The land which was
settled by the founding Hungarians had been inhabited territory since
pre-historical times. According to findings the Carpathian basin was already
home to early man half a million years ago. In the middle paleozoic era human
settlements existed in the countryside around the middle area of the river Tisza.
In the neolithic age the people of the Korösi culture had already begun
cultivating the land using cut stone instruments. The findings from the copper
and bronze ages bear witness to the fact that at that time people were already
living in tribal communities in this region were familiar with the four-wheel
wagon pulled by oxen they kept domesticated animals could weave and spin and
made dishes out of clay.
In the early iron
age Thracians moved from the river Tisza to the east and Illyrians moved from
the Danube towards the west. The latter erected huge earthworks against the
Scythians and later against the Celts arriving from the west. In the first
centuries A.D. the Romans who had conquered the Celts took control of part of
the country which stretches from the Danube to the west and it became a province
of the Roman Empire named "Pannonia". The Roman leadership created a developed
prosperous civilization for four centuries: today most of the cities of western
Hungary can trace their origins back to their Roman predecessors. Sopron and
Szombathely (Scarbantia or Savaria) developed into a significant settlement on
the "Ivy Road" stretching from the Baltic to Italy. Pécs' predecessor was the
Roman city Sopianae and the ancestor of today's Budapest Aquincum was a large
city by the Danube with plumbing sewers steam baths fair halls and two
amphitheaters. The city of Aquincum was built in the territory of what is now
Óbuda (3rd district). Near it and also in the area of the Downtown Church - the
former border of the Roman Empire - on the Pest side opposing forces were also
built: Trans Aquincum or Contra Aquincum. The chief town which probably got its
name from the Celts (ak ink = wide water) was the first predecessor of today's
Budapest and according to findings had quite a developed life. In addition to
finding residential houses and shops excavations brought to light the existence
of water pipes and a sewage network paved roads public baths two amphitheaters
and defensive works. These beautifully preserved remains constitute a quite
significant sight of the capital city.
After the Romans the
Huns eastern Goths Longobard and Avar conquerors then the Hungarians' princely
tribe settled permanently here and made use of the remains of the Roman
buildings. The military power of the empire created by the Huns forced Roman
legions to withdraw in the beginning of the fourth century A.D.
Their settlement
became truly significant after the destructive Mongol invasion of 1241-1242 when
King Béla gradually moved the capital from Esztergom to the more favorably
located and defendable Buda. Certain 13th century remains of the walls of the
new royal capital on the castle hill turned up during the building of the
Military History Museum and Organization courtyard. Since this time the Castle
Hill and its surroundings bear the name Buda whose origin was from an ancient
Hungarian personal name. The older settlement located to the north of Buda and
developed above and around the Roman city came to have the name Óbuda. The
settlement which developed on the Danube's left bank which was virtually
destroyed at the time of the Mongol invasion and later rebuilt was named Pest -
the name probably of Slav origin. It first appeared in written form in 1148 and
its inhabitants were mostly merchants and handicraftsmen many of whom had come
from foreign lands. Through their work and building the three settlements began
to flourish especially under King Zsigmond who became the major patron of the
cities. He built a splendid palace on the Castle Hill whose existing "Knight's
Hall" we can still admire today.
Under King Matthias
Buda became even richer in buildings as a result of the building spirit - not
only of the king but also of the nobles and the growing citizenry. Pest was also
encircled by city walls whose remains are still visible today in certain parts
of the Small Boulevard (Kiskörút). After Matthias' death the country was
weakened by feudal anarchy and by the suppression of the peasants' uprising led
by Dózsa György.
After the lost
battle of Mohács in the year 1526 the Turkish powers conquered a large portion
of the country. The first Ottoman - Turk occupation of Buda was only temporary
(1526 - 1529) and in 1530 Buda was unsuccessfully besieged by the armies of the
Austrian Habsburg Emperor Habsburg Ferdinánd who asserted a right to and owned a
part of the country. In 1541 the Turks permanently occupied the city by ruse and
kept it under their power until 1686. The Turks settled down in the still
existing buildings their only new buildings being public baths (certain parts of
Rudas Rác Király and Császár baths can still be seen today). Buda became the
capital of the new Turkish domain and outsiders moved in among its residents.
The Habsburgs unsuccessfully besieged Buda's castle on several occasions and
because of the sieges and neglecting to maintain them the three cities gradually
died out. Especially great damage was caused by the final siege beginning in
1686 during which virtually the entire Christian world collaborated to repossess
Buda Castle. The gunpowder stored under the royal palace blew up and destroyed
not only the palace but also a section of the city. It was practically only
ruins which the Hungarian and foreign troops could repossess.
The old citizenry
had also greatly diminished so the Habsburgs brought many Germans to live in the
three cities and their surrounding areas. The view of these cities' historical
parts was decisively dominated by the Baroque-Rococo and Neoclassic-late Baroque
and thereafter by the classical and romantic style in rebuilding and remodeling
which was interrupted only for a relatively short time by the war of
independence from the oppressive Habsburg rule led by II. Rákóczi Ferenc to
regain the country's former liberty. This rapid development broke off for a time
because of the fight for independence in 1848-1849.
The failure of the
fight for independence and the oppression which followed it interrupted the new
capitalistic economic development which was a result of the influx of Austrian
capital the development of a manufacturing industry built on cheap labor and the
great rebuilding of railways. Beyond our borders political and war circumstances
paved the way by 1867 for the compromise between the nation and the Habsburgs.
The political and economic stabilization which ensued brought about the
unification of three historical cities' - Buda Óbuda and Pest - in 1873. The new
city had the name Budapest.
The new era of
construction - public and apartment buildings bridges and modern local
transportation - had begun:
1830: Horse drawn
omnibus
1866: Horse drawn tram
1870: Funicular
1874: The cog-wheel railway (the 3rd in the world)
1887: Tram
1896: Underground railway (the first on the continent)
The streets began to
be paved - first with rocks and cobblestones then with asphalt.
After 1850
construction began on the new water sewer and later gas and electricity systems.
The artistic literary and theatrical life also expanded and painting experienced
its golden age. The high quality of musical artistry was marked by the works of
Liszt Ferenc and Erkel Ferenc. The progress of the capital was interrupted by
the trials and failures of the First World War in 1914-1918. After the entry
into the second World War there were several peaceful demonstrations against the
war - in 1941 by the eternal flame of Batthyányi and at the graves of Kossuth
and of Táncsics then in 1942 at the Petofi statue. By 1944 much of the capital
lay in ruins first by RAF bombings which followed the NAZI occupation then
during the long siege Budapest became the scene of street fights as well. After
the liberation on February 12 1945 scarcely a house was left intact and the
city's pride its bridges were all blown up by the NAZIs.
The reconstruction
restored and even outshone the old familiar look of the city with its building
and investments. From a governmental standpoint another decisive change took
place: on January 1 1950 the surrounding cities and other settlements were
connected to Budapest and Greater Budapest came into existence with 22 districts
(currently 23) in place of the old 10 later 14. The Metro system new colleges
theaters museums and sport arenas were built. The combination of favorable
natural characteristics and millennia of building created this Budapest which
the world's travellers rightly consider one of the most beautiful capitals of
the world. In 1987 the UNESCO World Heritage Committee added the Buda Castle
Quarter Gellért Hill the Parliament and the Downtown Church together with the
bridges connecting them to its world cultural heritage list because of their
exceptional value and rare beauty as part of the city scene. The borders of the
extended area that connects the significant parts of the capital belonging to
the UNESCO World Heritage are the following:
- the banks of the
Danube between Margaret and Petofi Bridges along with the entire Margaret Island
- the squares opening onto the Danube in the north from Katona street to Petofi
Bridge on the Danube bank from Gellért Hill to the Castle Hill along with the
Water Town and further on the Danube bank along Fo street and Frankel Leo street
to Komjádi street. |