Overview of Budapest

History of Budapest

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History of Hungary

Hungary has more than a thousand years of history that is full of great events, battles, kings, allies, enemies and peaceful years. Hungarians started out as nomadic people who were believed to have moved to the Carpathian basin from the East located around the Ural Mountains. The Hungarians took over the land around the year of 895.

In the year 1000, King Stephen I founded the state of Hungary. He expected the Catholic religion to be a standard.

In 1241-1242 the invasion of the Mongols caused serious destruction to the country. Over half of the country's population (1 million people) were killed and deported ats slaves. After the invasion a system of strong stone castles were built to defend the country from later attacks. The second Mongolian attack was stopped at Pest thanks to these castles.

In 1526 the Turkish defeated the Hungarian royal army and took over. In 1541 Hungary split into three parts: The Hungarian Kingdom, the Habsburg dominion and the Turkish dominion. It took over 150 years before the Hungarians could drive out the Turks. After the Turkish domination ended, the country became a part of the Habsburg dominion, which was ruled by Ferenc Rákóczi II. Hungarians were able to take back their independence and signed a treaty of peace in 1711.

In the 19th century, Hungarian became the official language of the country.

In 1848 there were independent revolutions in Europe, including Hungary. The Magyars attempted to remove the boundaries of the Habsburg dominion. Peace descended across the land in 1867 when Hungarian delegation led by Ferenc Deák came to an agreement with the Habsburgs. After this the dualistic system of the Austrian-Hungarian Monarchy was born.

In World War I Hungary was an ally with Germany and Austria. Hundreds of thousands of troops had to die for the country's foreign interests. In 1918 the country broke up and the first government was established and the country became the Republic of Hungary. The country became split up after losing the war when the allied countries overran Hungary. Hungary downsized from 20 million to 8 million people and is now the shape and size that we know today.

War World II brought more trials and tribulations for Hungary. The Hungarians fought alongside the Germans against the Soviets, but the Hungarian government eventually tried to change sides to the other allied Atlantic countries. The Germans overran Hungary towards the end of the war and deposed the county of their nationalist allies. Hundreds of thousands died during the war or were sent to German concentration camps.

The Soviets took over Hungary, drove out the Germans, and stayed in Hungary for 44 years. In 1956 Hungarians attempted to force the leadership to stop the Soviet domination and dictatorship, but the attempt was unsuccessful. Some concessions were made and the Soviet domination lasted until 1989 and Hungary finally became an independent democracy.

In 1999 Hungary joined NATO and in 2004 Hungary became a member of the European Union.

History of Budapest

Around the year 1000, King Stephen I was in control when settlements in Buda and Pest began to develop rapidly. In 1214-1242 the Mongols stored the Danube towns and later the construction of the Castle of Buda was completed. The royal court moved to Buda in 1347 and soon Buda become a royal town. Pest was developing into a prosperous trading center at this time.

In 1526, the Turks took Buda and Pest and many churches were converted into mosques and bathhouses were constructed and modernized.

In 1777, Buda became a university town but then lost the title to Pest years later. Buda soon became the intellectual and political center of the country. The Chain Bridge was opened in 1849, which helped Óbuda, Buda and Pest merge more quickly.

In 1872 a milestone occurred for Budapest. The three separate settlements of Pest, Buda, and Óbuda (Old Buda) were united into one city now known as Budapest. The population was more than 150,000 at this time. Budapest became the official capital of Hungary and underwent rapid growth and development.

In 1896 Europe's first underground railroad was built in Budapest. At the outbreak of World War I many industrial forms established themselves in the city of Budapest. This caused many economic setbacks the continued to affect Hungary in the years between the wars.

Budapest suffered severe damage towards the end of the Second World War in 1944. Soviet troops began to control the whole of Budapest after the war. In 1956 political turmoil and economic hardship fuelled uprisings. The inner city of Budapest showed great devastation.

In the 1960s and 1970s the reconstruction of Budapest began to take place. Renovation of the old city center, the castle quarter, the Elisabeth Bridge, and underground network all went under reconstruction. At the time large luxury hotels were built in both Buda and Pest. The new look of Budapest encouraged tourism and visitors from Eastern and Western Europe, as well as the United States, began to travel to Budapest.

In 1989, political changes led to the Hungarian-Austrian border being pulled down, and several thousands of East Germans fled to West Germany and other western countries.

Budapest is now home to two million inhabitants and many popular composers, filmmakers and noble-prize all hail from Budapest.

Update 25/08/2015

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