You probably know that Budapest has a rich history and the city went through a lot before it became what it is today: the city of lights. But what made Budapest one of the most beautiful cities in the world? Let me tell you.
As you may have already guessed it all started a long time ago, there are traces of a settlement in this area are told to be from the Stone Age. That’s pretty early to say the least. There were various tribes living in this area, with Scythians, who came from the Black Sea regions to settle here, but the place was home ones to Celto-Illyrian tribes as well.
Let’s fast forward a little in time and we land in the Roman Ages. As they say all roads lead to Rome, and this was the case with a certain Roman outpost as well now called Óbuda. This historic part of Budapest still carries the signs of the Romans being here once, we even call one part of this area Aquincum.
The Hungarian kingdom
Getting ahead in time we can stop around 900 AD, or to be exact 896, when Árpád and his men came to this land and after observing the land well enough thought of settling here. You may have heard of this tribe, called Magyars. This is how we Hungarians call ourselves to this day. Even though the Magyars settled here we didn’t really become a kingdom just yet.
That’s when István, the first king of Hungary came into play and formed the Hungarian kingdom in 1000 AD. A few years later merchants from different areas started to settle on both sides of the Danube, forming Buda and Pest, helping these towns to develop rapidly. After the Mongols stormed the towns king Béla IV ordered Buda castle to be built, and that’s when one of today’s most well known Budapest attractions came to existence.
The city of baths
A not so great influence of Budapest, and the whole of Hungary at that time were the Turk attacks of the area. However the century Turk reign also left some great marks on the city: the turkish baths. This was the time when people (mostly the turk people) realized that the area is full of springwaters and they can be utilized in the form of baths. That’s right, one of the main reasons Budapest became the city of baths is that the Turks found out about the opportunity.
But still at this time Buda and Pest were separate cities.
Merger of Buda and Pest
There were ideas that the cities on the two sides of the Danube should be merged as they have already collaborated greatly. After this idea a planning phase began and finally in 1872 Budapest came to existence, merging Buda, Pest and Óbuda, as it was still a separate town at that time.
After this merger Budapest started growing rapidly once again, as the newly united Budapest officially became the capital city of Hungary. This was the city’s golden age, with a lot of great achivements. For example the first underground railway of the European continent was constructed here in 1896 and many well known industrial companies had their bases in Budapest before the first world war.
Budapest today
Today’s Budapest carries features from its history, but manages to becoma a modern 21st century city as well. You can visit points of interests in the city that resemble each part of the city’s history, but you can stay in the modernity of Budapest as well, visiting street food courts, rooftop bars, and so on. The opportunities to spend time in Budapest are so vast, you will need to spend at least a day to think of the best tour for your desire. Or you can contact me and ask for a guided tour tailored for your needs.