Her father was the youngest of seven sons and his inheritance was a farm in some town which referred to St. Stefan ( St. Stefansburg or something like that in German and Istvan-something in Hungarian.)
Her family spoke Hungarian at home while she was taught exclusively in German at school.
She was the oldest of nine children and grew fed up with her role as nursemaid, home and farm worker etc. about age 16 or 17 and just told her father one day she had had it, she was off to Vienna and then probably America..
His only response was to put some fancy boots of hers on their mantlepiece and say " These will always be waiting for you when you come back" ( she had no intention of ever going back, but I guess she did not throw this too much more in her family's face).
After working as a lady's maid in Vienna-- she worked for a rich family whose daughter was what we would call anorexic or something in today's parlance. The daughter spent a lot of time in bed and would not eat...
To try and tempt her, the family hired a chef who sent my grandmother up to her room with all these exquisite meals garnished with flowers
The daughter soon told my grandmother, "look, you eat this, here, and let them think I ate it," which my grandmother did.
"I grew very fat this way," she told my mother later.
While married to my mother's father she had all kinds of work and even more so after he died, including being a cook and cleaning lady in a convent. She was not happy that the nuns were always telling my mother especially that the family " was poor because they were bad people, it was a sign of God's punishment" ( not what the present Pope would say, but then he has a lot of rich Catholics and traditionalists upset).
When her chance came to marry a man who was a contractor on Long Island and a Norwegian Lutheran, she chose that fairly fast ( she had had other offers but said to my mother "they were all typically European men, strict disciplinarians and pompous fools and frankly I had enough of that with your father" ( who thrashed Gottfried mercilessly for any kind of infraction).
I met my grandmother when she came to stay with us in Chicago when I was about four. She had left her husband--it seemed she had already begun to suffer what we would today call Alzheimer's disease.
I thought she was a wonderful person, she would carry me around on her shoulders and sing to me in the five or six European languages she spoke ( at one point she had had a shop in the Yorkville area of Manhattan and used what languages she already knew and learned others like Czech and Polish the better to talk with customers),
(Here I MUST interject the fact that on both sides, my grandparents would only speak to my parents in English --outside of using words of endearment such as "kleinchen" and "liebchen"-- so they could talk, say, in German when they did not want the children to know what they were talking about. The kids more or less understood anyway though...the main thing was that they were meant to grow up as"real" Americans with no foreign accent and with no attachment to any foreign social organizations)
I was heartbroken to hear one day she was leaving us. Little did I know at the time that I had been involved in one of the episodes that led to her being sent to a state home..
She had taken me out with her one merry winter day and we visited all these shops in the neighborhood where she showed off her "darling" little blond haired grandson( which I was then). I remember the day vaguely and it was nothing but fun, like everything with with my grandma.
However, she had not told anyone where she was going or how long she would be gone (LONG) and apparently my mother got freaked out after a while ( combined with some of her other unpredictable behavior) and finally decided she couldn't handle it any more.
Big loss for me, the place was very lonely without her and I was told to sit at home quietly while my mother then would disappear for long stretches with me having no idea if and when she was really coming back. (My older brother was already at kindergarten all day at least most of the time).
One day I found the front door was open and just walked down the one flight of stairs and to a nearby park where my grandmother used to take me. It was no fun without her, though, and I just went home.
When I told my mother about my park visit she would as would say today treated it with complete denial-- NO, she said, you just THOUGHT you went to the park on your own. But I did, I remember it with extremely clarity.
When I told this story to a social worker friend of mine she said," The way your mother behaved, today they would want to take her to family court for negligence." Shows you how much things have changed...
Budapest
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Budapest (disambiguation).
| Budapest | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| City | |||
 |
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| Nickname(s): Heart of Europe, Pearl of Danube, Capital of Freedom, Capital of Spas and Thermal Baths, Capital of Festivals | |||
Budapest
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| Coordinates: 47°28′19″N 19°03′01″ECoordinates: 47°28′19″N 19°03′01″E | |||
| Country | Hungary | ||
| Region | Central Hungary | ||
| Subregion | Budapest | ||
| Unification of Buda, Pest and Óbuda | 17 November 1873 | ||
| Boroughs | |||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | István Tarlós (Fidesz-KDNP) | ||
| Area | |||
| • City | 525.09 km2 (202.74 sq mi) | ||
| • Urban | 2,538 km2 (980 sq mi) | ||
| • Metro | 7,626 km2 (2,944 sq mi) | ||
| Highest elevation | 527 m (1,729 ft) | ||
| Lowest elevation | 96 m (315 ft) | ||
| Population (2012) | |||
| • City | 1,740,041 | ||
| • Rank | 1st | ||
| • Density | 3,300/km2 (8,600/sq mi) | ||
| • Urban | 2,551,247 | ||
| • Urban density | 1,000/km2 (2,600/sq mi) | ||
| • Metro | 3,284,110 | ||
| • Metro density | 430/km2 (1,100/sq mi) | ||
| Demonym | budapesti | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Postal code(s) | 1011–1239 | ||
| Area code | 1 | ||
| ISO 3166 code | HU-BU | ||
| Website | budapest.hu | ||
); names in other languages) is the capital and the largest city of Hungary,[2] and one of the largest cities in the European Union. It is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre,[3] sometimes described as the primate city of Hungary.[4] In 2011, according to the census, Budapest had 1.74 million inhabitants,[5] down from its 1989 peak of 2.1 million[6] due to suburbanization.[7] The Budapest Commuter Area is home to 3.3 million people.[8][9] The city covers an area of 525 square kilometres (202.7 sq mi)[10] within the city limits. Budapest became a single city occupying both banks of the river Danube with a unification on 17 November 1873 of west-bank Buda and Óbuda with east-bank Pest.[10][11]The history of Budapest began with Aquincum, originally a Celtic settlement[12][13] that became the Roman capital of Lower Pannonia.[12] Hungarians arrived in the territory[14] in the 9th century. Their first settlement was pillaged by the Mongols in 1241–42.[15] The re-established town became one of the centres of Renaissance humanist culture[16] in the 15th century.[17] Following the Battle of Mohács and nearly 150 years of Ottoman rule,[18] the region entered a new age of prosperity in the 18th and 19th centuries, and Budapest became a global city after the 1873 unification.[19] It also became the second capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a great power that dissolved in 1918, following World War I. Budapest was the focal point of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, the Hungarian Republic of Councils of 1919, Operation Panzerfaust in 1944, the Battle of Budapest in 1945, and the Revolution of 1956.
Cited as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe,[2][20][21] its extensive World Heritage Site includes the banks of the Danube, the Buda Castle Quarter, Andrássy Avenue, Heroes' Square and the Millennium Underground Railway, the second oldest in the world.[20][22] Other highlights include a total of 80 geothermal springs,[23] the world's largest thermal water cave system,[24] second largest synagogue, and third largest Parliament building. The city attracts about 4.3 million tourists a year, making it the 25th most popular city in the world (and the 6th in Europe) according to Euromonitor.[25]
Considered a financial hub in Central Europe,[26] the city ranked 3rd (out of 65 cities) on Mastercard's Emerging Markets Index,[27] and ranked as the most livable Central/Eastern European city on EIU's quality of life index.[28][29] It is also ranked as "the world's second best city" by Condé Nast Traveler,[30] "Europe's 7th most idyllic place to live" by Forbes,[31] and as the 9th most beautiful city in the world by UCityGuides.[32] It is the highest ranked Central/Eastern European city on Innovation Cities' Top 100 index.[33][34]
Budapest is home to the headquarters of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT),[35] and the first foreign office of the China Investment Promotion Agency (CIPA).[36]
Contents
Etymology
The name "Budapest" is the composition of the city names "Buda" and "Pest", since they were united (together with Óbuda) to become a single city in 1873.[37] One of the first occurrences of the combined name "Buda-Pest" was in 1831 in the book "Világ" ("World" / "Light"), written by Count István Széchenyi.[38]The origins of the words "Buda" and "Pest" are obscure. According to chronicles from the Middle Ages the name "Buda" comes from the name of its founder, Bleda (Buda), the brother of the Hunnic ruler Attila. The theory that "Buda" was named after a person is also supported by modern scholars.[39] An alternative explanation suggests that "Buda" derives from the Slavic word "вода, voda" ("water"), a translation of the Latin name "Aquincum", which was the main Roman settlement in the region.[40]
There are also several theories about the origin of the name "Pest". One of the theories[41] claims that the word "Pest" comes from the Roman times, since there was a fortress "Contra-Aquincum" in this region which was referred to as "Pession" ("Πέσσιον", iii.7.§2) by Ptolemaios.[42] According to another theory, "Pest" originates from the Slavic word for cave "пещера, peshchera" or from the word for oven "печь, pech'", in reference to a cave where fires burned or to a local limekiln.[43] In the old-Hungarian language there was a similar word meaning oven/cave and the original old-German name of this region was also "Ofen". Later, the German "Ofen" referred to the Buda side.
History
Main article: History of Budapest
The peace treaty of 829 added Pannonia to Bulgaria due to the victory of Bulgarian army of Omurtag over the Holy Roman Empire of Louis the Pious. Budapest arose out of two Bulgarian military frontiers, fortresses Buda and Pest, situated on the two banks of Danube.[46] Hungarians led by Árpád settled in the territory at the end of the 9th century,[14][47] and a century later officially founded the Kingdom of Hungary.[14] Research places the probable residence of the Árpáds as an early place of central power near what became Budapest.[48] The Tatar invasion in the 13th century quickly proved that defence is difficult on a plain.[10][14] King Béla IV of Hungary therefore ordered the construction of reinforced stone walls around the towns[14] and set his own royal palace[15] on the top of the protecting hills of Buda. In 1361[15] it became the capital of Hungary.[10]
The cultural role of Buda was particularly significant during the reign of King Matthias Corvinus.[10] The Italian Renaissance had a great influence on the city.[10] His library, the Bibliotheca Corviniana,[10] was Europe's greatest collection of historical chronicles and philosophic and scientific works in the 15th century, and second only in size to the Vatican Library.[10] After the foundation of the first Hungarian university in Pécs in 1367 (University of Pécs),[49] the second one was established in Óbuda in 1395 (University of Óbuda).[49] The first Hungarian book was printed in Buda in 1473.[50] Buda had about 5,000 inhabitants around 1500.[51]
In 1686, two years after the unsuccessful siege of Buda, a renewed campaign was started to enter the Hungarian capital. This time, the Holy League's army was twice as large, containing over 74,000 men, including German, Croat, Dutch, Hungarian, English, Spanish, Czech, Italian, French, Burgundian, Danish and Swedish soldiers, along with other Europeans as volunteers, artillerymen, and officers, the Christian forces reconquered Buda, and in the next few years, all of the former Hungarian lands, except areas near Timişoara (Temesvár), were taken from the Turks. In the 1699 Treaty of Karlowitz these territorial changes were officially recognized, and in 1718 the entire Kingdom of Hungary was removed from Ottoman rule. The city was destroyed during the battle.[10] Hungary was then incorporated into the Habsburg Empire.[10]
In 1918 Austria-Hungary lost the war and collapsed; Hungary declared itself an independent republic (Republic of Hungary). In 1920 the Treaty of Trianon finalized the country's partition, as a result, Hungary lost over two-thirds of its territory, and about two-thirds of its inhabitants under the treaty, including 3.3 million out of 10 million ethnic Hungarians.[59][60]
In 1944, about one year before the end of World War II, Budapest was partly destroyed by British and American air raids (first attack 4 April 1944,[61]). From 24 December 1944 to 13 February 1945, the city was besieged during the Battle of Budapest. Budapest suffered major damage caused by the attacking Soviet and Romanian troops and the defending German and Hungarian troops. More than 38,000 civilians lost their lives during the conflict. All bridges were destroyed by the Germans. The stone lions of the Chain Bridge that have taken their place in 1852 survived the devastation of the war.
Between 20% and 40% of Greater Budapest's 250,000 Jewish inhabitants died through Nazi and Arrow Cross Party genocide during 1944 and early 1945.[62] The Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg managed to save the lives of tens of thousands of Jews in Budapest by giving them Swedish passports and taking them under his consular protection.[63]
(also see Hungary during World War II)
In 1949, Hungary was declared a communist People's Republic (People's Republic of Hungary). The new Communist government considered the buildings like the Buda Castle symbols of the former regime, and during the 1950s the palace was gutted and all the interiors were destroyed (also see Stalin era).
On 23 October 1956, there was a large peaceful demonstration in Budapest demanding democratic changes. The demonstrators went to the Budapest radio station and demanded to publish their demands. The regime ordered to shoot into the crowd. Hungarian soldiers gave rifles to the demonstrators who were now able to capture the building. This was the beginning of the Hungarian Revolution. The demonstrators demanded to appoint Imre Nagy to be Prime Minister of Hungary. To their surprise, the central committee of the "Hungarian Working People's Party" did so in the same evening.
This uprising was an anti-Soviet revolt that lasted from 23 October until 11 November. After Nagy had declared Hungary leaving the Warsaw Pact and becoming neutral, Soviet tanks and troops entered the country to crush the revolt. Fighting continued until mid November, leaving more than 3000 dead. A monument was erected at the 50-years anniversary of the revolt in 2006, at the edge of the City Park. Its shape is a wedge with a 56 angle degree made in rusted iron that gradually becomes shiny, ending in an intersection to symbolize Hungarian forces that temporarily eradicated the Communist dictatorship.
From the 1960s to the late 1980s Hungary was often satirically referred to as "the happiest barrack" within the Eastern bloc, and much of the wartime damage to the city was finally repaired. Work on Erzsébet Bridge, the last to be rebuilt, was finished in 1964. In the early 1970s, Budapest Metro's East-West M2 line was first opened, followed by the M3 line in 1976. In 1987, Buda Castle and the banks of the Danube were included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. Andrassy Avenue (including the Millennium Underground Railway, Hősök tere, and Városliget) was added to the UNESCO list in 2002. In the 1980s the city's population reached 2.1 million. In recent times a significant decrease in population occurred mainly due to a massive movement to the neighbouring agglomeration in Pest county.
In the last decades of the 20th century the political changes of 1989–90 (Fall of the Iron Curtain) concealed changes in civil society and along the streets of Budapest. The monuments of the dictatorship were taken down from public places, into Memento Park. In the first 20 years of the new democracy, the development of the city was managed by mayor Gábor Demszky.
Timeline of the history of Budapest
 |
It has been suggested that this section be split into a new article titled Timeline of Budapest history. (Discuss) Proposed since January 2014. |
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| BC | Neolithic, Chalcolithic-, bronze and iron age cultures, Celtic and Eravisci settlements on present day Budapest. |
| 1st century | Romans found the settlements known as Aquincum, Contra-Aquincum and Campona. Aquincum becomes the largest town of the Danubian region and one of the capitals of Pannonia. |
| 5th century | The Age of Huns. King Attila builds a city for himself here according to later chronicles. After his death, the sons of his brother Mundzuk (Hungarian: Bendegúz, Turkish: Boncuk), Attila and Bleda (Hungarian:Buda), in control of the united Hun tribes.[citation needed] |
| 896 | Following the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin, Árpád, Grand Prince of the Hungarians, settles in the "Town of Attila", usually identified as Aquincum. |
| 1046 | Bishop Gellért dies at the hands of pagans on present-day Gellért Hill. |
| 1241 | Tatar invasions destroy both towns. King Béla IV builds the first royal castle on Castle Hill, Buda in 1248. The new town adopts the name of Buda from the earlier one (present day Óbuda). Pest is surrounded by city walls. |
| 1270 | Saint Margaret of Hungary dies in a cloister on the Isle of Rabbits (present day Margaret Island). |
| 1458 | The noblemen of Hungary elect Matthias Corvinus (in Latin) or Hunyadi Mátyás (in Hungarian) as king on the ice of the Danube. Under his reign Buda becomes a main hub of European Renaissance. He dies in 1490, after capturing Vienna in 1485. |
| 1541 | The beginning of Ottoman occupation. The Turkish Pashas build multiple mosques and baths in Buda. |
| 1602 | An unsuccessful assault on Budapest under Feldmarschall Christof Hermann Graf von Rußworm (2 October - 15 November 1602). |
| 1686 | Buda and Pest are reconquered from the Turks with Habsburg leadership. Both towns are destroyed completely in the battles. |
| 1690s | Resettlement of Hungary, initially only a few hundred German settlers. |
| 1773 | Election of the first Mayor of Pest. |
| 1777 | Maria Theresa of Austria moves Nagyszombat University to Castle Hill. |
| 1783 | Joseph II places the acting government (Helytartótanács) and Magyar Kamara on Buda. |
| 1795 20 May | Ignác Martinovics and other Jacobin leaders are executed on Vérmező or 'The Field of Blood'. |
| 1810 | A fire in the Tabán district. |
| 1825 | Commencement of the Reform Era. Pest becomes the cultural and economic centre of the country. The first National Theatre is built, along with the Hungarian National Museum. |
| 1838 | The biggest flood in recent memory in March completely inundates Pest. |
| 1848 15 March | Start of the Revolution and War of Independence of 1848-49. Pest replaces Pozsony/Pressburg (Bratislava) as the new capital of Hungary and seat of the Batthyány government and the Parliament. |
| 1849 | The Austrians occupy the city in early January, but the Hungarian Honvédsereg (Army of National Defense) reclaims it in April, taking the fortress of Buda on 21 May after an 18-day siege. In July, the Habsburg army again captures the two towns. |
| 1849 6 October | Lajos Batthyány, the first Hungarian Prime Minister is executed on the present-day Szabadság tér. |
| 1849 | Széchenyi Lánchíd, or Széchenyi Chain Bridge, the first permanent bridge across the Danube in Budapest was opened linking Buda (West bank) and Pest (East bank). |
| 1867 | Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, followed by unprecedented civic development, resulting in the style of present day Budapest. |
| 1873 | The former cities: Pest, Buda and Óbuda are united, and with that the Hungarian capital is established with the name of Budapest. |
| 1874 | The Budapest Cog-wheel Railway service is inaugurated. |
| 1878 | Electric public lighting was installed in all streets of the city centre. The first telephone exchange was installed in Budapest. |
| 1893 | Electrification of Budapest finished |
| 1896 | Millennium celebrations, the Millennium Underground is inaugurated, and the Ferenc József híd (today's Freedom Bridge) is opened. |
| 1909–1910 | Electric public lighting expanded to the suburbs, the nearby towns villages had Electric public lighting. |
| 1910 | The census finds 880,000 people in Budapest and 55,000 in the largest suburb of Újpest (now part of Budapest). |
| 1918–1919 | Following the conclusion of World War I, the Hungarian Republic of Councils is founded and 133 days later overthrown by the Romanian army which then makes excessive requisitions in Budapest. They regarded this as gathering war reparations, while others classify it as looting.[64][65] |
| 1924 | Hungarian National Bank is founded. |
| 1925 | Hungarian Radio commences broadcasting. |
| 1933 | Disassembly of the Tabán commences. |
| 1944 19 March | The Germans occupy Budapest. At the time of the occupation, there were 184,000 Jews and between 65,000 and 80,000 Christians of Jewish descent in the town. The Arrow Cross collaborated with the Germans in murdering Jews. Fewer than half of Budapest's Jews (approximately 119,000) survived the following 11 months. |
| 1944 26 December - 13 February | Soviet and Romanian troops besiege Budapest from 15 to 18 January. The retreating Germans destroy all Danube bridges. On 18 January, the Soviets complete the occupation of Pest. The Buda castle falls on 13 February. World War II took the lives of close to 200,000 Budapest residents and caused widespread damage to nearly all of the buildings in the city. |
| 1956 23 October - 4 November | The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 breaks out, ending in the invasion of a large Soviet force. |
| 1960s | Wartime damage is largely repaired. Work on the final bridge to be repaired, the Elizabeth Bridge is finished in 1964. |
| 1970–1972 | The first phase of the East-Western Metro begins. |
| 1976 | The first phase of the North-Southern Metro begins. |
| 1987 | Castle Hill and the banks of the Danube are included in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. |
| 1989 | 19 August. Hundreds of East German citizens escape to West at the western frontier of Hungary with the help of the Hungarian Democratic Forum. |
| 1990 | The city is home to 2,016,100 residents. |
| 2002 | Andrássy Avenue is added to the list of World heritage Sites, along with the Millennium Underground railway and Heroes' Square. |
| 2006 | 2006 Hungarian protests. |
| 2010 | Sewage treatment of the city reaches 100% of generated sewage. |
Geography
Climate
Main article: Climate of Budapest
The city center has an oceanic climate (Cfb), according to the Köppen climate classification system, but the suburbs have a humid continental climate
(Dfb). Winter (November until early March) can be cold and there is
little sunshine. Snowfall is fairly frequent in most years, and
nighttime temperatures of −15 °C (5 °F) are not uncommon between
mid-December and mid-February. The spring months (March and April) see
variable conditions, with a rapid increase in the average temperature.
The weather in late March and April is often very agreeable during the
day and fresh at night. Budapest's long summer - lasting from May until
mid-September - is warm or very warm. Budapest has as much summer
sunshine as many Mediterranean resorts. Sudden heavy showers also occur,
particularly in May and June. The autumn in Budapest (mid-September
until late October) is characterized by little rain and long sunny days
with moderate temperatures. At the end of October the weather often
turns abruptly colder.| [hide]Climate data for Budapest | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 18.1 (64.6) |
19.7 (67.5) |
25.4 (77.7) |
30.2 (86.4) |
34.0 (93.2) |
39.5 (103.1) |
40.7 (105.3) |
39.4 (102.9) |
35.2 (95.4) |
30.8 (87.4) |
22.6 (72.7) |
19.3 (66.7) |
40.7 (105.3) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 2.9 (37.2) |
5.5 (41.9) |
10.6 (51.1) |
16.4 (61.5) |
21.9 (71.4) |
24.6 (76.3) |
26.7 (80.1) |
26.6 (79.9) |
21.6 (70.9) |
15.4 (59.7) |
7.7 (45.9) |
4.0 (39.2) |
15.3 (59.5) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 0.4 (32.7) |
2.3 (36.1) |
6.1 (43) |
12.0 (53.6) |
16.6 (61.9) |
19.7 (67.5) |
21.5 (70.7) |
21.2 (70.2) |
16.9 (62.4) |
11.8 (53.2) |
5.4 (41.7) |
1.8 (35.2) |
11.3 (52.3) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −1.4 (29.5) |
-0.0 (32) |
3.5 (38.3) |
7.6 (45.7) |
12.1 (53.8) |
15.1 (59.2) |
16.8 (62.2) |
16.5 (61.7) |
12.8 (55) |
7.85 (46.13) |
2.9 (37.2) |
0.0 (32) |
7.8 (46) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −25.6 (−14.1) |
−23.4 (−10.1) |
−15.1 (4.8) |
−4.6 (23.7) |
−1.6 (29.1) |
3.0 (37.4) |
5.9 (42.6) |
5.0 (41) |
−3.1 (26.4) |
−9.5 (14.9) |
−16.4 (2.5) |
−20.8 (−5.4) |
−25.6 (−14.1) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 38.5 (1.516) |
36.7 (1.445) |
37.4 (1.472) |
47.2 (1.858) |
64.5 (2.539) |
69.8 (2.748) |
50.4 (1.984) |
49.5 (1.949) |
42.7 (1.681) |
46.9 (1.846) |
59.9 (2.358) |
49.3 (1.941) |
592.8 (23.339) |
| Avg. precipitation days | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 78 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 62 | 93 | 137 | 177 | 234 | 250 | 271 | 255 | 187 | 141 | 69 | 52 | 1,933 |
| Source: www.met.hu[66] | |||||||||||||
Sports
See also: Football in Budapest
Budapest has seven professional football teams, six of them have won the Hungarian 1st division.City Park (Városliget) and Margit Island are perfect places to find some green area in the city. In the City Park in winter you can enjoy ice skating on one of the largest artificial ice surfaces in the world. Margaret Island offers a wide range of sports from running and cycling to tennis or swimming in the Alfréd Hajós Swimming Center where Budapest proudly hosted the LEN European Aquatics Championships in 2006 and 2010. Budapest was the host for the ITU Triathlon World Championships 2010, too. The 2011 IIHF World Championship (Division I, Group A) and Athletics - 2012 European Cross Country Championships will be held there.
The city is the proud home for many Olympic, World, and Europen Championship winners and medalists. The city's largest football stadium is named after the world famous Ferenc Puskás; top class player of Real Madrid and the Hungarian National Team, who was recognized as the top scorer of the 20th century and who the FIFA's Puskás Award (Ballon d'Or) was named after.[67]
The city is also home to Hungarian bandy. The Bandy World Championship for women 2007[68] and the Bandy World Championship 2004 /B-group/ were held here.[69]
The Hungarian Grand Prix in Formula 1 is a recurring event since 1986, being held at the Hungaroring just outside the city.
Demographics
Main article: Demographics of Budapest
| Historical population | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1784[70] | 57,100 | — |
| 1870 | 302,086 | +429.0% |
| 1880 | 402,706 | +33.3% |
| 1890 | 560,079 | +39.1% |
| 1900 | 861,434 | +53.8% |
| 1910 | 1,110,453 | +28.9% |
| 1920 | 1,232,026 | +10.9% |
| 1930 | 1,442,869 | +17.1% |
| 1941 | 1,712,791 | +18.7% |
| 1949 | 1,590,316 | −7.2% |
| 1956 | 1,848,000 | +16.2% |
| 1958 | 1,764,000 | −4.5% |
| 1960 | 1,804,606 | +2.3% |
| 1970 | 1,945,083 | +7.8% |
| 1980 | 2,059,226 | +5.9% |
| 1990 | 2,016,681 | −2.1% |
| 2001 | 1,777,921 | −11.8% |
| 2007 | 1,696,128 | −4.6% |
| 2011 | 1,729,040 | +1.9% |
| 2013 | 1,735,711 | +0.4% |
| Present-territory of Budapest | ||
Ethnic groups
According to the 2011 census the total population of Budapest was 1,729,040, of whom there were 1,397,851 (80.8%) Hungarians, 19,530 (1.1%) Romani, 18,278 (1.0%) Germans, 6,189 (0.4%) Romanians, 4,692 (0.3%) Chinese and 2,581 (0.1%) Slovaks. 301,943 people (17.5%) did not declare their ethnicity. Excluding these people Hungarians made up 98.0% of the total population. In Hungary people can declare more than one ethnicity, so the sum of ethnicities is higher than the total population.[71][72]A KSH report showed that the proportion of Romani in Budapest increased from 2% in 1990 to 4.6% in 2009.[7][73]
Place of birth
According to the 2011 census, 1,600,585 people (92.6%) were born in Hungary, 126,036 people (7.3%) outside Hungary while the birthplace of 2,419 people (0.1%) was unknown.[72]Although only 1.7% of the population of Hungary in 2009 were foreigners,[73] 43% of them lived in Budapest,[73] making them 4.4% of the city's population.[73] Nearly two-thirds of foreigners living in Hungary were under 40 years old. The primary motivation for this age group living in Hungary was employment.[73]
Languages
According to the 2011 census, 1,712,153 people (99.0%) speak Hungarian, of whom 1,692,815 people (97.9%) speak it as a first language, while 19,338 people (1.1%) speak it as a second language. Other spoken (foreign) languages were: English (536,855 speaker, 31.0%), German (266,249 speaker, 15.4%), French (56,208 speaker, 3.3%) and Russian (54,613 speaker, 3.2%).[72]Religions
According to the 2011 census there were 501,117 (29.0%) Roman Catholic, 146,756 (8.5%) Calvinist, 30,293 (1.8%) Lutheran, 16,192 (0.9%) Greek Catholic, 7,925 (0.5%) Jewish and 3,710 (0.2%) Orthodox in Budapest. 395,964 people (22.9%) were irreligious while 585,475 people (33.9%) did not declare their religion.[72]Districts
Main article: List of districts in Budapest
Originally Budapest had 10 districts after coming into existence upon
the unification of the three cities in 1873. On 1 January 1950 Budapest
was united with several neighboring towns and the number of its
districts was raised to 22 (Greater Budapest). At that time there were changes both in the order of districts and in their sizes. Now there are 23 districts, 6 in Buda, 16 in Pest and 1 on Csepel Island
between them. Each district can be associated with one or more city
parts named after former towns within Budapest. The city centre itself
in a broader sense comprises the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 13th
districts on the Pest side, and the 1st, 2nd, 11th and 12th on the Buda
side of the city.[74]Economy
The city is a major center for banking and finance, retailing, trade, transportation, tourism, real estate, new media as well as traditional media, advertising, legal services, accountancy, insurance, theater, fashion, and the arts in Hungary and regionally. Budapest is home not only to almost all national institutions and government agencies, but also to many domestic and international companies, in 2013 there are 388.440 companies registered in the city.[81]
The key institution of the publicly offered securities in Hungary and Central Europe, the Budapest Stock Exchange is situated on Andrássy Avenue. Budapest is also one of the main base of CEE Stock Exchange Group through Budapest Stock Exchange which is one of the most important member of the group. Large Hungarian multinationals headquartered in Budapest are listed on BSE, e.g. the Fortune 500 firm MOL,[82] the OTP Bank Group, Gedeon Richter, Egis, Magyar Telekom, CIG Pannonia and more. Budapest has notable innovation capabilities as a technology and start-up hub, many start-ups are headquartered and begin its business in the city, for instance deserve to mention the most well-known Prezi, LogMeIn or Nav N Go. A good indicator of the city's potential for innovation and research is that the headquarter of European Institute of Innovation and Technology is located in Budapest downtown, along with one of the six regional centres of its Knowledge and Innovation Community on climate change (Climate-KIC).[83]
The capital traditionally had a stronger industrial focus, but many factories have closed since the transition from communism in 1989, and this has had a beneficial effect on the city’s overall environmental impact. Now the city’s primary commercial activities are financial and business services and as well as the whole tertiary sector, which account for close to 80% of gross value added.[84]
Other important sectors include also, as natural science research, information technology and medical research, non-profit institutions, and universities. The unemployment rate is far the lowest in Budapest within Hungary, it was 2.7%, besides the many thousands of employed foreign citizens.[86] The city ranked as the most livable city in Central and Eastern Europe on EIU's quality of life index in 2010.[87]
Budapest is among the 25th most visited places in the world, the city welcoming more than 4.3 million visitors each year,[88] therefore the tourism and catering industry also deserve a mention, it contributes greatly to the city's economy, the capital being home to thousands of restaurants, bars, coffee houses and party places, besides the full assortment of hotels.
Main sights
| Budapest, including the Banks of the Danube, the Buda Castle Quarter and Andrássy Avenue | |
|---|---|
| Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List | |
 |
|
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | i, ii, vi |
| Reference | 400 |
| UNESCO region | Europe and North America |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 1987 (11th Session) |
The Castle Hill, the River Danube embankments and the whole of Andrássy út have been officially recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Castle Hill and the Castle District; there are three churches here, six museums, and a host of interesting buildings, streets and squares. The former Royal Palace is one of the symbols of Hungary – and has been the scene of battles and wars ever since the 13th century. Nowadays it houses two impressive museums and the National Széchenyi Library. The nearby Sándor Palace contains the offices and official residence of the President of Hungary. The seven-hundred year-old Matthias Church is one of the jewels of Budapest, it is in neo-Gothic style, decorated with coloured shingles and elegant pinnacles. Next to it is an equestrian statue of the first king of Hungary, King Saint Stephen, and behind that is the Fisherman's Bastion, built in 1905 by the architect Frigyes Schulek, the Fishermen's Bastions owes its name to the namesake corporation that during the Middle Ages was responsible of the defence of this part of ramparts, from where opens out a panoramic view of the whole city. Statues of the Turul, the mythical guardian bird of Hungary, can be found in both the Castle District and the Twelfth District.
The city is home to the largest synagogue in Europe (Dohány Street Synagogue),[89] and second largest working in the World.[90] The synagogue is located in the Jewish district taking up several blocks in central Budapest bordered by Király utca, Wesselényi utca, Grand Boulevard (Budapest) and Bajcsy Zsilinszky road. It was built in moorish revival style in 1859 and its capacity is 3000 people. Next to it is located a sculpture reproducing a weeping willow tree in steel to commemorate the Hungarian victims of the Holocaust. The city is also proud at the largest medicinal bath in Europe (Széchenyi Medicinal Bath) and the third largest Parliament building in the world, once the largest in the world. The third largest church in Europe (Esztergom Basilica) and the second largest Baroque castle in the world (Gödöllő) are in the vicinity. Other attractions are the bridges of the capital. Budapest is crossed by seven bridges (from north to south): the Árpád bridge (built in 1950 at the north of Margaret Island); the Margaret bridge (built in 1901, destroyed during the war by an explosion and then rebuilt in 1948); the Chain bridge (built in 1849, destroyed during the II World War and the rebuilt in 1949); the Elisabeth bridge (completed in 1903 and dedicated to the murdered Queen Elisabeth, it was destroyed by the Germans during the war and rebuilt in 1964); the Liberty bridge (opened in 1896 and rebuilt in 1989 in Art Nouveau style); the Petőfi bridge (completed in 1937, destroyed during the war and rebuilt in 1952); the Rákóczi bridge (completed in 1995). Most remarkable for their beauty are the Margaret bridge, the Chain bridge and the Liberty bridge.
The world's largest panorama photograph was created in (and of) Budapest in 2010.[91]
Islands
Notable islands include:
- Margaret Island is a 2.5 km (1.6 mi) long island and 0.965 square kilometres (238 acres) in area. The island mostly consists of a park and is a popular recreational area for tourists and locals alike. The island lies between bridges Margaret Bridge (south) and Árpád Bridge (north). Dance clubs, swimming pools, an aqua park, athletic and fitness centres, bicycle and running tracks can be found around the Island. During the day the island is occupied by people doing sports, or just resting. In the summer (generally on the weekends) mostly young people go to the island at night to party on its terraces, or to recreate with a bottle of alcohol on a bench or on the grass (this form of entertainment is sometimes referred to as bench-partying).
- Csepel Island (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈtʃɛpɛlsiɡɛt]) is the largest island of the River Danube in Hungary. It is 48 km (30 mi) long; its width is 6 to 8 km (4 to 5 mi) and its area comprises 257 km2 (99 sq mi), whereas only the northern tip is inside the city limits.
- Hajógyári-sziget ([ˈhɒjoːɟaːri siɡɛt], or Óbudai-sziget) is a man-made island located in the third district. This island hosts many activities such as: wake-boarding, jet-skiing during the day, and dance clubs during the night. This is the island where the famous Sziget Festival takes place, hosting hundreds of performances per year and now around 400,000 visitors in its last edition. Many building projects are taking place to make this island into one of the biggest entertainment centres of Europe. The plan is to build apartment buildings, hotels, casinos and a marina.
- Luppa-sziget is the smallest island of Budapest and is located in the northern region of the city.
- Rock of Ínség can be found in the river Danube under the Gellért mountain. It can be seen only during a drought period when the river level is very low.
Spas
The Rudas Baths are centrally placed – in the narrow strip of land between Gellért Hill and the River Danube – and also an outstanding example of architecture dating from the Turkish period. The central feature is an octagonal pool over which light shines from a 10 m diameter cupola, supported by eight pillars.
The Gellért Baths and Hotel were built in 1918, although there had once been Turkish baths on the site, and in the Middle Ages a hospital. In 1927 the Baths were extended to include the wave pool, and the effervescent bath was added in 1934. The well-preserved Art Nouveau interior includes colourful mosaics, marble columns, stained glass windows and statues.
The Lukács Baths are also in Buda and are also Turkish in origin, although they were only revived at the end of the 19th century. This was also when the spa and treatment centre were founded. There is still something of an atmosphere of fin-de-siècle about the place, and all around the inner courtyard there are marble tablets recalling the thanks of patrons who were cured there. Since the 1950s it has been regarded as a centre for intellectuals and artists.
The Széchenyi Baths are one of the largest bathing complexes in all Europe, and the only "old" medicinal baths to be found in the Pest side of the city. The indoor medicinal baths date from 1913 and the outdoor pools from 1927. There is an atmosphere of grandeur about the whole place with the bright, largest pools resembling aspects associated with Roman baths, the smaller bath tubs reminding one of the bathing culture of the Greeks, and the saunas and diving pools borrowed from traditions emanating in northern Europe. The three outdoor pools (one of which is a fun pool) are open all year, including winter. Indoors there are over ten separate pools, and a whole host of medical treatments is also available. The Szécheny Baths are built in modern Renaissance style.
Transport
Airport
Roads
Budapest is the most important Hungarian road terminus; most of the major highways end near the city-limits. The road system in the city is designed in a similar manner to that of Paris, with several ring roads, and avenues radiating out from the center.Ring road (beltway) M0 around Budapest is nearly completed, with only one section missing on the west side due to local disputes. Currently the beltway is around 80 kilometres (50 miles) in length, and once finished it will be near 100 kilometres (62 mi) of highway in length.
Public transport
Budapest public transport is provided by BKV,[92] the company operates buses, trolleybuses, trams, suburban railway lines, the metro, a boat service, a cogwheel railway, a funicular, and a chairlift, called Libegő.Budapest's tram network is extensive, and reliable. Though many lines have poor track infrastructure with an ageing fleet, as of 2013, renovations are underway.. Routes 4 and 6 combined form the busiest traditional city tram line in the world, with the world's longest passenger trams (54-metre (177 ft) long Siemens Combino) running at 60 to 90 second intervals at peak time and 3–4 minutes off-peak and usually packed with people.
Day services operate from 4:30 am until 11:30 pm each day. Night traffic (a reduced overnight service) has a reputation for being excellent.
Currently there are three metro lines operating, with a fourth one set to be opened for public use in 2014. The Yellow line, built in 1896, is one of the oldest subway lines in the world, following the London Underground built in 1863.
Railways
Hungarian main-line railways are operated by MÁV. There are three main railway termini in Budapest, Keleti (eastbound), Nyugati (westbound), and Déli (southbound), operating both domestic and international rail services. Budapest is one of the main stops of the Orient Express on its Central and Eastern European route.[93] There is also a suburban rail service in and around Budapest, operated under the name HÉV.
Waterways
The river Danube flows through Budapest on its way to the Black Sea. The river is easily navigable and so Budapest has historically been a major commercial port (at Csepel). In the summer months a scheduled hydrofoil service operates up the Danube to Vienna. BKV also provides public transport with boat service within the borders of the city. 3 route (marked D11-13) connects the 2 banks with Margaret Island and Hajógyári-sziget, from Római fürdő (Buda side, North to Óbudai sziget) or Árpád Bridge (Pest side) to Rákóczi Bridge, with a total of 15 stops. Several companies provides sightseeing boat trips and also an amphibious vehicle (bus and boat) operates constantly. The Pest side is also a famous port place with an international shipstation.Special vehicles
- trolleybus on several lines in Pest
- the Castle Hill Funicular between the Chain Bridge and Buda Castle
- cyclecar for rent in Margaret Island
- chairlift
- the Budapest Cog-wheel Railway
- children's railway[92]
Culture
The city glories in 223 museums and galleries, which presents several memories, not only the Hungarian historical, art and science ones, but also the memories of universal and European culture and science. Here are the greatest examples among them: the Hungarian National Museum, the Hungarian National Gallery, the Museum of Fine Arts,the House of Terror, the Budapest Historical Museum, the Memento Park and the Museum of Applied Arts.
In Budapest there are forty theaters, seven concert halls and an opera house. Outdoor festivals, concerts and lectures enrich the cultural offer of summer, which are often held in historical buildings. The largest theater facilities: the Budapest Operetta and Musical Theatre, the József Attila Theatre, the Katona József Theatre, the Madách Theatre, the Hungarian State Opera House, the National Theatre, the Vigadó, Radnóti Miklós Theatre and the Comedy Theatre.
A lot of libraries have unique collections in Budapest, such as the National Széchenyi Library, which keeps historical relics from the age before the printing of books. The Metropolitan Szabó Ervin Library plays an important role in the general education of the capital's population. Other libraries: The Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Eötvös University Library, the Parliamentary Library and the National Library of Foreign Literature.
If we mention cultural events, Hungary's the largest outdoor festival is the Sziget Festival, which is really popular in all over Europe, as well. Other major events: Budapest Spring Festival, Budapest Autumn Festival, the Budapest Wine Festival and the Budapest Pálinka Festival.
Tourists visiting Budapest are provided with free maps and information about "points of interest" by BTDM at its info-points.[94]
24 h and 72 h Budapest card is available for visitors. During the card's validity public transport is free, and discount is available in lots of museums, restaurants, and other places of interest.[95]
The city is also well known for its ruin bars.[96]
In fiction
The 1906 novel The Paul Street Boys, the 1937 novel Journey by Moonlight, the 1957 book The Bridge at Andau, the 1975 novel Fateless, the 1977 novel The End of a Family Story, the 1986 book Between the Woods and the Water, the 1992 novel Under the Frog, the 1987 novel The Door, the 2002 novel Prague, the 2003 book Budapeste, the 2004 novel Ballad of the Whisky Robber, the 2005 novels Parallel Stories and The Historian, the 2012 novel Budapest Noir are set, amongst others, partly or entirely in Budapest.Some of the better known feature films set in Budapest are Kontroll, The District!, Ein Lied von Liebe und Tod, Sunshine, An American Rhapsody, As You Desire Me, The Good Fairy, Hanna's War, The Journey, Ladies in Love, Mehbooba, Music Box, The Shop Around the Corner, Zoo in Budapest, and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.
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