The Berkeley Guides:
Berkeley Guide to Europe:
Hungary:
Budapest
Divided by the Danube River into hilly, historic Buda and the commercial flatlands of Pest, Budapest is Hungary's capital and largest city, with a growing population of two million. A castle built in the hills, Roma (Gypsy) folk musicians, and paprika-spiced cuisine will pull you to Budapest: Plenty of cheap thrills and accommodations, eminently wanderable streets, and an excellent public transportation system make it hard to leave.
Budapest was settled in the 9th century by Magyar tribes, who built on the Roman military camp of Aquincum. Since then, this ancient city has been the locus of foreign oppression and Hungarian resistance. Burned to the ground in 1241 by the Mongols, the city rose from ashes to Renaissance glory under King Mátyás, was conquered by the Turks in 1568, and then again by the Hapsburgs in 1699. Tolerant Budapest was the second city of the Hapsburg empire and prospered in this role; unfortunately, this alliance with Austria put them on the wrong side of both world wars. At the end of World War II, a six-month battle for Budapest between the Nazis and the Red Army left all the bridges destroyed and the severed halves of the city in ruins. The cycle of occupation and revolt continued through the Cold War: Stalinist hardliners kept the city in fear until Imre Nagy's reforms left the door open for the anti-Soviet uprising of 1956, quickly crushed by Russian tanks. Subsequent "goulash communist" governments stirred a little capitalism into Hungary's eastern-bloc socialism, setting Budapest up to be the Western city (with Eastern flavor) that it is today.
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