Budapest of Buda hills are environmentally protected. The city's importance in terms of traffic is very central, because all major European roads and European railway lines lead to Budapest. The Danube was and is still an important water-way and this region in the centre of the Carpathian Basin lies at the cross-roads of trade routes. Budapest is one of only two capital cities in the world which has thermal springs (the other being Reykjavík in Iceland). Some 125 springs produce of thermal water a day, with temperatures ranging up to 58 Celsius. Some of these waters have medicinal effects due to
Budapest Giorgio Perlasca in Budapest. Following the liberation of Hungary from Nazi Germany by the Red Army, Soviet military occupation ensued, which ended only in 1991. The Soviets exerted significant influence on Hungarian political affairs. In 1949, Hungary was declared a communist People's Republic (People's Republic of Hungary). The new Communist government considered the buildings like the Buda Castle symbols of the former regime, and during the 1950s the palace was gutted and all the interiors were destroyed (also see Stalin era). On 23 October 1956 citizens held a large peaceful demonstration in Budapest demanding democratic reform. The demonstrators went to