Geography of Budapest
Budapest, Hungary, the nation's capital and largest city. It lies on both level and hilly land along the Danube River in the northern part of the country.
Budapest is Hungary's leading industrial and commercial city and center of the country's cultural life. More than a third of the nation's manufacturing is done in the city and its suburbs. Airline routes and Hungary's main railways and highways converge on the city. Budapest has a subway and large river port facilities.
There are a number of museums and libraries, including the Hungarian National Museum, the Budapest Museum of Fine Arts, and the National Széchényi Library. The State Opera House, the Erkel Opera Theater, and the Franz Liszt Academy of Music are the chief centers of music, opera, and ballet. Overlooking the city from high on Castle Hill is Buda Palace, once the residence of the Hungarian kings. Also in Budapest is the domed and ornately spired parliament building.
Institutions of higher learning include Loránd Eöstvös University, Semmelweis Medical University, and Budapest Technical University. The Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the nation's highest scientific body, maintains numerous research institutes.
Budapest evolved from three settlements—Obuda and Buda on the west bank of the Danube and Pest on the east bank. Obuda's site was first occupied by the ancient Roman colony of Aquincum. After Aquincum's decline in the 4th century A.D. other settlements were made in the area by various invading tribes. Pest was established as a Magyar (Hungarian) settlement in 898. It was destroyed in 1241 by Tatar invaders and was soon rebuilt by King Bela IV. In 1247 he began a walled fortification in Buda, and Buda became Hungary's royal residence in the 14th century. The Turks, who had sacked Buda and Pest in 1526 and 1529, held the cities from 1541 to 1686. The cities and surrounding area were then captured by the Hapsburgs, who held the region until World War I. In 1873 Obuda, Buda, and Pest were united as Budapest.
Allied bombings and a 50-day Russian siege inflicted widespread damage during World War II. In 1956 Budapest was the site of an unsuccessful popular uprising, in which thousands of Hungarians lost their lives, against Hungary's Communist government.
Population: 1,838,753.