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There’s no other city in Hungary like Budapest. With some two million inhabitants, the metropolis is home to 20% of the total population. As Hungary’s capital, it is the administrative, business and cultural centre; virtually everything in Hungary starts, finishes or is taking place in Budapest. But the beauty of Budapest is what really makes it stand apart. Straddling a gentle curve in the Danube, the city is flanked by the Buda Hills on the west bank and what is essentially the start of the Great Plain to the east. Architecturally, it is a gem. Though it may lack the medieval buildings so ubiquitous in cities like Prague, there is enough baroque, neoclassical, Eclectic and Art Nouveau / Secessionist architecture here to satisfy anyone. |
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Budapest, the capital of Hungary, lies on both banks of the Danube. Its area totals 525 km2, 352 km2, of which are on the left bank and 173 km2 on the right bank. The area left of the Danube, that is Pest, is essentially flat, and Buda on the right-bank is hilly. The difference between the two parts is rather striking, when they are viewed from a bridge on the river or even more so from one of the many look-outs in the Buda hills. This is what makes the situation of Budapest so interesting and diversified. The historical development of the two banks of the river also differed. Pest on the flat side was a town of artisans and merchants in medieval times as well as in modern times, while Buda on the opposite side was a fortified royal seat. Óbuda north of Buda, was principally agricultural until the middle of the 19th century. |
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