The beginnings – Celts and Romans
Budapest has had a long and tortured history, with regular cycles of settlement, development and destruction. Although there is evidence of habitation in the area going back tens of thousands of years, it was only with the relentless expansion of the Roman Empire that the true strategic and geographical value of the territory was recognised and exploited.
One of the most beautifully situated cities was shaped not accidentally. The Danube, dividing Budapest – especially at the Gellért Hill – gave excellent crossing, and the territory of the surrounding hills was suitable for settling and defence. This fact was already discovered by the Celts (Eraviscs) around the 4th century B.C., and established a mint atelier on this place – at that time - called Ak-Ink (Rich-Water).
Hungary’s western part was Pannonia, province of the Roman Empire. The Empire founded its city, Aquincum on the area of today’s Old Buda, garrisoned its legion and defended its long fort-line, the limes all along the Danube.
The first Hungarians
The conquering Hungarian (7 tribes) also considered it an important strategic point, maintaining centres here. Interestingly, at that time the settlement was called Pest at both sides of the Danube, which according to some researcher, has Slavic origin, meaning “oven” and relates to the thermal springs under the Gellért Hill. The era of great migrations began after the Romans. Attila came with the Huns, and – as the legend says – the city was named Buda after Attila’s brother. However this name spread only after the Tatar invasion, when Bela IV commanded to build forts all over the country and the king himself – setting a good example – built his own castle on the New-Hill. Since that time this place is called Castle Hill.
Middle Ages – Renaissance and Turks
In the Middle-Ages during the rein of Zsigmond, Buda became the permanent royal residence of the Hungarian kings. The continuously increasing palace was accomplished by the time of King Mathias.
. The reign of Mátyás proved to be something of a golden age for the country, with Buda greatly benefiting from his rule by becoming a renaissance centre. He also oversaw the major development of Buda castle and commissioned an extensive Royal library to cement Buda’s position as a centre of learning.
The other side of the Danube, Pest, also became wealthy, growing into trade centre, so King Mathias declared it equal to Buda.
Unfortunately, the Turkish invasion began soon.
The Turks decimated the outnumbered Hungarian army at Mohács in Southern Hungary in 1526 and killed the young King Lajos II. Although they advanced to Buda and sacked the town, it was not until 15 years later in 1541 that they returned to occupy it. The Turks then set about turning Buda into a provincial capital in the Ottoman Empire. Some legacies of their rule, such as the thermal baths remain to this day.
The Turks remained in Buda and Pest for almost 150 years. It was only in 1686 that they were driven out following a destructive siege lasting one and a half months. The liberated Buda and Pest were mere shells with tiny populations The towns would slowly recover, but the Hungarians had not gained their independence with the expulsion of the Turks, merely exchanging one occupier for another, the Habsburgs.
18th Century – On the road of development
Thanks to the Habsburg Empire, families from the German principalities were recruited to the Old Buda area, settling them with considerable advantages.
Being Buda and Pest the centre of the country, by the 18th Century Buda became the administrative centre by the provisions of Marie-Therese and Joseph II. The Queen ordered the Nagyszombat University into the renovated royal palace and Joseph II. moved the Governorate and the Hungarian Chamber to the city.
As for the architecture, this century gave the classicist style of Pest while in Buda the Baroque buildings dominated the landscape. By the end of this century Palatine Joseph ordered important city-planning and issued the Improving Certification, some passages of it are still in effect.
Renaissance of Budapest
Progressive Hungarians, particularly Count István Széchenyi, also left their mark during this period. Széchenyi had been greatly influence by what he had learnt while travelling abroad, especially in England. Consequently, he was determined to drag Hungary into the modern age. The most well known of his legacies is the Chain Bridge (Lánchíd), the first permanent stone crossing over the Danube. Without doubt, the bridge's construction helped to draw Buda and Pest ever closer, thereby encouraging further growth in the region (above: Miklós Barabás' 'laying of the foundation stone of the Chain Bridge' 1842).
This period of progress coincided with an awakening of the national spirit, spurred on by the revolutionary movements in other parts of Europe. Many Hungarians were frustrated that they had little independence within their own land and that much of the day to day administration was run under the auspices of the Habsburgs. Pest, which had become a magnet for the Hungarian gentry, was thus becoming the centre of a nationalist reawakening.
20th Century – development and destruction
By the turn of the century Budapest was put on the map by its bustling cultural life, its cafés, medical baths, its places of amusement and its nightlife.
In the first part of the century the progress –still from the impulsion of the Compromise – continued. In 1909-10 for example the electric street-lighting was installed. However, the WW I. and the following events, the Soviet republic and the Trianon Treaty strained to a standstill the till then progress of the city. The population nevertheless increased with the refugees from the detached regions of Hungary and by the years of 1930 exceeded the one million. Because of the mass shortage, the first housing estates appeared at this time in Budapest (for example the Wekerle-colony). Still, masses of needy lived in slums (like the Maria-Valeria colony).
World War II caused enormous damages, both in the destruction of the built legacy – for example, all the bridges of the Danube were blown up by the retreating German troops – and in human loss as well. The Buda Castle, the public buildings and most of the houses had been totally destroyed. In the inner districts there were no streets without buildings that were in such poor condition, that they could not be renovated. During the following four years, the population succeeded with the reconstruction and new districts became part of the capital (With the separation of two districts in the recent past, the capital consists of 23 administrative districts.)
In the 1956 revolution, during the battles, several buildings and the traffic system incurred losses. After the renovation in the 60-s, began the construction of the housing estates and in the 70-s, the development of the second, later on the third underground lines. In the 60-s the new Elisabeth-Bridge was also opened to the public.
Democracy swept across Eastern Europe. In the years since, Hungary has made a smooth transition to a free-market economy, though social inequality between those with new found wealth and the elderly/welfare dependent has seen the divide between rich and poor widen significantly.
That said, there's a new spirit in the country, with Budapest being the main stimulus for change (as well as taking the lion share of new investment from the west). Indeed, one hopes that now, following Hungary's accession to the EU on 1 May 2004, the country can take advantage of the opportunities and stability that lie ahead in a united Europe.
Slowly regaining its position as the Paris of the east (although no doubt the residents of Prague would dispute this), Budapest is a rare mix of old and new, with many reminders of its turbulent past.Budapest is not a city which can be appreciated on a day trip.
Since the change of the political system, Budapest has been enriched with the Lágymányos Bridge, the new National Theatre, the Palace of Arts and among future aspirations, is the construction of the fourth underground line and the organisation of the 2020 Olympic Games.
Budapest is not a city which can be appreciated on a day trip.
Sources: http://info.budapest.travel. and http://www.talkingcities.co.uk/
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