The importance of
BUDAPEST to
Hungary is difficult to
overestimate. More than two million
people live in the capital - one
fifth of the population - and
everything converges here: roads and
rail lines; air travel (Ferihegy is
the country's only civilian
airport); industry, commerce and
culture; opportunities, wealth and
power. Like Paris, the city has a
history of revolutions - in 1849,
1918 and 1956 - buildings, parks and
avenues on a monumental scale, and a
reputation for hedonism, style and
parochial pride. In short, Budapest
is a city worthy of comparison with
other great European capitals.
Surveying Budapest from the
embankments or the bastions of Várhegy
(Castle Hill), it's easy to see why
the city was dubbed the "Pearl
of the Danube". Its grand
buildings and sweeping bridges look
magnificent, especially when
floodlit or illuminated by the
barrage of fireworks that explode
above the Danube every August 20, St
Stephen's Day. The eclectic
inner-city and radial boulevards
combine brash commercialism with a fin-de-sičcle
sophistication, while a
distinctively Magyar character is
highlighted by the sounds and
appearance of the Hungarian language
at every turn.
Since the Communist system
expired, Budapest has experienced a
new surge of dynamism. Luxury hotels
and malls, restaurants, bars and
clubs have all proliferated - as
have crime and social inequalities.
While the number of beggars and
homeless people on the streets has
risen inexorably, politicians and
the media prefer moral posturing on
other issues, like toning down the
sex industry that has earned
Budapest the nickname of the
"Bangkok of Europe", or
cracking down on refugees and
illegal immigrants among the new
ethnic communities formed in the
last decade. Though many Hungarians
fear the erosion of their culture by
foreign influences, others see a new
golden age for Budapest, as the
foremost world-city of Mitteleuropa.
The River Danube - which is never
blue - determines basic orientation
, with Buda on the hilly west bank
and Pest covering the plain across
the river. More precisely, Budapest
is divided into 23 districts ( kerület
), designated on maps and street
signs by Roman numerals; many
quarters also have a historic name.
In Buda , the focus of
attention is the I district,
comprising the Várhegy and the Víziváros
(Watertown); the XI, XII, II and III
districts are worth visiting for
Gellért-hegy, the Buda Hills, Óbuda
and Római-Fürdo. Pest is
centred on the downtown Belváros (V
district), while beyond the Kiskörút
(Small Boulevard) lie the VI, VII,
VIII and IX districts, respectively
known as the Terézváros, Erzsébetváros,
Józsefváros and Ferencváros.
