1690. From 1727, today's baroque-style church was finally
built here. The building has a nave with six side niches filled with
frescoes, altars and statues from the 18th and 19th centuries. In 1858 a
tower was added to the church. A small fountain from 1835 can be found
on the forecourt of the church. On this is a sculpture by Ferenc Uhrl
depicting the Nereids (daughters of Neptune).
St. Michael (Szent
Mihály-templom). This church can be found directly on Vaci utca. It was
built by the Dominicans at the beginning of the 18th century. A girls'
school was operated in the adjoining building until 1950. The
single-nave church built in the baroque style is characterized by its
excellent acoustics in addition to many works from the 18th century.
Small classical concerts are often held here. Heated benches make this
pleasant even in winter. The high altar, which shows St. Dominic with
the Virgin Mary, and the frescoes on the ceiling are particularly worth
seeing.
Inner-city main parish church (Belvárosi
plébániatemplom). Just off Ertsébet hid on the Pest side, this church is
close to the waterfront and downtown. At first glance, the church makes
a somewhat inconspicuous impression. But anyone who is interested in the
history of this city cannot avoid this building. This is the oldest
church in Budapest, built on the foundations of a Roman fortification.
This, named Contra Aquincum Castrum, was built in 294 AD. erected and
remains of walls can be found 40 meters away. Around 1000 AD a church
was built here in the Romanesque style. Part of the wall in the south
tower dates from this period. And so it goes happily on. Every
architectural style or religious trend has left its mark here.
Highlights here are certainly the Turkish prayer niche to the right of
the altar or the 15th-century Renaissance-style tabernacles. In the
church you can buy a flyer for 50 HUF, which gives a brief overview of
which part of the wall or niche belongs to which era. It seems almost
irrelevant that Franz Liszt, among others, conducted and performed plays
here or in 1211 AD. the engagement of St. Elizabeth to the Thuringian
margrave took place.
Protestant church. The church to be found on
Deák tér is built in the early style of classicism, and therefore forms
a simple but noble contrast to the mostly baroque churches in Budapest.
Although the building dates from the late 18th century, the façade was
not completed in its present form until 1856. The church is also known
for the Protestant state museum housed here and the sophisticated
acoustics, which are often used for organ concerts.
Serbian
Church (Szerb templom (Budapest)). On Szervita ter, not far from Váci
utca, lies this beautiful baroque style building by Andreas Mayerhofer
around 1730 AD. built church. In the 19th century A reform movement of
Hungarian journalism was founded here by Mihály Vitkovics. The facade
looks a little run down, but the interior of the church is notable for
its numerous golden altars and a statue of Pope John XXIII. shine. In
the center of the Szervita ter stands a pillar with the Virgin Mary.
Teréz Church (Avilai Nagy Szent Teréz-plébániateplom). Located on
the corner of Nagymező utca and Király utca, the Teréz templom is a
classical-style single-nave church. In addition to the large altar by
the Hungarian classicist architect Mihály Pollack and the large
chandelier from 1832, the altarpieces by the artist József Ágost Schöfft
are particularly worth seeing.
St. Anna (Felsővízivárosi Szent
Anna-plébániatemplom). Located on Batthyány tér and close to the banks
of the Danube, this possibly most beautiful baroque church in Budapest
not only had to endure many a flood. According to a design by Kristóf
Hamon, construction began in 1740 and was completed 21 years later by
Mátyás Nepauer. Many a time the church was badly damaged by war and
natural disasters. Most recently, it was even threatened with demolition
in favor of a new subway network. But fortunately this could be
preserved and was restored in the 70s and 80s. Today it is a popular
venue for organ concerts.
Szilágyi Dezső téri református templom.
The Gothic-style church, located on the Buda side on Dezsö ter and on
the banks of the Danube, looks a bit like the little brother of the
Matthias Church. In fact, this is a Calvinist Church. With 15%, the
Calvinist church community in Hungary is the second largest denomination
after the Roman Catholic Church. However, the center of Hungarian
Calvinism can be found in Debrecen.
Hungarian National Gallery (Magyar Nemzeti Galéria), Budavári Palota
A-B-C-D épület / Szent György tér 2. / H-1014 Budapest, Szent György tér
2. Tel.: +36 20 4397 325, fax: +36 1 212 7356 . In 1957 the Hungarian
National Gallery was established from the collections of the New
Hungarian Picture Gallery and the Budapest Museum of Modern Sculptures,
Medals, Prints and Drawings. When it was founded, the collection
included well over 20,000 pictures, sculptures and medals. In 1975 the
company moved to the Castle Palace in Buda. In the years that followed,
the collection was supplemented by further exhibits and some permanent
exhibitions. The crypt of the Habsburg Palatine followed in 1989. Open:
daily except Mon 10:00-18:00. Price: Admission 3400 HUF, up to 26 and
between 62 and 69 years 1700 HUF, over 70 years free. Discounts and free
entry are only available for citizens of EU and EEA countries.
Ludwig
Museum - Museum of Contemporary Art (Ludwig Múzeum – Kortárs Művészeti
Múzeum), Művészetek Palotája / Komor Marcell u. 1. / H-1095 Budapest.
Tel.: +36 1 555 3444, fax: +36 1 555 3458, e-mail: info@ludwigmuseum.hu.
This museum includes a permanent exhibition that shows a large
collection of European contemporary art in addition to works of American
Pop Art by Andy Warhol, Claes Oldenburg and Robert Rauschenberg. One of
the main focal points here is certainly Hungarian art from the 1960s.
All of this is supplemented by changing individual exhibitions. Until
2005 the museum was housed in the Castle Palace in Buda. But then the
move to the newly built Palace of Arts in the south of Pest directly on
Lágymányosi Hid took place. Open: daily except Mon 10:00-20:00. Price:
HUF 3400.
Budapest History Museum. When national awareness increased
again in the 19th century, the historical museum was founded in 1887 to
preserve Hungarian history. After many relocations, the museum's
headquarters moved to the Burg Palast in 1967. Nevertheless, the
historical museum is divided into three thematic parts, which can be
found in different places:
Budapest History Museum - Vármúzeum
(Budapesti Történeti Múzeum - Vármúzeum), Buda Castle Building "E",
Szent György tér 2. Budapest, 1014. Tel.: +36 1 487-8800, fax: +36 1
487-8872. On the one hand, the most famous part and largest part can be
found in the castle. Here you will find, among other things, a rich
collection of Hungarian Neanderthal finds from the period from the Stone
Age (100,000 BC) to Celtic finds from the late Iron Age (3rd to 1st
centuries BC). Permanent exhibitions e.g. B. on Gothic Hungarian art or
Budapest in the Middle Ages complete the spectrum. Open: Mar-Oct: daily
except Mon 10am-6pm; Nov-Feb: daily except Mon 10am-4pm. Price: 1300
HUF. edit info
Kiscelli Múzeum - Fővárosi Képtár, Kiscelli utca 108.
Budapest, 1037 (access from Batthyány tér by bus no. 60, from Kolosy tér
by bus no. 165, or from Margit híd (on the Buda side) by tram no. 17 ).
Tel.: +36 1 388-8560, fax: +36 1 368-7917, email:
kiscell@kiscellimuzeum.hu. Another part can be found at 108 Kiscelli
Street. Here the museum is dedicated to exhibits of recent contemporary
history. This is supplemented by the Museum of Fine Arts. This can be
found in a former monastery building complex. This monastery was closed
by Joseph II in 1783. The buildings were now converted into barracks and
hospital and ultimately stood empty until 1910. The furniture
manufacturer Miksa Schmidt acquired this building for exhibition
purposes and after his death in 1938 bequeathed the complex to the city
with the condition that it be used as a museum from then on. Open:
Apr-Oct: daily except Mon 10am-6pm; Nov-Mar: daily except Mon
10:00-16:00. Price: 1600 HUF, students and people over 62 years 800 HUF,
over 70 years free.
As a third part, the numerous smaller and
larger remains of the Roman period are under the administration of the
museum. In detail these are:
Aquincum, III. District, Szentendrei út
139 / Budapest (HÉV suburban train from Batthyány tér to Aquincum,
change side of the street, then towards the city center past the ruins,
entrance on the left. This looks more like an abandoned garage parking
lot, but you are in the right place here. ). Tel.: +36 1 430-1083, fax:
+36 1 250-1650, e-mail: csepanyi.andrea@iif.hu. In Obuda there is a
larger field of Roman ruins from historical Aquincum. When in the first
century AD. Roman troops conquered this area (Pannonia), they built a
temporary fortress here to control the nearby river crossing. In the
second century AD. this was replaced by a brick castrum. Traders,
farmers and other civilians quickly settled and built around it. With
the rise of Aquincum to Colonia, civil and cultural life here, as well
as in the entire Budapest area, expanded until the collapse of the Roman
Empire at the end of the 4th century. Here in the complex you can find
the remains of temples and residential complexes, streets or baths.
There is also a market and a cemetery to discover. One of the baths is
covered and invites you to dress up in Roman costumes with a small
costume hire service, followed by a photo session (there are also
children's sizes). The complex also includes the lapidarium with a
collection of stone monuments and the museum which, in addition to
numerous excavation finds, shows the reconstruction of a water organ
found here. Open: daily 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (closed on Mondays / 1
November - 14 April closed). Price: 500 HUF to 1600 HUF.
Small
Amphitheater (Polgárvárosi amfiteátrum), corner of Szentendrei Utca and
Zsófia Utca /Budapest (To be reached with the suburban train HÉV at the
Aquincum stop. Here just around the fence.). The small amphitheater,
also called the amphitheater of the civil town, is slightly smaller than
the large amphitheater with dimensions of 85.5 by 75.5 meters and can be
found in Obuda on the corner of Szentendrei Utca and Zsófia Utca.
Located directly on two traffic arteries, it seems a bit lost, but due
to its proximity to Aquincum (200 meters), it is definitely recommended
as a follow-up visit. But from the 2nd century AD. This theater offered
space for up to 7,000 spectators for all kinds of sports fights, animal
fights or other cultural events. Price: free.
Large Amphitheater
(Római katonai amfiteátrum), corner of Nagyszombat Utca and Pacsirtamesö
Utca /Budapest (can be reached by bus lines 29,86,109 and 206 via the
Nagyszombat utca stop or by tram 1,1A via the Flórián tér stop (from
here follow Pacsirtamesö Utca 500 meters south.) From Flórián tér, where
the center of the military camp was located 2000 years ago, it is about
500 meters to the amphitheater of the military town Amphitheater can
still be seen over almost its entire area.Originally, this was a
depression used by the army for training purposes in the early Roman
period.In the second century AD, an amphitheater with a capacity of
10,000 to 13,000 spectators was built there.With the dimensions
measuring 132m × 109m, it is among the largest theaters ever built
outside of Rome ige can still be found at the end of the short axis.
Bath Museum (Thermae Maiores), Flórián tér /Budapest (By tram 1.1A
via the Flórián tér stop). Tel.: +36 1 2501560. The remains of a Roman
bath have been found right on Flórián tér. Studies have shown that there
were already a disproportionately large number of baths here in ancient
times. This of course leads to the conclusion that the Romans already
knew the effects of the thermal springs in the Budapest area. This and
the structure of the baths is explained in the baths museum directly on
the remains of the Roman baths. Open: May-Sep: daily 10:00-18:00, closed
on Mondays; Mar-Oct: only until 5 p.m., closed on Mon; Nov-Feb: closed.
Hercules Villa, Meggyfa Utca 19 /Budapest (By tram 1.1A via the
Flórián tér stop, from here by bus 118 or on foot about 1km along
Szentendrei Utca in a northerly direction, turn left into Bogdáni Utca,
the first street left (Kerék Utca) and again the first street on the
right (Hercules Utca. Follow this for 200 meters to your destination).
Tel.: +36 1 2501560. Northeast of Flórián tér, the remains of a manorial
villa were discovered in the 1950s in the yard of a school. The
magnificent mosaic floors from the 2nd century AD are particularly worth
seeing. with depictions from the Hercules myth. Open: May-Sep: daily
10:00-18:00, closed on Mondays; Mar-Oct: only until 5 p.m., closed on
Mon; Nov-Feb: closed.
Cella trichora. East of Flórián tér are the
remains of a Christian church from the 4th century AD. If you follow
Vörösvári Utca 600 meters to the east from Flórián tér, you can turn
into Körte Utca. After less than a hundred meters you reach the remains
of these ruins at the next crossroads.
Against Aquincum. The
remains are on the plague side directly at the inner-city main parochial
church (see above).
Szechenyi National Library (Országos
Széchényi Könyvtár), 1827 Budapest, Budavári Palota "F" building. Tel.:
+36 1 224 3700, e-mail: inform@oszk.hu. This library was founded in 1802
by Count Ferenc Széchényi. Even then it contained 13,000 books and
numerous manuscripts, coins, coats of arms and the like. A year later,
this collection was also made accessible to the public. In 1846 the
collection moved to the National Museum. The museum has been in the
castle palace on the castle hill since 1985. Open: daily 10:00-21:00,
closed on Mondays.
Mementopark (Szoborpark Múzeum, Statue Park),
22nd district (in the south of Buda), at the corner of Balatoni út and
Szabadkai utca (about 1 hour by public transport: direct bus from Deák
tér daily at 11:00 a.m. (in July and August additionally at 15 :00 h,
4900 HUF); alternatively, as the first destination, stop Kelenföld
vasútállomás (Metro M4), from here change to bus 101B, 101E or 150
(every 15 minutes) and get off at Memento Park after 15 minutes). Tel.:
+36 1 424 7500, e-mail: info@mementopark.hu. When a political change
took place in Hungary in 1989, all the beautiful and less beautiful
monuments from the communist period were banned from the inner city.
However, there was some disagreement about how to proceed. The variants
ranged from destroying all monuments to leaving selected statues
standing. So in 1993 an interim solution was found in storage in a park
in the suburb of Budatétény. There they are now on an area of a football
pitch and are becoming increasingly popular as a new attraction. The
monuments to Lenin and Béla Kun, designed by Imre Varga, are
particularly worth seeing. Open: daily 10:00-17:00. Price: 1500 HUF.
Jewish Museum (Dohany Zsinagga), VII. Dohany utca 2 / Budapest (The
synagogue can be reached by subway lines 1, 2 or 3 to Dak tr; tram lines
47 or 49; bus lines 7, 7A or 78; trolleybus 74.) . Tel.: +36 1 342 13
35, fax: +36 1 342 89 49. The museum was established in 1931 as an
extension of the main synagogue. This museum depicts the history of
Judaism from Roman times to the present day. The valuable Judaica
collection and the collection of the Hungarian philosopher Theodor Herzl
(1860-1904), who is considered the founder of Zionism, are particularly
worth seeing. Of course, a special part is devoted to the Holocaust in
Hungary. Open: Mon-Fri 10am-3pm, Sun 10am-1pm; closed on Jewish
holidays. Price: 600 HUF.
Hungarian National Museum (Magyar
Nemzeti Múzeum), 1088 Budapest, Múzeum krt. 14-16, Múzeum körút 14-16.
(with buses (nr.9&nr.15), trams (nr.47 & nr.49) or metro line 3 to
Kálvin tér). Phone: +36 1 338-2122, +36 1 327-7749, Fax: +36 1 317-7806,
Email: info@hnm.hu. The museum emerged from the Szechenyi National
Library. But now the library is no longer even a part of the program
offered here. The building and the park from 1837 to 1847 alone are
worth seeing. In addition to many monuments, the largest Roman mosaic
ever found in Hungary is on display in the porch. The museum has an
archaeological collection that documents the history of Hungary from
prehistoric times to the 20th century. While many stone finds from Roman
times can be found in the basement, exhibitions from the 18th to the
20th century are shown on the 2nd floor. Up until the year 2000, the
Hungarian royal crown could also be admired here before it went to
Parliament. Open: daily except Mon 10:00-18:00. Price: Admission 1600
HUF, up to 26 and between 62 and 69 years 800 HUF, over 70 years free.
Discount and free entry only for citizens of EU and EEA countries.
Ethnographic Museum (Néprajzi Múzeum), 1055 Budapest, Kossuth Lajos
tér 12, Dózsa György út (behind the Parliament; metro line 2, bus lines
15, 70, 78, 115 or tram line 2 to your own stop). Tel.: +36 1 4732-440,
fax: +36 1 4732-441, e-mail: info@neprajz.hu. The magnificent building
was built by Alajos Hauszmann towards the end of the 20th century and
originally housed the Supreme Court. If you take a closer look in the
entrance area, you will discover many more indications of the original
purpose. Since 1973, the 125 meter long palace has housed the
Ethnographic Museum. Above all, the way of life, art and culture of the
simple Hungarians is shown here. But there is also a collection on the
subject of the Finno-Ugric ethnic group, to which the Hungarians are
known to belong, and a collection on the subject of Stone Age finds from
all over the world. The whole thing is supplemented by changing special
exhibitions. Open: daily except Mon 10:00-18:00. Price: Admission 1000
HUF, up to 26 and between 62 and 69 years 500 HUF, over 70 years free.
Museum of Fine Arts (Szépművészeti Múzeum), Dózsa György út 41, 1146
Budapest (The nearest stop is Hősök tér, served by metro line 1 and bus
lines 20E, 30, 30A, 75, 79, 105, 979). Tel.: +36 1 469 7100, fax: +36 1
469 7171, e-mail: info@szepmuveszeti.hu. When Hungary celebrated the
millennium in 1896, it was decided to found a museum of fine and fine
arts. But first a building had to be built. So, 2 years later, the
decision was made to put out a tender for the plans of Albert
Schickedanz and Fülöp Herzog. Construction began in 1900 and six years
later, on December 1, 1906, the museum was inaugurated. Even before
moving in, the collection was enormous. Numerous donations and purchases
had led to one of the largest European collections. These included
paintings by Rubens, Leonardo da Vinci and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. The
focus of the exhibition is around 2,500 works by old masters of European
painting from the 13th to the 18th centuries. This is supplemented by an
Egyptian collection, a collection of antiquities, a collection of old
sculptures, a graphic collection and a collection of modern art. Open:
daily except Mon 10:00-17:30. The museum is currently closed and will
reopen in 2018[obsolete].. Price: approx. 1600 HUF.
Art Hall
(Műcsarnok), H-1146 Dózsa György út 37., piazza degli Eroi (The nearest
stop is Hősök tér, served by metro line 1 and bus lines 20E, 30, 30A,
75, 79, 105, 979) . Tel.: +36 1 460 7000, fax: +36 1 363 7205, e-mail:
info@mucsarnok.hu. The Art Hall is located opposite the Museum of Fine
Arts on Hősök tér. It does not have its own collection, but shows
changing exhibitions. The building was also designed by Albert
Schickedanz and Fülöp Herczog and inaugurated in 1895. With the Ernst
Múzeum (1065 Budapest, Nagymező u. 8.) and the Dorottya Gallery (1051
Budapest, Dorottya u. 8.), the Kunsthalle has two other rooms in the
Pest area. Open: daily 10:00-18:00, Thurs 12:00-20:00, closed on
Mondays.
Labyrinth (Budavári Labirintus), Entrance 1: 1014
Budapest, Úri utca 9 / Entrance 2: 1014 Budapest, Lovas út 4/A. Tel: +36
1 212 0207, Email: info@labirintus.com. The maze is permanently closed.
The underground passages that run through the castle hill have been set
up over a length of 1.2 km for a special kind of permanent exhibition.
The corridors feature light and sound installations, paintings and
sculptures on five different themes (Primeval Labyrinth, Historical
Labyrinth, Other World Labyrinth, Labyrinth of Courage and Labyrinth
Exhibition). It's worth looking into every niche, otherwise you'll
overlook a lot. A special highlight can be experienced from 6 p.m., when
all artificial lights are switched off and oil lamps are distributed.
Open: daily 9:30-19:30. Price: 2000 HUF.
Wine Museum (Magyar borok
háza), I.kerület, Budavár, Szent György tér, Nyugati sétány. Phone: +36
1 267-1100, Fax: +36 1 267-1100. In this museum, the history of
winegrowing is explained as well as the 22 different winegrowing regions
in Hungary. Of course, the pálinka gets its own room. The whole thing
can be found in the freshly restored part of the castle hill between the
castle palace and the old town on the castle hill. Wine cellars were
discovered here that were already in use in Roman times. These can also
be visited. Finally, after so much theory, it is of course possible to
enjoy the practice in the form of a wine tasting. Open: daily
12:00-20:00; Oct-Apr: Mon day off. Price: 900 HUF (without wine
tasting).
Margit Sziget. Margaret Island is located between Árpád and Margaret
Bridges. This island is the green heart of the Hungarian capital with
opportunities for walking and sports. Really quiet because the island is
free from car traffic. Originally, this was called Haseninsel and housed
a Dominican convent there. But when Béla IV faced the Tartars, he
promised to send his daughter Margaret to this monastery in case of
victory. So he defeated the Tatars and sent his daughter to the
monastery. She spent her whole life there and was beatified shortly
after her death in the 13th century. The island has borne this name ever
since. In the 18th century, as part of the conversion to a local
recreation area, extensive parks were laid out. There are also numerous
busts, monuments and buildings or building remains here. The water tower
listed as a World Heritage Site and the ruins of the Dominican convent
with a church bell from the 15th century are particularly noteworthy.
Varosliget. The city park adjoining the Hősök tere is one of the most
popular local recreation areas in Budapest with an area of 1.2 km². In
1810, this former swamp area was transformed into a park by the French
landscape gardener Nebbion. Over the years, more and more various
leisure facilities have settled here. Here you can find i.a. Vajdahunyad
Castle (see building), Zoo (see building), Ice Rink, Széchenyi Bath (see
Baths), Metropolitan Circus, Vidámpark (with a wooden roller coaster
from 1922), Restaurant Gundel (see Food) and the Transport Museum.
Obuda Sziget. This island in the Danube, lying to the north of the
Margit, naturally takes its name from its location. The island is best
known for the annual Sziget Festival (see events). But the island, which
is open to the public, also offers a whole range of nightclubs in
addition to a golf course and swimming pool. The best way to get to the
island is with the Szentendrei HÉV, which runs between Batthyány tér and
Szentendre. The Filtatorigát stop here is also ideal for visiting the
Sziget Festival. (The current timetable can be found on the HEV page.)
Új köztemető (on Kozma út; by tram 28, 37 or bus 68, 95, 201E, 202E) .
The large city cemetery lies away from the center in a southeasterly
direction. Here is the grave of Imre Nagy and his companions, who were
buried here in plot 301 after the suppression of the 1956 uprising and
their execution. They have been rehabilitated since 1989 and were to be
reburied in a newly designed grave complex, but Imre Nagy's family had
spoken out against it, and the wish was granted. The Jewish cemetery is
directly adjacent to the municipal cemetery. Here you will find, among
other things, the mausoleum of the Schmidl family, which was built in
1902 in the Hungarian Art Nouveau style.
Kerepesi temető. This
cemetery can be found near Ostbahnhof. Here you can find many tombs and
mausoleums of famous Hungarians. Mention should be made here e.g. the
poet Mihály Vörösmarty, the former Prime Minister Count Lajos Batthyány
or the composer Ferenc Erkel. The artists' sector, the arcades and some
mausoleums are particularly worth seeing. It is appreciated by the
citizens of Budapest above all for the peace and quiet in the middle of
the city. The cemetery can be reached by tram line 24 / stop Dologház
utca.
Pálvölgyi Cave (Pál-völgyi-barlang), 1025 Szépvölgyi út 162/
District II / Budapest (with line 65 to the Pál-völgyi cseppkőbarlang
bus stop right in front of the cave). When in 1904 a pit supervisor
observed a sheep suddenly literally disappearing from the meadow, he
found access to this cave during the rescue operation that was
initiated. And that's something to be proud of. With a length of about
14km, it is the third largest stalactite cave in Hungary (the longest is
in the Aggtelek National Park). In 1944 it was included in the list of
Hungarian nature reserves. The cave leads to a depth of 100 meters and
has a constant temperature of 11°C. Therefore, one should dress
accordingly. A 500m long section is visited in one round. This sounds
relatively short, but large differences in altitude are covered here.
Therefore, at least 45 minutes should be planned for the visit, which is
only possible with a guide. During a guided tour you can see some
strange stalactite formations or petrified imprints of ancient shells. A
tour always starts 15 minutes past the hour. Open: daily 10:00-16:00,
closed on Mondays.
Szemlöhegyi Cave (Szemlő-hegyi-barlang),
Pusztaszeri utca 35/ District II / Budapest (The cave can be reached by
bus lines 291 and 111 to the "Szemlő-hegyi-barlang" stop. Alternatively,
you can take the H5 to the Szépvölgyi bus stop út and walk out of town
along Szépvölgyi út to Pusztaszeri utca (a small wooden sign shows the
way). The cave was discovered by accident in 1930 during construction
work. In the 1980s, extensive work made it accessible to the public. The
unusual-looking so-called pea stones are particularly interesting here.
During research work, a thermal spring was also discovered inside the
cave. At the beginning of the 1990s, a healing effect of the air on
respiratory diseases could also be proven in this context. Since then,
the cave has also been used for medical therapy purposes. The
approximately 2 km long grotto is partially illuminated and guided tours
are organized every hour. During a single tour, the environmental
pollution of two weeks is said to be washed out of the lungs. Longer
stays are also possible. While these tours are free for locals, this
service is chargeable for foreigners. However, there is currently a
waiting period of around 9 months for a place for a longer stay. Open:
Mon, Wed, Fri 10:00-15:00, Sat-Sun 10:00-16:00. Guided tours of the cave
take place every hour and are in Hungarian and English. Price: The tour
costs 1000 forints per person.
Thermal baths
Over 120 thermal springs in the urban area have
shaped the history of the city. The Romans already used the springs for
their bathhouses and brought bathing culture to Budapest. The oldest
baths date from the period of Turkish rule: the Rudas and Kiraly baths
date from the mid-16th century. Since 1934 Budapest has been a
state-approved spa. Some baths have separate bathing days for men and
women.
2 Gellert Baths (Gellért Szálló) wikipediacommons.
Architecturally spectacular swimming and thermal baths on the banks of
the Danube. Price: Day ticket from HUF 4,900.
3 Széchenyibad
(Széchenyi gyógyfürdő) wikipediacommons. 10 pools in an architecturally
attractive atmosphere in the city park. Chess boards are partially
embedded in the bathrooms. Price: Day ticket from HUF 5,900.
4 Kiraly
Bad. Dating back to 1565, this bath represents one of the few remains of
the Ottoman period. Open: "Closed indefinitely" since 2020.
5
Raczbad. The bathroom dates from the 16th century and is currently being
renovated.
6 Lukác's bath. The bath, known as an artists' meeting
place, offers a 1800m² park. Open: 7:00-19:00. Price: day ticket from
3500 HUF, weekend 3900 HUF.
7 Rudas bath. This almost 500-year-old
Turkish bath was last renovated in 2005 and also offers a pump room with
medicinal spring water for a drinking cure. Price: Day ticket Mon-Fri
5500 HUF, WE 6900 HUF.
8 Danubius Thermal & Conference Hotel Helia.
In this 4-star hotel in Scandinavian style there is a wellness area with
sauna, steam bath and four pools.
9 Danubius Thermal Hotel Budapest,
Margitsziget. Bathing complex on Margit Sziget with a swimming pool and
4 medicinal pools.
10 Ramada Plaza Budapest (The Aquincum Hotel). In
the elegant hotel on the banks of the Danube there are also thermal
pools, a sauna and a steam bath.
City tours
By public
transport above ground:
Tram line 2 from the market hall along
the Danube to the parliament
Bus 16 from Széll Kálmán tér metro
station to Matthias Church and on to Erszébet tér
Tram 61 from Széll
Kálmán tér through Buda to Móricz Zs. körtér, then tram 6 back through
Pest
As usual in all larger cities, there are also sightseeing tours
in Budapest.
Hop-on hop-off tours and their advertising can be
found in every hotel and at every metro station in the city center, be
it from ProgramCentrum or City Tour.
Boat trips during the day or in
the evening with the boats of Legenda
to borrow a bike
MOL Bubi is
a public bike sharing system. The offers for 24 hours, 72 hours or 7
days are interesting for tourists. Requires the app.
Miscellaneous
Sziget Festival Budapest, organization: Orlay u. 5-7,
1114 Budapest. Tel.: +36 1 372 0650, e-mail: info@sziget.hu. In the
first half of August, the Sziget Festival takes place on Óbudai Island.
Almost 400,000 participants experience the most famous Hungarian
musicians and foreign stars. You can also take part in theater
performances, film screenings, exhibitions, classical music concerts and
sports programs. Price: Entry prices vary, in 2022 there were passes
from €250-475.
The oldest and most famous shopping street in the city is Váci utca.
This is located directly behind the Danube bank on the Pest side of the
city and leads from Vörösmarty tér parallel to the bank to the market
hall. In the first part between Vörösmarty tér and Erzsébet híd you will
find many boutiques of well-known brands, souvenir shops and one or the
other specialty shop. The advice to those who want to shop is to look
into one or the other side street, as many shops have also settled here
over the course of time. Chic boutiques are becoming rare behind
Erzsébet híd, but there are one or two art or antique shops. At the end
of Váci utca, the market hall is the absolute shopping highlight for
anyone interested in Hungarian products.
Those who are less
interested in traditional shopping and who like to have everything in
one place will of course also find various shopping centers in Budapest.
The most important are:
Skala Metro. Right at Westbahnhof.
Duna Plaza. This shopping center offers an ice rink in a futuristic
building in addition to all conceivable shopping opportunities.
Accessible via the M3 Gyöngyösi utca / Váci út station.
Western City
Center. This shopping center is also located directly at the Westbahnhof
and has a cinema as well as a roof terrace where you can indulge in ice
skating from October to March. In summer you can sometimes go up from
here in a hot air balloon.
Campona. The Campona Shopping Center is
located a bit outside of the city in the south, but this huge complex
offers a shopping center, cinema, massage center and above all a
tropicarium with a huge shark tank, which you can cross in a 13 m long
tunnel.
Eurocenter Obudai. As the name suggests, this shopping center
is located in Óbuda and offers a go-kart track as a highlight.
Accessible by line 17, Perényi út stop.
But Budapest is the
shopping metropolis in Hungary. Therefore, it is often worthwhile to
search specifically:
Fashion: If you are looking for something
upscale, we recommend Fashion Street on Deák Ferenc Street (between Deák
ter and Vörösmarty ter). All luxury brands such as Boss, Lagerfeld & Co
can be found on two floors on 12,000 m². But anyone who now warns that
you don't have to go to Budapest for that is undoubtedly right. They are
recommended to visit one of the many Hungarian designer shops. Here you
will find dresses, hats, bags, shoes etc. that can only be found here.
Porcelain: Queen Victoria had her porcelain brought to her from
Budapest. The pattern created in her honor has since been called
Victoria. But not only this pattern created by the Herender company can
be discovered here. Numerous Hungarian porcelain manufacturers display
their best pieces in their specialist shops in the city to change hands
or just to be admired:
Herend Porcelain, Budapest, 1061, Andrássy
út 16. Tel.: +36 1 374-0006, fax: +36 1 374-0007, e-mail:
belvedereshop@herend.com. Porcelain of the well-known luxury brand from
Herend near Veszprém.
Zsolnay Porcelain, Budapest, Váci utca 19-21.
Email: info@zsolnay.com. Porcelain from Pécs was awarded at the World
Exhibition in Paris in 1878.
Haas & Czjzek, Budapest, Bajcsy
Zsilinszky út 23. The specialist shop of the traditional brand from the
Czech Republic also offers porcelain from Herend, Zsolnay and Hollóháza
near Miskolc
The currency of Hungary is the Forint (HUF), which comes in
denominations of 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000 and 20,000.
In
Budapest, you can rarely pay with euros, and if you do, then the
exchange rate is much worse than in forints. In addition, card payment
(compared to other countries) is rarely possible. It is therefore best
to pay in cash. It should be noted that there are few bank ATMs in
Budapest, while individual Euronet ATMs (which tend to charge higher
fees) can be found on every corner. ATMs with lower fees can be found
e.g. from the "OTP Bank" or the "Erste Bank".
In addition to international cuisine, there are also various
specialties in Budapest that are famous far beyond the city limits:
A particular specialty of the city are the Palatschinken, small,
filled pancakes. The term has nothing to do with ham, but is a
corruption of the Hungarian Palacsinta. Palacsinta are not eaten
individually, but the guest puts together a menu from several sweet and
savory fillings.
Gundel, Állatkerti út 2., H-1146 Budapest. Tel.:
+36-1-468-40-40, fax: +36-1-363-19-17, e-mail: info@gundel.hu. Probably
the best-known restaurant in the city, founded in 1910, is famous for
its Palacsinta.
Gerbeaud Budapest, 1051 Budapest Vörösmarty tér 7-8.
Tel.: +36-1-429-9000, fax: +36-1-429-9009, e-mail: gerbeaud@gerbeaud.hu.
Cake creations such as Esterházy and Dobos cakes from Gerbeaud are well
known. In this café from 1858, which was last renovated in 1997, you
have the opportunity to indulge in this and many other pleasures.
As
Budapest has one of the largest Jewish communities outside of Israel, it
is not surprising that there are a number of Jewish specialty
restaurants here.
Fülemüle Étterem, 1085 Budapest, Köfaragó u. 5.
(The restaurant is located directly at the entrance to Gyulai Pál utca).
Tel.: +36 1 266-7947, email: fulemule@fulemule.hu. In addition to Jewish
cuisine, this multi-award-winning small restaurant can also shine with
very good Hungarian cuisine at good prices. An extra menu can be
prepared for vegetarians on request. Open: Daily 12:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
/ Fridays and Saturdays also until 11:00 p.m. Price: main course from
€8.00 to €20.00.
The good Langosch is rare in Budapest and has
been supplanted by Burger King and McDonalds. But fortunately there is
still one last bastion in the market hall at the end of the Vaci ùcta.
Another Hungarian highlight is the Baumstrietzel (colloquially also
called tree cake, Hungarian Kürtőskalács), which is available in various
flavors. In general, the food is good and varied. Here are a few squares
and streets with a wide range of restaurants to give the hungry tourist
a first orientation:
Vaci útca (Waiznergasse) - Is Budapest's
oldest commercial street. Of course, this well-known promenade is often
the first address for normal tourists. Especially in the part between
Erzsébet híd and the market hall there are numerous restaurants, but on
closer inspection they turn out to be mediocre Italian restaurants
(don't let the bouncers fool you). There are, however, a few pleasant
exceptions:
Fatâl, 1051 Budapest, Váci utca 67. Tel.:
+36-1-2662607. In a side street it goes into the rustic cellar. Hearty
Hungarian cuisine awaits you there at good prices. In summer there are
also tables on Váci utca.
1000 Tea, Váci utca 65. Tel.:
+36-1-337-8217. Also located in a back yard (there is a small
information sign) the smell of incense sticks greets you as you enter.
Comfortable seating areas and, as the name suggests, types of tea from
all over the world (e.g. China, Taiwan, Korea, Turkey, Nepal, Andes, Sri
Lanka or India), which are served in the respective traditional cups,
are the basis of the tea house. There are also small snacks. The ideal
place to rest from shopping stress. Open: Mon.-Sat. 12pm-9pm.
Liszt Ferenc ter (Franz Liszt Square) - near the Oktogon (subway station
of the same name on line 1) on Andrássy Út you will find this square,
which is particularly popular in summer. Lined by 14 restaurants (as of
2009) serving international cuisine, the choice is large and the space
is filled with tables. In summer, the atmosphere invites you to linger
beyond the actual intake of food. Otherwise there are plenty of clubs in
the area. For those who would like to reserve a table beforehand, here
are a few contacts:
Menza, 1061 Budapest, Liszt Ferenc tér 2. Tel.:
+36 1 413-1482. Good breakfast with extensive coffee menu. The
restaurant is also visited by many Hungarians. If you want to avoid a
long wait, you should reserve a table by noon at the latest. Open: Daily
10:00 - 24:00.
Ráday utca (Ráday Gedeon Street) - Here you will
find over 40 different restaurants, pubs and clubs. Due to the Ibis
hotel located here, the clientele is more touristy, which does not
detract from the quality of some localities:
IF Kávézó, 1092
Budapest, Ráday utca 19. Tel.: +36 1 299 0694, fax: +36 1 299 0695,
e-mail: ifkavezo@t-online.hu. A striking number of poultry dishes. The
homemade lemonade is particularly recommended. The status of a jazz café
is underlined with regular live music. Open: Daily 10:00 a.m. – 12:00
a.m.
szt. István körút (Saint Stephen I Boulevard) — is a section
of the Big Nagykörút (Ring Boulevard) of Budapest.
Cafe «Europa»
(«Európa» Kávéház), 1055 bp. Szent István Krt. 7-9 Tel.: +36 1 3122362,
fax: +36 1 3122362, e-mail: europakavehaz@europakavehaz.hu. Open:
Wed.-Sat. 12.00-24.00.
If you would like to eat something in Buda
on Castle Hill, you can of course do so too. But it should be mentioned
here that the value for money is not comparable to the restaurants in
Pest. Of course, these are overflowing with tourists, especially during
the season, and these are usually processed on the assembly line.
Budapest has a rich nightlife.
Gödör Club, Erzébet ter. Big
club in the heart of the city center, under the very busy Erzébet
square. Student audience, in the evenings almost always live acts
(jazz). Sometimes free of charge, but also for a few hundred forints.
The club has a large terrace. Erzébet Square is populated all day with
skaters, bikers and laid-back groups enjoying a six-pack of beers. Nice
place!
The Montemartre is recommended. It is on the direct route from
St. Stephen's Basilica to the Danube. Student bands play there every
Tuesday evening, which guarantees a good atmosphere.
Around the
Klauzal tér you will find two super bars with an artistic flair, where
the Budapesters gather in the evenings. From time to time a troop of
Englishmen pass through on a pub crawl. However, the atmosphere is more
conducive to lively conversation over a few beers than to a binge.
The Liszt Ferenc tér seems to be a center for tourists: restaurants,
bistros and bars are lined up on both sides of the long square. The
traditional dishes and beers are advertised in German, English and
sometimes also in Hungarian.
A nice place is also the intersection of
Hajós utca and Ó utca. Here you will find two inexpensive restaurants
and a bar that openly communicate with each other.
In summer,
beer gardens are opened in various places, often near the banks of the
Danube, a bit away from the center, where bands often play. The
Zöld-(Green) Pardon is recommended here. It is located directly on the
banks of the Danube and the Petofi Hid and is very easy to reach with
tram lines 4 and 6, which run on the outer ring.
Szimpla Kert
(Ruin Bar), Kazinczy utca 14., Budapest 1075, Hungary. Budapest's ruin
bars are also famous. It is mostly backyards and old buildings that have
been abandoned and where art, music, bars and mostly young people like
to meet.
Gozsdu-udvar. The Gozsdu-udvar, a building complex with
several backyards, offers many places to eat and drink. Various pubs
also offer live music or you can dance. The alley stretches from Dob
utca 16 to Király utca 13.
Ruin Pubs
The pub scene in the old
Jewish Quarter in Budapest has a very special charm. Many of the ruin
pubs that are now typical of Budapest's nightlife have settled here.
Some, like Szimpla at Kertész u. 48, have gained real cult status in
recent years. The popular student café is located in an empty factory
building. Offshoots of the famous pub can already be found on Lake
Balaton (summer only) and in Berlin. Other ruin pubs have set themselves
up in old garages – such as the pub with the name “kuplung” at Király
utca 46, which is easy for German guests to understand – or fill old
abandoned backyards with new life. An important cultural center in the
old Jewish quarter is the Sirály, a multi-cultural meeting point at
Király utca 50. A spacious cultural oasis has emerged in a former
bookshop. There is a café with its own library on the ground floor,
while exhibitions are shown on the upper floor. Theatrical performances
are held in the basement of the building. Alternative films are also
shown here almost every day (www.siraly.co.hu). Before the operators
occupied the building around five years ago, it had been empty for a
long time.
Budapest charges a 4% tourist tax on overnight stays.
Youth
hostels
The International Youth Hostel Association lists 3 houses.
There are also about 90 private hostels.
Apartments
Apartment
Sinko, Garay ter 3. Tel.: +36-309 665 390. Two-room apartment in the
center of Budapest (7th district), with free internet access, directly
from the owner, for 1 - 4 people for rent. The apartment is located 4
minutes walk from the Ostbahnhof and the city park. Price: 13 - 28
euros/person/night (min. 2 people).
Apartment Akacia, Pósa Lajos utca
9. Two-room apartment with a garden for 1-5 people, or room for 1-3
people, free parking, 14th district, WIFI.
Apartment St.Michael,
János u.75, 1162 Budapest. Phone: +36-20-9459401. Apartment in the 16th
district with a green area. See website for prices. Features: free WiFi,
air conditioning.
Hotels
Aquamarina Boat Hotel, Rozgonyi
Piroska utcai Hajóállomás, 1031, Budapest. Tel.: +36-1-2408288, fax:
+36-1-2407887, e-mail: info@aquamarinahotel.hu. Just outside on a 19th
century Russian steamboat. The hotel was last renovated in 2006, as was
the website. Price: from €55 (SR).
Hotel Benczúr, Benczúr ut. 35,
1068 Budapest. Phone: +361 479-5650, Fax: +361 342-1558. The hotel is
located in the city's embassy district, near Heroes' Square and the
yellow metro. A rich breakfast is included, as is internet access in the
in-house bar. Feature: ★★★. Payment Types Accepted: Debit Card, Credit
Card, PayPal, AliPay.
Deep Guest House, Csengery utca 45, 1067
Budapest. Slightly quirky hotel; the cavernous basement used to be a
night club, today the showers and the kitchen are located here with
unchanged decoration. But clean and cheap. Conveniently located near
Oktogon Square.
Mercure Budapest Korona, Kecskemeti utca 14 1053,
Budapest. Tel: +36 1 4868800, Fax: +36 1 3183867, Email:
H1765@accor.com. Modern superior hotel in the center of Pest near Kalvin
ter. In addition to spending the night, the guest can also use the
sauna, swimming pool or restaurant. A monitored parking garage is also
available. The hotel often offers early booking discounts for top events
in order to fill up the hotel. If the hotel is overbooked, people will
try to move early bookers to cheaper hotels in Buda because of technical
problems. It pays to be persistent and, if necessary, to talk to the
managing director, then the technical problems usually disappear into
thin air. Feature: ★★★★.
Campsites
Camping Haller, Haller Str.
27., Budapest, 1096. Tel.: +36 1 476-3418, Mobile: +36 20-367-4274.
Open: summer season from June 1st. Reception 8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m., gate
closes at 11:00 p.m. Price: Prices: 1800 ft. per person/per night,
1900-2900 ft. per tent/per night, 3600 ft. per mobile home/per night.
Budapest is the seat of many universities. Some also offer German
students the opportunity to study in German, including the following:
Andrássy Gyula German-speaking University of Budapest, H-1088 Budapest,
Pollack Mihaly tér 3 (postal address: Levelezési cim: H-1464 Budapest).
Tel.: +36 1 2663101, +36 30 525 50 43, Fax: +36 1 266 3099. Specialized
in constitutional law.
Semmelweis University, H-1085 Budapest, VIII.
Üllői út 26. Tel.: +36 1 459 1500. Medical University.
Budapest
University of Technology and Economics, Mûegyetem rkp. 3-9., H-1111
Budapest, Pf. 91, H-1521 Hungary. Tel.: +36 1 463 1111, Fax: +36 1 463
1110. Offers German-language faculties in civil engineering, electrical
engineering, computer science, mechanical engineering and transport, as
well as others in English and French.
Budapesti Corvinus Egyetem
(Corvinus University of Economics and Public Administration), Fővám tér
8., H-1093 Budapest. Tel.: +36 1 482 5000. A state-run educational
establishment with a focus on teaching and research in economics and
related subjects. It was founded in 1920 as the economics faculty of the
then Royal Hungarian University, was renamed the Karl Marx University of
Economics in 1953 and has borne the name of w:Matthias Corvinus since
2003. Today it also offers bachelor's and master's programs in foreign
languages.
In general, Budapest is one of the safest cities in Europe. Raids are
rare, as are fights. It can happen that you are ripped off by con
artists, money changers, taxi drivers from the small private companies.
However, you are never seriously endangered. Be careful at the Eastern
Railway Station (Keleti Pu.)! Directly opposite the platforms there are
some exchange offices that display wrong exchange rates, just so that
black changers can get a good deal in front of this shop with their also
wrong exchange rates. When exchanging money, you should be as careful as
possible to avoid being given any practically worthless foreign (e.g.
Belarusian) banknotes instead of forint notes.
As mentioned
above, Budapest is one of the safest cities, but visiting some areas of
the eighth district, Josefstadt (Józsefváros), is not recommended if you
don't want to be approached by drug dealers and prostitutes who may be
found there. The questionable part of this district is actually limited
to a few seedy streets east of the Great Ring Road (Nagykörút), but
that's not usually where the average tourist goes anyway.
When
visiting the huge Chinese market in Kobanya Kispest, beware of thieves.
Carrying firearms is strictly forbidden here (this is also indicated by
signs at the entrance). The huge, delimited area represents its own
small microcosm with some of its own rules. Gang crime is quite the
order of the day here and police presence is rather rare here. Obvious
wearing of valuable jewellery, digital cameras and other luxury items
should be avoided for your own safety. If you follow these rules,
however, this area does not pose any major danger. Caution: the majority
of the goods on offer there are fakes and plagiarisms from China.
Importing these goods to Germany or other EU countries can result in
criminal prosecution!
Non-stop medical care: Falck SOS Hungary, tel. +36 200-0100
Dental
emergency service non-stop: Tel. +36 267-9602
Emergency call: 104
Tourist info: Városháza Park Hut (1052 Budapest, Károly körút),
9:00-19:00
Consular Section German Embassy, Úri utca 64-66., 1014
Budapest. Tel.: +36-1-488 3500. Open: Appointments only.
Consular
Section Austrian Embassy, Benczúr utca 61068 Budapest. Tel.: +36-1-479
70 10. Open: Online appointment only. Only one request per appointment.
Bring a black ballpoint pen with you.
Consular section of the Swiss
Embassy, Stefánia ùt. 107. Tel.: +36 1 460 70 40.
Many Budapesters,
especially young people, speak English. But German is also widespread,
while French is hardly spoken. In tourist areas, the menus of larger
restaurants are usually in three languages (H, E, D), although the
translations sometimes take a little getting used to.
Important:
Hungarian is known to be a “language of its own”; it is not closely
related to any other European language, there are only distant
relationships with Estonian and Finnish. Even the linguistically skilled
traveler will therefore find it difficult to find their way around
without local help. It helps immensely to equip yourself with a basic
vocabulary of 10-15 phrases beforehand and to familiarize yourself with
the basic pronunciation rules of the Hungarian language. See also the
Hungarian phrasebook.
Internet cafes, on the other hand, are not
uncommon in Budapest.
Pest and Buda, the capital and the capital of Hungary, were only
mentioned together by their common name starting from the reform era.
The more common form was Pest-Buda, placing the name of the larger (and
more nationally significant) city before it, but occasionally there was
also the form Buda-Pest, which is better suited to the Hungarian
language and avoids consonant congestion. This name variant comes from
Count István Széchenyi's 1831 work entitled Világ. When the cities were
united in 1873, the name Budapest was chosen as a matter of course for
the new seat and capital.
The name Buda denoted the Roman
settlement built on the site of the ancient Aquincum in the early Árpád
period, which was only referred to as Old Buda after the Tatar invasion,
after the construction of the Buda castle, then called Újbuda. According
to our medieval chronicles, the city was named after the brother of the
Hun king Attila, but this is probably only true that the origin of the
name could indeed have been a personal name (there are people named Buda
in medieval sources). According to another, unverifiable hypothesis, the
origin of the town name could be the Slavic word voda ("water"), just as
the final source of the ancient Latin name Aquincum could be a Celtic
word with a water-related meaning.
According to some opinions,
the origin of Pest's name goes back to ancient times, as the name of
Contra-Aquincum appears in Ptolemy's 2nd century work "Geógraphiké
hüphégészisz" (Introduction to the mapping of the earth) as Peszion
(Πέσσιον, iii.7.§2). According to the more accepted explanation,
however, it is related to Gellért Hill on the Buda side, because the
word means "cave" or "rock cavity" in Slavic languages, and in the old
Hungarian language the furnace was called pest, as it was, for example,
in some parts of Székelyföld in the 20th century was also used. This is
how today's Gellért Hill, which hides the hot-water cave ("hot
furnace"), became Pest Hill, and the river crossing at the foot of the
mountain, which has been used since ancient times, became Pest-rév, and
this is where the settlement on the other side finally got its name.
This interesting "overseas migration" of the name can be clearly traced
in our earliest medieval sources. The German name of Buda, Ofen
(Hungarian: "furnace"), also has a similar origin, which, like the
Slavic word pest, also means cave or cavity in the Southern German
dialect. It is interesting that a certificate from before the Tatar
invasion refers to the settlement on the left bank of the river, i.e.
today's Pest, as Ofen, but later the local Germans applied this name
only to the castle hill in Buda.
The written history of the area of today's Budapest begins with the
Roman garrison, Aquincum, which was built in i. s. They were founded
around 89 on the west bank of the Danube (in today's Óbuda area).
Aquincum i. s. From 106 to the beginning of the 4th century, it was the
center of one part of the divided Pannonia province, Lower Pannonia
(Pannonia Inferior). Its population was around 20,000. The governor's
palace, built on today's Óbuda Island, was sometimes visited by the
Roman emperors themselves. Several Roman auxiliary camps (Albertfalva,
Campona) and counterforts (such as Contra-Aquincum) can be found in the
area of the modern city.
According to Anonymus' description,
after the conquest, leader Árpád chose Budavára, the erstwhile "city of
King Attila", as his tribe's residence due to its central geographical
location, and he was buried here in 907, in the neighboring White
Church. This place is usually identified with Óbuda (although some
people look for it in Pesthidegkút or in the nearby Pilis mountains).
The town is connected to the legend of Bishop Gellért, who was
murdered by pagan insurgents on the side of today's Gellért Hill (the
then Pest Hill) (according to legend, he was locked in a spiked barrel
and rolled down the hill), the memory of which is preserved by the
current name of the place.
The Roman heritage of Óbuda and Pest,
the ruins of thousands of buildings, were visible for centuries, but
during the Árpád era, real, bustling medieval cities were gradually
built in their place. Óbuda's road network has survived from Roman
times, and its population was engaged in viticulture. Church estates
were established on its territory, and a castle was built in the 13th
century. In 1223, the city was devastated by a great fire, in which the
houses built mainly of wood burned to ashes. Pest was already surrounded
by a wall in the 12th century, and in 1230 it received a letter of
privilege from II. From Endre.
ARC. In 1241, King Béla set out
from Pest against the Tatars. After the losing battle, the Tatars burned
Pest, then crossed the frozen river in the winter of 1241/42 and
destroyed Óbuda as well. The entire population of the two cities was
massacred. For example, the people of Pest were buried in the city's
main church, today's Belváros parish church, where they crowded together
to pray.
After his return, the king had a stone castle and a new
town called Újbuda built on the so-called Pest Hill, today's Várhegy
(between 1247 and 1265). These were the first urban buildings here,
forming the basis of the later famous Buda Castle. ARC. Béla's castle,
which stood near today's Mátyás Church, could be defended better in case
of attacks than the lower-lying Óbuda castle (its presumed ruins were
also excavated by archaeologists).
ARC. True to his vow during
the Tatar invasion, Béla gifted Nyulak Island (today's Margit Island) to
the church, and placed his youngest daughter Margit, who became a famous
saint of the town, in the Dominican nunnery built here.
After the
extinction of the Árpád House, Buda supported Wenceslas against Róbert
Károly, who was patronized by the Pope, and therefore the Pope placed
the city under an ecclesiastical curse, and the parish priest of Buda in
turn placed the Pope under an ecclesiastical curse. In 1302, the sons of
Márk Csák and Baron Jakab Cseszneki from Anjou unsuccessfully besieged
the castle, but they caused great damage to the buildings and destroyed
the Buda vineyard. In the end, the city had to accept the winner Róbert
Károly. His son Lajos the Great made Buda the royal seat. The city was
already a real bourgeois city, a large number of craftsmen,
industrialists, and merchants lived here. In addition to the Hungarians,
there was a significant number of German hospices, and of course it also
had a Jewish population. The population of Pest, which had a hard time
enduring the ravages of the Tatars, also began to recover, in the 15th
century it regained the right to elect judges, and around 1470 it became
a free royal city.
The reign of Sigismund of Luxemburg and then
Matthias is the highlight of the cities' history before the Turkish era.
Zsigmond founded a university in Óbuda in 1389. The Renaissance court of
Mátyás exerted a great attraction on the educated people of the time,
raising the cultural standard of the city and the royal court. In 1473,
the first Buda printing house, András Hess, produced the Buda Chronicle.
After Mátyás's death, the country was shaken by feudal disputes, an
economic crisis, and then by the peasant uprising of György Dózsa, but
the culture of the two cities continued to grow during the reign of the
Jagielló House in Buda. The historical monuments of the Buda Renaissance
can be seen today in the Buda Royal Palace (Budapest Historical Museum),
while the monuments of the Pest Renaissance can be seen in today's
Downtown Parish Church. The Turkish subjugation put an end to this
development.
In the second half of the 15th century, under King
Matthias, Buda became the capital of the country, and its Renaissance
royal palace was famous in Europe. At the same time, Pest, located on
the left bank of the Danube, also developed into an important trading
city. In 1541, the two cities fell into the hands of the Turks, who
established their headquarters in Buda during their 150-year rule. The
image of the city was adapted to the Eastern urban ideal, baths,
bazaars, and mosques were built. Buda and Pest were recaptured by the
Habsburgs from the Turks in a bloody war in 1686, during which the two
cities were completely destroyed.
In the Baroque era of the 18th
century, urban life only slowly unfolded again. Buda's modern
development was founded by Mária Terézia when she moved the royal
institutions here from Bratislava and the university from Nagyszombat.
However, the real development started only in the first half of the 19th
century, during the reform era, when Pest became the cultural and
economic center of the country. The Széchenyi chain bridge connecting
the two cities was built as a symbol of the era.
"The location of
Buda-Pest falls out, and it seems to be the right unifying center in
many respects. However, if the two cities and their surroundings are
left in their natural state, unification can, in my judgment, only take
place over the course of centuries; in which centuries, however, so many
forces against unification can develop that Buda-Pest will probably
never leave the ranks of provincial cities, and will not be able to
serve as a unifying point. So the question revolves around this, or
rather the mission: to find out what kind of development the two sister
cities are capable of."
– Count István Széchenyi: Buda-Pest dust and
mud
The Pest revolution of March 15, 1848 was one of the main
events of Hungarian history, and this day is now a national holiday.
During the revolutionary events of 1848, Pest-Buda became the capital of
the country, and after fighting it fell into Austrian hands. With the
capture of Buda in 1849, the Hungarian army achieved one of the greatest
military successes of the War of Independence.
The Austrian
repression following the fall of the War of Independence halted
development for a while, but after the settlement of 1867, cosmopolitan
growth began. The leaders accepted the unification of Pest, Buda and
Óbuda in December 1872, and today's Budapest was created in the fall of
1873. The day of the capital is celebrated on November 17 to commemorate
the unification, because in 1873 the council of the united city met on
this day, taking over the management of affairs from the council of the
suburbs (however, this was only one of the events of the reorganization
related to the unification, the municipal election was already held in
September was held, and the mayor and mayor were elected in October).
Budapest became the fastest growing city in Europe, the population
doubled in twenty years and swelled to nearly three quarters of a
million by the turn of the century. It was then that the image of
today's city was formed, with bridges, boulevards, a modern transport
network, Europe's first underground railway outside Great Britain, the
inner and outer districts, the Parliament and other national public
buildings. Budapest's theaters, cafes, spas, sparkling cultural life and
the famous "Pest night" became world famous. The millenary exhibition
and celebrations were held in 1896 as a symbol of development.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the development that gained
momentum after the compromise continued, for example, between 1909 and
1910, electric public lighting was introduced.
The 1910 census
counted 880,371 inhabitants in Budapest at the time, while the largest
suburb, Újpest, had 55,000. The vast majority of the population spoke
Hungarian (85.9%), 9% declared themselves German and 2.3% Slovak. The
religious composition was as follows: Catholic 59.9%, Israelite 23.1%,
Reformed 9.9%, Lutheran 4.9%.
However, the First World War and
the subsequent events, the Aster Revolution of 1918-1919 and the Soviet
Republic, halted the city's development until then.
The Trianon Peace
Treaty was followed by the consolidation policy of the Horthy era. Many
people moved (or fled) from the annexed Hungarian-inhabited areas to the
capital. Many of them lived in railway stations and railway carriages.
Thus, the population exceeded one million by the 1930s. Due to the mass
demand for housing, the first housing estates were built, for example
the Wekerletelep and the State housing estate. Masses of the poor also
lived in slums (for example, the Mária Valéria housing estate).
In
1924, the Magyar Nemzeti Bank was founded, and in 1925, Magyar Rádió
began broadcasting. In 1933, the demolition of Tabán began. Between 1934
and 1940, four new districts were added to Budapest's public
administration.
At the end of the Second World War, the city
suffered heavy losses. After the German occupation in 1944, part of the
population fell victim to the Holocaust, and another part (38,000
people) lost their lives during the 102-day siege. A significant part of
the city's buildings fell into ruins, all the bridges were blown up.
Unfortunately, the areas with the richest architectural treasures of the
city suffered the greatest damage: the Downtown and the Castle District.
To this day, the full restoration of the damage has not been completed,
and sometimes there are dented areas and facades bearing bullet marks
remind us of the destruction of the Soviet siege. Many valuable
buildings were demolished, or reconstructed not according to their
former form, or with simpler solutions.
After the years of
reconstruction, on December 20, 1949, the Parliament voted for the law
that annexed twenty-three surrounding, previously independent
settlements to Budapest on January 1, 1950: seven cities and sixteen
large communities (see the list in the Budapest district section), which
through which Greater Budapest was created. In the 1950s, Stalinist
oppression weighed on the people of Budapest, which led to the outbreak
of the 1956 revolution, and its street battles shook the city. From the
1960s, Budapest experienced its second great development period under
the "soft dictatorship" of the Kádár regime. In 1970, the first metro
line was opened. Large housing estates were built one after the other,
and hundreds of thousands more flocked to the capital from all over the
country, whose population reached 2.1 million by the 1980s. Since the
regime change in 1989, the number of the population has started to
decrease significantly, which is partly due to the mass migration of the
citizens of the capital to the settlements of the agglomeration. The
population decline has been reversed since the second half of the 2000s.
Neolithic, Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age finds, as well as
Celtic and Eraviskus settlements.
1st century The Romans found the
city of Aquincum, which became the capital of the province of Pannonia,
the largest and most populous settlement in the Danube region.
896
During the conquest, the conquering Hungarians establish a settlement
here.
1046 Saint Gellert is pushed from the mountain into the abyss
by pagans, he was Prince Imre's teacher. Gellért Hill was later named
after him.
1241 The Tatars attack the city, then IV. King Béla has
the first royal castle built on the castle hill.
1270 Saint Margaret
IV dies. The daughter of King Béla on Nyulak Island, whose name the
island is today (Margit Island).
1458 King Matthias begins his reign,
under his rule Buda becomes the center of the Hungarian Renaissance. His
reign lasts until his death in 1490.
1541 The city falls into Turkish
hands, the Turks build several mosques and baths in Buda.
1686
Recapture of the city with Habsburg help, Buda and Pest were completely
destroyed.
1773 Election of the first mayor of Pest
1777 Mária
Terézia moves the royal institutions and universities to the city, and
massively settles German-speaking people in Buda and Pest.
1795 Ignác
Martinovics and other Jacobin leaders are executed in the area west of
the Buda Castle, which is now called the Blood Field.
1810 A fire
destroys the Tabán district.
1825 Beginning of the Reformation. Pest
becomes the cultural and economic center of the Kingdom of Hungary,
where the first National Theater and the Hungarian National Museum are
built.
1838 In March, a huge flood ravages Pest, and a significant
part of the city's buildings are destroyed.
1842 The construction of
the Széchenyi Chain Bridge begins.
On March 15, 1848, the Pest
revolution breaks out, which leads to the establishment of the Batthyány
government.
On January 5, 1849, the Austrian armies occupy the city,
but the Hungarian army recovers it during the "Spring Campaign". At the
beginning of the summer, however, they recaptured the city and executed
Lajos Batthyány on October 6 in the courtyard of the Újépélet on the
site of today's Szabadság tér.
1849 Construction of the Chain Bridge
is completed.
1867 An agreement is reached, as a result of which an
unprecedented civil development begins.
1873 The former cities of
Pest, Buda and Óbuda are united on January 1, creating the current
Hungarian capital, Budapest. On November 17, the new board will take
over the management of the united capital.
1874 The first cog railway
is delivered.
1878 Electric street lighting appears in the center of
the city.
1896 Time for the millennium celebrations. The Underground
Railroad, the Parliament, Ferenc József, and today's Freedom Bridge are
inaugurated as the second in the world.
1918 The Aster Revolution,
the formation of the Károlyi government
1919 The establishment of the
Soviet Republic (March 21) and its fall, after which the Romanian army
enters Budapest on August 4.
1924 Establishment of the Hungarian
National Bank.
1925 Hungarian Radio begins broadcasting.
1944 The
Germans occupy the city. The Arrow government deports 50,000 Jews from
the city and moves 70,000 to the designated ghetto in Pest.
1945
Siege of Budapest. The Soviet army besieged the city on January 5, and
the retreating German forces destroy all the Danube bridges. The nearly
80,000 German and Hungarian defense forces are completely destroyed,
38,000 civilians in the capital are also killed, and the Soviets abduct
a large number of residents of the capital and its surroundings.
On
January 1, 1950, Greater Budapest was created by annexing 23 surrounding
settlements to the capital.
On October 23, 1956, the Hungarian
revolution broke out against Soviet oppression. The insurgents who
fought the longest held their own until November 11, in Csepel.
1960
Large-scale restoration of the city after the war damage.
1987 The
Buda Castle District and the view of the Danube bank are classified as a
world heritage site by UNESCO.
2002 Andrássy út, Hősök tere and the
Millennium Underground Railway are added to the world heritage list.
2008 The northern bridge of the M0 motorway, the Megyeri bridge, is
handed over.
2014 The M4 metro is handed over after 8 years of
construction.
The area of the capital is 525.14 km². It is surrounded by the county
of Pest, whose 81 settlements belong to the agglomeration of Budapest.
The capital is 25 km in the north-south direction and 29 km in the
east-west direction. Its lowest point is the level of the Danube river,
which at medium water level is 96 meters, while its highest point,
János-hegy, is 527 meters above sea level. It plays a central role in
Hungary's transport, as radial highways and railway lines of
international importance run into Budapest. The geometric center of the
capital is on Martinovics tér in the 10th district. Its territory is
divided into two fundamentally different parts by the 28-kilometer long
Danube section running north-south.
On the right bank of the
Danube in the direction of its flow, on the western side, the Buda
Mountains belong to the central region of the Danube Mountains. On the
left bank, on the eastern side of the capital, lies the Pest alluvial
cone plain belonging to the Danube plain, which is surrounded by the
slopes of the Gödöllő hills belonging to Cserhát from the northeast
along the administrative border of the capital. The coast of the river
is accompanied by the Vác-Pesti-Danube valley and the Danube bend to the
north of the Csepel-Sziget peak, and the Csepeli plain to the south,
which small landscapes are also part of the Danube plain.
Buda is
basically a residential and recreational area, with economic zones in
the north and south, while Pest is an administrative, commercial and
industrial center with large residential areas and entertainment
facilities. The Danube, the largest river in Central Europe, is decisive
in its natural features, which crosses the capital like a river in a
north-south direction, with a length of about 30 kilometers and an
average width of 400 meters. There are three islands in the Budapest
section of the Danube. The largest of these is Csepel Island in the
south, with only its northern tip within the city limits; this is
followed by Margit Island, which is located in the heart of the city and
looks back on its historical past, and to the north of it lies Óbudai
Island, also known as Hajógyári Island. Beyond the northern border of
the city begins the Szentendrei Island, which stretches up to the Danube
Bend. The Danube is the basis of the capital's water needs (until 2010,
it also received half of its wastewater). It is one of the most
important waterways in Europe, and it also provides recreation, sports
and travel opportunities for the population of the big city. Budapest is
a city extremely rich in natural values, including caves, springs,
habitats of plant communities, and extensive parks under nature
protection. Gellért Hill is located in the heart of the city. Among the
rare natural values, the Pál valley cave system, the Sas-hegy Nature
Reserve and the Merzse marsh should be mentioned.
Budapest is located below the temperate zone, a city with a (humid) continental climate, the average annual temperature is 11.0 °C. July is the warmest month, with the average monthly temperature approaching 21°C. The highest temperature so far (40.7 °C) was registered on July 20, 2007. The coldest month is January, when the average values are around -1.6 °C. The lowest temperature so far (-29.3 °C) was measured on January 13, 1987. The average limit day for the last spring frost is April 15. The heat island phenomenon is often experienced in the inner districts. The number of sunny hours per year is 2040. The annual average of precipitation is 516 mm, the rainiest months are June and November. The Danube most often has two tides, one at the end of winter (ice tide) and another at the beginning of summer (green tide). Budapest is a capital protected from the wind, which is due to the ranges of the Carpathians and the Transdanubian Central Mountains. The prevailing wind direction is northwest-southeast. In autumn and winter, the wind is often calm, which causes fog formation.
As a result of the recently accelerating trend due to climate change, the weather in the capital, along with Hungary, is starting to become noticeably Mediterranean. Long, hot and dry summers, short, mild and snow-poor winters, the shortening of spring and autumn, in addition to the increasing average annual temperature and duration of sunlight, infrequent, but sometimes large amounts of rain fall between frequent drought periods, causing even flash floods in some areas. characterized by rain.
The Danube, which bisects Budapest, also plays a kind of dividing role in terms of wildlife. In terms of character, the districts on the Buda side are more residential and recreational areas, while the Pest side is the center of industry, commerce and public administration, integrated with large residential areas. With regard to plants, it can be said that the majority of parks and green areas are the result of human hands and are constantly changing. However, there are parts on both sides of the capital that have special and noteworthy wildlife, as well as three islands that belong to the city and whose wildlife is different from the parts of the big city. Places worth mentioning with the special plants of Gellért Hill and the entire wildlife of the Merzse Swamp. The largest standing water in Budapest dates back to the 16th century. Naplás lake in the district, whose immediate surroundings have been a landscape protection area since 1997. Lake Naplás, together with the nearby Cinkotai park forest and the Merzse marsh, is an important resting place for many waterfowl during the spring and autumn bird migration periods. There are several excellent fishing waters in the city, of which the fishing spots provided by the Danube stand out, such as Hárosi Bay.
Populations of temperate species adapted to metropolitan
environments. There are a large number of pet dogs and cats, as well as
other domestic animals, and stray specimens of these can also be found
regularly. Tons of excrement produced by pets every day (200,000 dogs,
40 tons of excrement) burdens the environment, and "thanks" to careless
farmers, dogs in particular cause significant pollution with the dirt
they leave on the streets. There is also a risk of infection when shoes
are brought into the living space and dry excrement enters the air
stream.
In Budapest - unique among the capitals of the world -
rats have not caused health or economic damage since the 1970s.
According to the WHO, the best long-term rat eradication was achieved
here thanks to the former Bábolna State Farm. Since the summer of 2018,
a group of companies with a somewhat cheaper offer has been carrying out
rat extermination. Since then, the number of sightings has multiplied,
and a rat even caused disruption in the operation of the subway.
Among the birds, the most typical are the common pigeon (Columba livia),
the house sparrow (Passer domesticus), the barn swallow (Apus apus), the
Balkan sparrow (Streptopelia decaocto), the black thrush (Turdus
merula), and the common crow (Corvus corone). , the magpie (Pica pica),
the common kingfisher (Larus ridibunus), the common tit (Parus major)
and some finches (Fringillidae), as well as the domestic rust-tailed
(Phoenicurus ochruros). There are also predatory birds such as the red
falcon (Falco tinnunculus), which is represented by 70-80 pairs, and
there are also peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus). With the milder
winters, the favorite birds also appear: e.g. parrots regularly come out
into the open, and a pair of budgies (Myiopsitta monachus) have even
been observed to have built a nest.
There are also migratory
birds that appear periodically. Large cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo)
arrive in large numbers in winter. The birds that also process the
city's waste in the riverside areas are the seagulls, among them the
yellow-legged gull (Larus cachinnans) and the storm gull (Larus canus).
The birdlife of the Merzse marsh is also very colorful, perhaps among
the many bird species that live here are the common ptarmigan (Botaurus
stellaris) and the grebe (Merops apiaster). Naturally, the marsh is home
to various species of frogs, water slides and terrapins.
In the
capital section of the Danube, fish that can be caught in the drifting
sections are e.g. toothfish (Sander lucioperca), river catfish (Silurus
glanis) and rosy mullet (Barbus barbus), while in quieter parts carp
(Cyprinus carpio), crucian carp (Carassius), pike (Esox lucius), halibut
(Aspius aspius), grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella), various smaller
fish and bream can occur more frequently. There is a species of fish,
such as the viza (Huso huso), which used to be common, and for example a
part of the city (Vizafogó) was named after it, but now it can no longer
reach its former spawning grounds due to the construction of floodgates.
Installations have already been made in order for the visas to return,
so that they can occur again on the Danube sections in Hungary. As a
result of the improvement of water quality, the so-called "Danube bloom"
can be seen again since 2012, which is the mass appearance of a
protected species of water lily (Ephoron virgo), which had not been seen
for nearly forty years due to water pollution.
Budapest's original vegetation has survived only in the mountainous
part and only partially, the vast majority of the city's plants have
already been planted. These can be found on the one hand in the rows of
trees planted next to the roads, and on the other hand in the city's
parks. However, it is worth mentioning the common horsetail (Ephedra
distachya) living on Gellért and Sas hills, which is a highly protected
medicinal plant. Another well-known plant of Gellért Hill, which occurs
only here in Hungary, is the highly protected yellow foam carnation
(Silene flavescens).
There are several notable trees among the
planted trees. The oldest tree in Budapest is probably the Crimean
linden (Tilia x euchlora), estimated to be five hundred years old,
standing in a garden in Pesthidegkút, but the white acacia (Robinia
pseudoacacia) planted in 1789 at the Lánchíd bridgehead in Pest, as well
as the oldest Lebanese cedar (Cedrus libani) in Eastern Europe, which
the II. district, in the park of Sári Fedák's former villa, and despite
its age of 120-150 years and its enormous height of 12 meters, it can
still be considered a "child", as it can live up to 2000-3000 years.