THE PARIS OF THE EAST
Budapest, also known as Danube's Pearl, is one of the most fascinating and interesting cities in Eastern Europe. Different from other capitals from East it is paradoxically even different from itself, with its melting pot of civilizations and eras fused together wit such unparalled skill that they are sometimes indistinguishable, sometimes surprisingly evident, but always harmoious, even within the same neighborhood, the same building or the same monument.he city is often referred as the Paris of the east, and deserves this name. It bears some resemblance to Prague, but larger and friendlier.
The picturesque setting on two sides of the Danube, the nine connecting bridges and the villa's and public buildings from the fin-de-siècle era really make Budapest one of the most enjoyable cities in Europe. Budapest can be envisioned as a piece of thater, an artistic work created by numerous factors that have combined to give it its substance.
The setting itself is drenched in diversity: on one side is the mountanious, hilly territory of Buda, at the same time gentle and harsh, while on the other is enchanting plain of Pest, separated, or joined, depending on the point of view, by the waters of the Danube.
The “deus ex machina” is surely history, made up of thousand tormented episodes in which this city has played a central role.
Budapest is not just an ancient city and not just a modern city. It is not a “historic” city like Rome, nor a “new”city created out of nothing, as St. Petersburg is in some respects. Rather, it is a city where destiny seems to have made numerous attempts to deny the past. Yet its inhabitants have always been able to rediscover this past, recover and return to life in a forceful and original manner. The invasions, foreign occupations, devastation and bombardments this city has suffered have proved unable to cancel out its past, and its inhabitants have always had the will and the strenght to reclaim themselves, to remember, to reconstruct without ever indulging in passive nostalgia for the past, but instead amalgamating the things of yesterday with those of today, letting the ancient flow into the modern, respecting tradition and at the same time giving it new vitality.
“Budapest is nothing but a mistake. History, which has always been a series of catastrophes here, has been a mistake. So has God, who seems to have mistaken this city for Sodom and Gomorra. And so has destiny, which has given this part of the world a language that no one undertands outside its own borders [...]” (Vajda's Statement)
This Statement hides the true grandeur of Budapest, its amazing capacity to resist the vicissitudes of history, even the most negative ones, by taking the best parts nd passig them on through its way of life, through the stones of its monuments, the poignant beauty of its music and the vitality of its art.
Source: civilization art and history – Budapest – L.E.G.O.
Budapest Facts & Figures
Continent: Europe
Country: Hungary
County: Pest megye
District: Budai járás
City: Budapest
Coordinates:
47:25:59N 19:15:00E
Altitude:
102m / 337ft
Currency
Forint (Ft, HUF). Coins: 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 HUF. Bank notes: 200, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000 HU
Take a look at the currency calculator (choose Hungarian Florint)
Time Zone:
Central European Time (CET) (UTC+1)
Current Time: (24h notation)
Monday 19:07:49
Population (2008)
City 1,702,297
Density 3,241.5/km2 (8,395.4/sq mi)
Language:
Hungarian, for business English and German
Climate:
Temperate, a high average of 2000 hours of sunshine annually
Average temperatures: -1 C in the coldest month, in January, 21.3 in the warmest August
Take a look at weather forecast in Budapest
TLD Code:
HU
Public holidays (2008):
1 January: New Year’s Day
15 March: National holiday
24 March: Easter Monday
1 May: Labour Day
12 May: Whit Monday
20 August: public holiday
23 October: national holiday
1 November: All souls day
25-26 December: Christmas
Business hours
Business hours at the offices: Mo-Thu: 08,00 - 16,30 Fri: shorter
Banks: Mo-Fri: 09,00 -13,00, or until 16,00
Opening hours at shops: Mo-Fri: 10,00 -18,00 many of them are open on Saturdays
Supermarkets, Hypermarkets: open on Sundays as well
Chemist’s: Mo-Fri: 09,00-19,00; Sa: 09,00 -14,00
Post offices: Mo-Fri : 08,00-18,00
Museums: Tu-Sa: 10,00-18,000
Petrol stations in the big cities and on the motorway: 24 hours
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