Budapest Travel guide

Budapest - History

The Roman Era

Budapest has had a long and tortured history, with regular cycles of settlement, development and destruction. Although there is evidence of habitation in the area going back tens of thousands of years, it was only with the relentless expansion of the Roman Empire that the true strategic and geographical value of the territory was recognised and exploited. The Romans conquered the Region in around 35BC and it became part of the Roman Empire, within the province of Pannonia. The Roman settlement was called Aquincum and its ruins are to be found in the Óbuda district of modern day Budapest. Aquincum served both as a trading settlement and garrison town, protecting other strategic interests along the Danube.

Whilst there are Roman remains in Pest (Március 15 tér), the Danube acted as a natural defensive barrier against attacks from the Asiatic tribes and the overwhelming majority of development occurred on the Buda side. As the Roman Empire gradually disintegrated through internal strife and pressure from migrating Asian tribes, their hold on Pannonia became increasingly perilous.

Migrations from the East

In 430 the Huns, led by their feared commander Attila swept into the Empire, sweeping the Roman armies and assorted allies aside. Rome itself was spared following pleas for mercy from the Pope in 453. However, Attila died in mysterious circumstances soon afterwards and the Huns, leaderless returned to Central Asia.

Following the Huns, many tribes including the Avars drifted in and out of the fertile Region. The ancestors of modern day Hungarians were the Magyars, a tribe who it is believed originated from the lands between the River Volga and the Ural mountains.This tribe moved gradually westward.

The Magyars were skilled horseman and frequently mounted raids into the Holy Roman Empire and middle Europe, becoming the scourge of Western Christendom. However, the Magyars gradually suffered a series of military reverses and eventually settled in Central Hungary.

Consolidation of the Magyars

There followed a period of consolidation which included the conversion of the Magyars to western Christianity under King Géza and his son King Stephen (St István) who ascended the throne on Christmas Day 1000. Budapest at this time was of little importance as the Kings Palace was situated in Székesfehérvár and the religious centre in Esztergom.

King Stephen faced many problems in pacifying the new created nobility and cementing his commitment to the Pope and the Holy Roman Empire. On his death, Hungary saw a succession of weak Kings and dynastic intrigue, which did little to help the fledgling Kingdom develop.

It was not until 200 years or so later, that the King and nobles were able to settle their differences, with the signing of the Golden Bull (the Hungarian Magna Carta) in 1222 in the reign of King András. The Golden Bull recognised the "Hungarian Nation" and created the framework for an annual meeting of nobles, known as a Diet. This Diet was to be held in a meadow in Pest, and because of its significance, helped to develop the town into an important market. Before long however, disaster struck with the Mongol invasion in 1241 in which the town and indeed most of the country was laid waste as Hungary, in a rehearsal for future centuries, became a battleground. When the Mongols eventually left, following the death of their inspirational leader, Genghis Khan, Hungary was in ruins. The Hungarian King, Béla IV decided to strengthen the countries defences and commission a series of Castles. Buda was picked as a site for one of these and once completed, it helped to increase the towns significance and standing.

Buda and Pest gradually began to increase their populations, attracting many traders and craftsmen from other European countries. In addition Hungary had gradually acquired more territory. However an ill fated expedition against the Turks by King Sigismund in 1396, marked the beginning of Turkish ambitions for an Empire in Europe. Their relentless advance was stemmed by a Transylvanian Price, János Hunyadi, who inflicted a heavy defeat on them during the siege of Belgrade in 1456. Hunyadi had been a unifying force within the Kingdom, and his death from the plague, soon after his victory plunged the country into a further period of instability. However in 1458, one of his sons Mátyás "Corvinus" became King at the age of 16.

Mátyás and the Golden Age

Mátyás' reign proved to be something of a golden age for the country and Buda benefited greatly from his rule, becoming a renaissance centre and attracting scholars and travellers from all over Europe. He oversaw the major development of Buda castle and also commissioned an extensive Royal library to cement Buda’s position as a centre of learning.

His Italian wife, Beatrice also introduced many influences into his court from her homeland. Mátyás’ reign was thus regarded as a time of justice and progress. He had also been able to consolidate his rule over his nobles and keep the Turkish peril at bay through his establishment of the famed "Back" army, one of the first standing armies in Europe. Mátyás however died without an heir and as was the case throughout Hungarian history, a period of progress and order was quickly followed by feudal squabbling and chaos.

The nobility crowned an outsider Ulászló as King, and he reigned almost as a puppet of the nobles who appropriated land and tax revenues for themselves. Hungary’s relative military strength was drastically weakened by the disbanding of the Black Army. Buda also surrendered its role as a renaissance centre. During the early decades of the 16th century, the Hungarians fought among themselves, the culmination being the peasant revolt of 1541, led by György Dósza. This was ruthlessly put down by the nobility, who then imposed harsh punishment on the peasants.

Included in a revision to the Golden Bull of 1222 was a law that reduced the peasants to serfdom and forbade them to bear arms. As the Turks were beginning a fresh assault in Europe, the timing could not have been more catastrophic. Unfortunately, the Hungarians "gift" of making a bad situation even worse is repeated throughout their violent history, as you will see later.

Hungary under the Turks

The Turks decimated the outnumbered Hungarian army at Mohács in Southern Hungary in 1526 and killed the young King Lajos II. Although they advanced to Buda and sacked the town, it was not until 15 years later in 1541 that they returned and occupied the town. The Turks turned Buda into a provincial capital in the Ottoman Empire. Some legacies of their rule, such as the Baths remain to this day.

The Turks remained in Buda and Pest for almost 150 years and it was only in 1686 that they were driven out following a destructive siege lasting one and a half months. The liberated Buda and Pest were mere shells with tiny populations The towns would slowly recover, but the Hungarians had not gained their independence with the expulsion of the Turks, merely exchanging one occupier for another, the Habsburgs (above: scene depicting the siege of Buda castle)

Oppressor Replaces Oppressor

The Habsburgs placed Hungary under military rule and tried to ensure that the Hungarian nobility remained loyal to the new Catholic rulers, by persecuting Protestants in a heavy handed fashion. Squabbling within the native nobility did little to help the situation. Eventually the Hungarians rebelled under Ferenc Rákóczi, although again they were defeated following an eight year struggle. Whilst this turmoil did little to help Buda & Pest to recover their stature and prosperity, the Habsburgs had recognised the strategic importance of Buda as a prime economic and strategic base.

Following the war they ploughed great amounts of money and effort into developing the towns. Development was particularly notable during the reign of Empress Maria Theresa (1740-80). This period brought a closer integration of the Austrian Habsburgs and the Hungarians particularly amongst the nobility and wealthy estate owners. Pest developed into a wealthy town with the influx of money and the increasing commercial activity. The Danube also played an important role in the movement of goods throughout Central and South-eastern Europe. As a trading centre, Pest attracted a new wave of immigrants, such as the Serbs and Jews, This influx added a new dimension to the development of the towns, and even today, the legacy of this rich cultural diversity can be found in parts of Budapest, particularly the old Jewish quarter in the seventh district (VII).

During most of the eighteenth and earlier nineteenth centuries, Hungary remained reasonably calm, acquiring an image as the breadbasket of the Habsburg Empire, as Hungary was still overwhelmingly an agricultural nation. The development of Buda and Pest continued, influenced by modern city planning elsewhere. The great boulevards that you can wander today were the results of a design rethink following major flooding of the Danube in 1838.

Progressive Hungarians, particularly Count István Széchenyi also left their mark during this period. Széchenyi had been greatly influence by what he had learnt while travelling abroad, particularly to England. He was determined to drag Hungary into the modern age. The most well known of his legacies is the Chain Bridge (Lanchíd), the first permanent stone crossing over the Danube, and whose construction helped to draw Buda and Pest ever closer together (above: Miklós Barabás' 'laying of the foundation stone of the Chain Bridge' 1842)

This period of progress coincided with an awakening of the national spirit, spurred on by the revolutionary movements in other parts of Europe. Many Hungarians were frustrated that they had little independence within their own land and that much of the day to day administration was run under the auspices of the Habsburgs. Pest , which had become a magnet for the Hungarian gentry was becoming the centre of nationalist reawakening.

World War II

When war broke out Hungary became gradually more involved. The country reclaimed most of Transylvania ans part of Slovakia. In return it sent troops to Yugoslavia and despatched an army to aid the Germans in their invasion of the Soviet Union, a disastrous decision as the entire force was surrounded and subsequently surrendered at the battle of Stalingrad. The Germans were gradually pushed back on the Russian front and Soviet troops were pushing towards Hungary.

Budapest by this time had been subject to Allied bombing, whose aim was to destroy the industrial area’s providing armaments and other supplies to the Germans. Horthy, seeing that the war was lost, tried to take Hungary out of the war, but his gamble failed, and the Germans, who’d been building up their forces in Hungary throughout 1944, occupied and fortified Budapest. At the same time, they began the wholesale deportation of Budapest's Jewish population

(which until Horthy's removal the Hungarians had prevented). Now however, the Germans had a willing ally in the Arrow Cross, a Hungarian Nazi party, led by the ruthless Ferenc Szalasi. In a addition to the deportation, many Jews and others deemed enemies of the right wing regime (left wingers, communists and members of the resistance were executed in the banks of the Danube.

The Germans decided to make a last stand in Budapest and the subsequent battle lasted months, with much of the city destroyed in fierce fighting. The remaining German forces surrendered on 4 April 1945, following a bloody siege in the area around the Royal Palace. The damage was widespread, with many of Pests residential blocks destroyed, the Palace in ruins and all the Bridges blown up by the Germans to restrict the Russians movement across the Danube.

The Post War Period

Following the War, the massive task of rebuilding Budapest from the rubble began Over the years, most of the historical buildings were to be restored although, in some cases the work was carried out with poor quality materials. At the same time, construction began on new residential areas. Sadly, Budapest is still blighted by these horrendous, shabby blocks, a stark contrast from the beauty of the Inner City. This work was completed under a sterile communist political leadership, who had little time for quality architecture or innovative design. Instead bleak functionality marked the new buildings

The major symbol of architecture during this period is the Népstadion (or peoples stadium) which was built by volunteers, many with no construction experience. Memorials to communist leaders, the soviet liberators and workers heroes also sprang up all over the city. In addition most of the streets were given the names of revolutionary heroes and leaders. The communist government exerted its influence into all areas of life and architecture and civil planning were good areas for propaganda to thrive (above left: poster reads 'Be a vörös (red) in the red army'.

The uprising of 1956 was to scar Budapest yet again, as the streets became the scene of fierce fighting between Hungarian civilians/army units and the Soviet forces sent in to crush the struggle for freedom. With no hope of support from the Western powers who were preoccupied with the Suez crisis, the Soviets and the new communist leader, János Kádár were able to restore communist rule. A number of buildings were destroyed by tank and artillery fire and hundreds more damaged by machine gun and small arms fire. Indeed you can still see the bullet holes in buildings today.

After a period of repressive consolidation, Kádár moved towards a more liberal style of politics, dubbed "Goulash Communism". Whilst this allowed Hungarians to live under a more liberal and prosperous regime than their Central and Eastern European neighbours.

Unfortunately, Kádár's regime presided over further architectural disasters in Budapest, with scores more grim housing estates and shabby concrete municipal buildings. In truth however, the communist regime did not have the revenues to fund new quality projects. One redeeming feature was that they did provide funds to maintain or restore some of Budapest's finer buildings and areas, such as the castle district.

In 1989, the Hungarian communist party moved quietly aside as a tide of democracy swept Eastern Europe. Hungary in 1998 was still adjusting to capitalism and not all the changes that had taken place in the nine years before had necessarily been for the better.

May 1st 2004

As from this day, Hungary is a fully commissioned member in the EU. Many sacrifices led to this outcome and many more are likely to be demanded. But Hungarian people are stepping in the New Era hopeful that a bright future lies ahead. There is a new spirit in the country, and Budapest is the main stimulus for change, taking the lion share of new investment from the west. It is slowly regaining its position as the Paris of the east (although no doubt the residents of Prague would dispute this). Budapest is a rare mix of old and new, with many reminders of its turbulent past. It is not a city which can be appreciated on a day trip. So linger for a few days, soak up the unique atmosphere and the spirit of the people and enjoy!