Budapest has approximately 1.7 million inhabitants, down from a mid-1980s peak of 2.1 million. Budapest became a single city occupying both banks of the river Danube with the amalgamation on 17 November1873 of right-bank (west) Buda (Ofen in German) and Óbuda (Old Buda or Alt-Ofen) together with Pest on the left (east) bank. It is the eighth largest city in the European Union.
History
Budapest's recorded history begins with the Roman town of Aquincum, founded around 89 AD on the site of an earlier Celtic settlement near what was to become Óbuda, and from 106 until the end of the 4th century the capital of the province of lower Pannonia. Aquincum was the base camp of Legio II Adiutrix. The area of Campona (today's Nagytétény) belongs to Buda as well. Today's Pest became the site of Contra Aquincum (or Trans Aquincum), a smaller sentry point. The word Pest (or Peshta) is thought to originate from the Bolgar language, (thought to be a Turkic language, not related to modern Bulgarian, which is a Slavic language) because at the time of the reign of the Bulgarian Khan Krum, the town was under Bulgar dominion. The area then became a homeland for the Avars and some Slavic peoples.
The area was occupied around the year 900 by the Magyars of Central Asia, the cultural and linguistic ancestors of today's ethnic Hungarians, who a century later officially founded the Kingdom of Hungary. Already a place of some significance, Pest recovered rapidly from its destruction by Mongol invaders in 1241, but it was Buda, the seat of a royal castle since 1247, which in 1361 became the capital of Hungary.
The Ottoman Empire's conquest of most of Hungary in the 16th century interrupted the cities' growth: Buda and Pest fell to the invaders in 1541. While Buda remained the seat of a Turkish pasha, and administrative center of a whole vilayet, Pest was largely derelict by the time of their recapture in 1686 by Austria's Habsburg rulers, who since 1526 had been Kings of Hungary despite their loss of most of the country.
It was Pest, a bustling commercial town, which enjoyed the faster growth rate in the 18th and 19th century and contributed the overwhelming majority of the cities' combined growth in the 19th. By 1800 its population was larger than that of Buda and Óbuda combined. The population of Pest grew twentyfold in the following century to 600,000, while that of Buda and Óbuda quintupled.
The fusion of the three cities under a single administration, first enacted by the Hungarian revolutionary government in 1849 but revoked on the subsequent restoration of Habsburg authority, was finally effected by the autonomous Hungarian royal government established under the Austro-Hungarian Ausgleich ("Compromise") of 1867; see Austria-Hungary. The total population of the unified capital grew nearly sevenfold in 1840–1900 to 730,000.
During the 20th century, most population growth occurred in the suburbs, with Újpest more than doubling between 1890–1910 and Kispest more than quintupling in 1900–1920, as much of the country's industry came to be concentrated in the city.
The country's human losses during World War I and the subsequent loss of more than two thirds of the former kingdom's territory (1920) dealt only a temporary blow, leaving Budapest as the capital of a smaller but now sovereign state. By 1930 the city proper contained a million inhabitants, with a further 400,000 in the suburbs.
Towards the end of World War II in 1944 Budapest was partly destroyed by British and American air raids. The following siege lasted from December 24 1944 to February 13 1945, and major damages were caused by the attacking Soviet and defending German and Hungarian troops. All bridges were disrupted by the Germans. More than 38,000 civilians lost their lives during the fighting.
Between 20% and 40% of Greater Budapest's 250,000 Jewish inhabitants died through Nazi and Arrow Cross genocide during 1944 and early 1945. [http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/article.php?lang=en&ModuleId=10005264 Despite this, Budapest today has the highest number of Jewish citizens per capita of any European city.
On January 1, 1950, the area of Budapest was significantly expanded: new districts were formed from the neighbouring cities and towns (see Greater Budapest). From the severe damage during the Soviet siege in 1944, the city recovered in the 1950s and 1960s, becoming to some extent a showcase for the more pragmatic policies pursued by the country's communist government (1947–1989) from the 1960s. Since the 1980s, the capital has shared with the country as a whole in increased emigration (mostly to the agglomeration) coupled with natural population decrease.
Budapest's districts are numbered clockwise, in widening circles, and are organized similarly to the arrondissements in Metropolitan Paris.
Originally Budapest had 10 districts after coming into existence upon the unification of the three cities in 1873. On 1 January1950 Budapest was united with several neighboring towns and the number of its districts was raised to 22. 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.
Islands in Budapest
Seven islands can be found on the Danube: Hajógyári sziget (literal translation: Shipwarf Island), Margitsziget (Margaret Island), and Csepel sziget (this island is a sperate district of Budapest, while the other islands are parts of a bigger district), Palotai-sziget (in fact, it's a peninsula today), Népsziget (connected to the above, but mostly surrounded by water), Háros-sziget and Molnár-sziget.
Notable Islands:
The Csepel-sziget (pronounced CHE-pel see-get) or Csepel Island is the largest island of the River Danube in Hungary. It is 48 km long; its width is 6-8 km and its area comprises 257 km².
Margitsziget is a 2.5 km long island (and 0.965 km² in area) The island mostly consists of a park and is a popular recreational area for tourists as well as for local people. The island lies between bridges Margaret Bridge (south) and Árpád Bridge (north). Dance clubs, swimming pools, an Aqua park, athletic and fitness centers, 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 night (generally on the weekends) teenagers go to the island to party (in a dance club) or to just 'chill' with a bottle of alcohol on a bench or on a grass (this form of entertainment is sometimes referred to as bench-partying)
Hajógyári-sziget (or Óbudai-sziget) is a man built island, located in the third district. This island hosts many activities such as: wakeboarding, jetskiing during the day, and dance clubs during the night. This is the island were the famous Sziget Festival takes place, hosting 1000 performances per year and now having 400,000 visitors. Many building projects are taking place to make this is island into one of the biggest enertainment centers of Europe, the plan is to build apartement buildings, hotels, casinos and a marina.
Margaret Island with the Centennial Memorial, a Japanese garden, a Musical Fountain, several recreation facilities and Franciscan, Dominican and Premonstratensian ruins from the Middle Ages
Image:Tehen.jpg|A cow at the 2006 Cow Parade
Image:Hosok2.jpg|Heroes' Square
Image:Budparliament.jpg|The Parliament
Image:Basilicabu2.jpg|St. Stephen Basilica
Shopping
Budapest has the most shopping centers in Europe, including WestEnd City Center, the largest shopping centre in Central and Eastern Europe, and the biggest Tesco in the world.
Electronics are somewhat cheaper then in Western Europe, because the taxes are low, and the store's pricing is adjusted to the below average wages of Hungary.
Transport
Airport
Budapest Ferihegy International Airport, which has 3 different passenger terminals: Ferihegy 1, Ferihegy 2/A and Ferihegy 2/B. The airport is located to the east of the centre in the XVIII. district in Pestszentlőrinc.
Malév (Hungarian Airlines) had begun to change its aircraft in 2003, and by 2005 owned the most modern fleet in Europe.
Roads
Budapest is the most important Hungarian road terminus; all the major highways end there. Between 1990-1994, the city street names were reverted back to their late 19th century names, which were changed under the Soviet occupation. Budapest is also a major railway terminus.
Commuting with Public Transport
Budapest public transport is mainly provided by BKV, the company operates Buses, Trolley Buses, Trams, Suburban Railway lines, the Metro, Boats and many other special vehicles.
Special vehicles
Beside metros, suburban rails, buses, trams and boats, there are a couple of less usual vehicles in Budapest:
Hungarian main-line railways are operated by MÁV. There are three main railway termini in Budapest, Keleti (eastern), Nyugati (western), and Déli (southern), operating both domestic and international rail services. Budapest was one of the main stops of the Orient Express until 2001, when the service was cut back to Paris-Vienna.
There is also a suburban rail service in and around Budapest, operated under the name HÉV.
The Budapest Subway system is the oldest subway in Continental Europe (the shallow M1 line was operational in 1896). The original subway line is now the M1 or Yellow line. It was fully restored to its original condition, for a historical ride. Two other lines, the M2 (red) and M3 (blue), were built later and serve other parts of the city. The M4 is currently under construction and the M5 is expected to be started in 2007. Both lines M2 and M4 will be fully automated and operate without drivers. The Budapest Subway was the scene of the 2004 film Kontroll.
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).
International Schools
Budapest usually the place where big companies locate their main offices. Because of this, there are many foreigners that work in Budapest, naturally some have children. Therefore Budapest and the surrounding cities have many private and international schools. These schools are usually quite expensive, therefore they are attented by childrens of employees of varies Trans-National Companies and workers at an embassy (the tuition is usually paid by the company or embassy), and some children of richer Hungarians.
List of International schools:
American International School of Budapest - Homepage
Toma András (Tamás András) Hungarian World War II prisoner who was found in a Russian mental hospital in the 1990s and returned to Hungary after 55 years.
"Budapest".
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