History of Budapest
Encyclopedia
Prehistory and Roman era
The first town, built by CeltCelt
The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....
s, occupied about 30 hectares along the slopes of Gellért Hill
Gellért Hill
Gellért Hill is a high hill overlooking the Danube in Budapest, Hungary. It is part of the 1st and 11th Districts. Gellért Hill was named after Saint Gerard who was thrown to death from the hill. The famous Hotel Gellért and the Gellért Baths can be found in Gellért Square at the foot of the...
(first century BC). Archaeological finds suggest that it may have been a densely populated settlement, with a separate district of craftsmen (potteries and bronze foundries). It may have been a trading centre as well, as coins coming from different regions would indicate. The town was occupied by the Romans at the beginning of the Christian era. Its inhabitants moved to the Danube plains, to a city retaining the Celtic name (Aquincum
Aquincum
The ancient city of Aquincum was situated on the North-Eastern borders of the Pannonia province within the Roman Empire. The ruins of the city can be found today in Budapest, the capital city of Hungary...
), in the first century. In AD 106 the city became the capital of the province Pannonia Inferior. The headquarters of the governor and significant military force were stationed here, and its population numbered about 20,000. It was frequently involved in wars on the border
Limes
A limes was a border defense or delimiting system of Ancient Rome. It marked the boundaries of the Roman Empire.The Latin noun limes had a number of different meanings: a path or balk delimiting fields, a boundary line or marker, any road or path, any channel, such as a stream channel, or any...
of the Roman Empire (formed by the Danube).
Middle Ages
The Romans pulled out in the 5th century AD to be succeeded by the Huns through fierce battles. Germanic tribes, Lombards, Avars and Slavs all passed through during the second Age of Migrations (following the split up of the Hun tribe, after Attila the HunAttila the Hun
Attila , more frequently referred to as Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in 453. He was leader of the Hunnic Empire, which stretched from the Ural River to the Rhine River and from the Danube River to the Baltic Sea. During his reign he was one of the most feared...
died), until the arrival of the Magyars in about 896. The peace treaty of 829 added Pannonia to Bulgaria after the victory of the Bulgarian army under Omurtag
Omurtag of Bulgaria
Omurtag was a Great Khan of Bulgaria from 814 to 831. He is known as "the Builder".In the very beginning of his reign he signed a 30-year peace treaty with the neighboring Eastern Roman Empire which remained in force to the end of his life...
over Holy Roman Empire under Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious , also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was the King of Aquitaine from 781. He was also King of the Franks and co-Emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813...
. Budapest arose out of two Bulgarian military frontier fortresses Buda and Pest, situated on the two banks of Danube. While other tribes spread across the entire Carpathian basin, the clan of Árpád
Árpád
Árpád was the second Grand Prince of the Hungarians . Under his rule the Hungarian people settled in the Carpathian basin. The dynasty descending from him ruled the Hungarian tribes and later the Kingdom of Hungary until 1301...
settled down on Csepel Island
Csepel Island
Csepel Island is the largest island of the River Danube in Hungary. It is 48 km long; its width is 6–8 km. Its area comprises 257 km². The word Csepel is pronounced CHE-pel....
, a large island in the Danube, forming a shelter for the settlers who started agricultural works (south part of Budapest today). It was under the Árpád dynasty
Árpád dynasty
The Árpáds or Arpads was the ruling dynasty of the federation of the Hungarian tribes and of the Kingdom of Hungary . The dynasty was named after Grand Prince Árpád who was the head of the tribal federation when the Magyars occupied the Carpathian Basin, circa 895...
that Hungary became a Christian state, ruled first from Esztergom
Esztergom
Esztergom , is a city in northern Hungary, 46 km north-west of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom county, on the right bank of the river Danube, which forms the border with Slovakia there....
and later from Székesfehérvár
Székesfehérvár
Székesfehérvár is a city in central Hungary and is the 9th largest in the country. Located around southwest of Budapest. It is inhabited by 101,973 people , with 136,995 in the Székesfehérvár Subregion. The city is the centre of Fejér county and the regional centre of Central Transdanubia...
.
After the Bulgarian–Hungarian Wars, Buda and Pest started their development in the 12th century, which was largely thanks to the French, Walloon and German settlers who migrated here and worked and traded under royal protection along the banks of the Danube. Both towns were devastated during the Mongol invasion of Europe
Mongol invasion of Europe
The resumption of the Mongol invasion of Europe, during which the Mongols attacked medieval Rus' principalities and the powers of Poland and Hungary, was marked by the Mongol invasion of Rus starting in 21 December 1237...
in 1241-42 and subsequently rebuilt by colonists from Germany, who re-named Buda "Ofen", after its numerous lime kilns. (The "Pest" name, which has a Slav origin, also means "furnace".)
Renaissance
Capetian House of Anjou
The Capetian House of Anjou, also known as the House of Anjou-Sicily and House of Anjou-Naples, was a royal house and cadet branch of the direct House of Capet. Founded by Charles I of Sicily, a son of Louis VIII of France, the Capetian king first ruled the Kingdom of Sicily during the 13th century...
from France established Buda as the royal seat of centralized power. They built a succession of palaces on the Várhegy or Castle Hill, reaching its zenith during the Renaissance under the reign of "Good King" Mátyás
Matthias Corvinus of Hungary
Matthias Corvinus , also called the Just in folk tales, was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458, at the age of 14 until his death...
(1458–90) and his Italian-born wife, Queen Beatrice of Naples
Beatrice of Naples
Beatrice of Naples was the daughter of Ferdinand I of Naples and Isabella of Taranto. She was queen consort to both Matthias Corvinus of Hungary and Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary so she was Queen of Hungary and Bohemia.-Biography:Beatrice received a good education at her father's court in...
, with a golden age of prosperity and a flourishing of the arts.
Hungary's catastrophic defeat in the Battle of Mohács
Battle of Mohács
The Battle of Mohács was fought on August 29, 1526 near Mohács, Hungary. In the battle, forces of the Kingdom of Hungary led by King Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia were defeated by forces of the Ottoman Empire led by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent....
in 1526 against the invading Turks led by Suleiman the Magnificent
Suleiman the Magnificent
Suleiman I was the tenth and longest-reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1520 to his death in 1566. He is known in the West as Suleiman the Magnificent and in the East, as "The Lawgiver" , for his complete reconstruction of the Ottoman legal system...
, paved the way for the Ottoman occupation of Hungary. Suleiman's siege of Buda (1541)
Siege of Buda (1541)
The Siege of Buda in 1541 resulted in the capture of the city of Buda by the Ottoman Emperor Suleiman the Magnificent, as he invaded central Hungary. The battle is part of the Little War in Hungary.-The Siege :...
was part of the Little War in Hungary
Little War in Hungary
The Little War is a name given to a series of conflicts between the Habsburgs and their allies and the Ottoman Empire between 1529 and 1552...
between the Habsburgs and the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. Three years after the Battle of Vienna
Battle of Vienna
The Battle of Vienna took place on 11 and 12 September 1683 after Vienna had been besieged by the Ottoman Empire for two months...
, a pan-European multinational army besieged Buda Castle in the Battle of Buda (1686)
Battle of Buda (1686)
The Battle of Buda was fought between the Holy League and Ottoman Turkey, as part of the follow-up campaign in Hungary after the Battle of Vienna...
for six weeks, finally recapturing it on the 12th attempt with heavy losses on both sides.
18th century
During the 18th century, under the rule of Charles IIICharles VI, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles VI was the penultimate Habsburg sovereign of the Habsburg Empire. He succeeded his elder brother, Joseph I, as Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia , Hungary and Croatia , Archduke of Austria, etc., in 1711...
, Maria Theresia and her son Joseph II
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
Joseph II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790 and ruler of the Habsburg lands from 1780 to 1790. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I...
, Budapest was an insignificant provincial town. Vienna controlled the foreign affairs, defense, tariffs, and other functions. A mostly formal Diet
Diet (assembly)
In politics, a diet is a formal deliberative assembly. The term is mainly used historically for the Imperial Diet, the general assembly of the Imperial Estates of the Holy Roman Empire, and for the legislative bodies of certain countries.-Etymology:...
, customarily called together every three years in Pozsony (Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
), ruled what was called "Royal Hungary
Royal Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary between 1538 and 1867 was part of the lands of the Habsburg Monarchy, while outside the Holy Roman Empire.After Battle of Mohács, the country was ruled by two crowned kings . They divided the kingdom in 1538...
".
19th century
The Hungarian Revolution of 1848
Hungarian Revolution of 1848
The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 was one of many of the European Revolutions of 1848 and closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas...
was part of the Revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas
Revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas
From March 1848 through July 1849, the Habsburg Austrian Empire was threatened by revolutionary movements. Much of the revolutionary activity was of a nationalist character: the empire, ruled from Vienna, included Austrian Germans, Hungarians, Slovenes, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Ruthenians,...
. With the leadership of Lajos Kossuth
Lajos Kossuth
Lajos Kossuth de Udvard et Kossuthfalva was a Hungarian lawyer, journalist, politician and Regent-President of Hungary in 1849. He was widely honored during his lifetime, including in the United Kingdom and the United States, as a freedom fighter and bellwether of democracy in Europe.-Family:Lajos...
(1802–94) and the "people's rights-liberals" dominated parliament, Sándor Petőfi
Sándor Petofi
Sándor Petőfi , was a Hungarian poet and liberal revolutionary. He is considered as Hungary's national poet and he was one of the key figures of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848...
(1823–49), also a renowned poet, and his fellow revolutionaries began to plot downfall of the Habsburgs in Budapest at the Café Pilvax (which exists to this day in central Pest). From here, they planned and mobilized crowds on the streets of Pest, leading to the steps of the National Museum
Hungarian National Museum
- History:The Hungarian National Museum is said to have been founded in 1802 when Count Ferenc Széchényi set up the National Széchényi Library. This would then be followed a year later by the donating of a mineral collection by Széchényi’s wife. This led to the creation of the Hungarian National...
where Petőfi recited his moving "National Poem
Nemzeti dal
The Nemzeti dal , written by Sándor Petőfi, is the poem that is said to have inspired the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. Petőfi read the poem aloud on March 15 in Vörösmarty Square in Budapest to a gathering crowd, which by the end was chanting the refrain as they began to march around the city,...
" which roused up the crowds and gave a push start of emotions to the people, creating passion for the revolution, similar to the French revolution before. After the civil war of fighting for independence ended in defeat for the Hungarians, Habsburg repression was epitomized by the newly built Citadella
Citadella
Citadella is the Hungarian word for Citadel, a kind of fortress. The word Citadella is exclusively used by other languages to address the Citadel located upon the top of the strategic Gellért Hill in Budapest, Hungary.-History:...
on top of Gellért Hill, built to frighten the citizens with its cannons and large garrison of soldiers overlooking the entire city.
The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 made allowance for the dual monarchy
Dual monarchy
Dual monarchy occurs when two separate kingdoms are ruled by the same monarch, follow the same foreign policy, exist in a customs union with each other and have a combined military but are otherwise self-governing...
of Austria–Hungary, known in German as k.u.k. (based on German for "Emperor and King"). The twin cities underwent rapid growth and expansion, and finally formally merged. Pest was extensively rebuilt based on the model of Paris, with the main artery: Nagykörút
Nagykörut
Nagykörút was a Hungarian newspaper in the mid-Twentieth century, edited by the writer Jenő Rejtő....
(Great Boulevard) and Andrássy Avenue which lead to Heroes' Square and a great park with fountains and lakes. Budapest's millennial anniversary celebrations of the settlement of the Magyars in the region in 1896 brought a fresh rush of construction and development. The Heroes' Square and Vajdahunyad Castle
Vajdahunyad Castle
Vajdahunyad Castle, or Vajdahunyad-vár, is a castle in City Park, Budapest, Hungary, that was built between 1896 and 1908, designed by Ignác Alpár...
, located at end of Andrássy Avenue are just two perfect examples of the monumental scale and style that influenced the period. New suburbs were created to make room and house the rapidly growing and financially expanding population, which by now was predominantly Magyar, although there developed a sizable German as well as a Jewish community due to immigration to the city. In texts from around that period, Budapest was commonly rendered as "Buda-Pesth" (or "Budapesth") in English.
20th century
At the beginning of the 20th century the cultural efflorescence and sparkling energy of abundance and well-being of Budapest rivaled that of Vienna and its café society that of Paris, a belle époque extinguished by World War I.In the aftermath of World War I
Aftermath of World War I
The fighting in World War I ended in western Europe when the Armistice took effect at 11:00 am GMT on November 11, 1918, and in eastern Europe by the early 1920s. During and in the aftermath of the war the political, cultural, and social order was drastically changed in Europe, Asia and Africa,...
which had led to the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, half of the Hungarian population was cut away from Hungary by the Treaty of Trianon
Treaty of Trianon
The Treaty of Trianon was the peace agreement signed in 1920, at the end of World War I, between the Allies of World War I and Hungary . The treaty greatly redefined and reduced Hungary's borders. From its borders before World War I, it lost 72% of its territory, which was reduced from to...
and made part of surrounding nations. In 1918-19, Budapest was shaken by two revolutions: the Aster Revolution
Aster Revolution
The Aster Revolution or Chrysanthemum Revolution was a revolution in Hungary led by leftist liberal count Mihály Károlyi, who founded the Hungarian Democratic Republic....
brought about the Hungarian Democratic Republic
Hungarian Democratic Republic
The Hungarian People's Republic was an independent republic proclaimed after the collapse of Austria-Hungary in 1918...
, which was followed by the Hungarian Soviet Republic
Hungarian Soviet Republic
The Hungarian Soviet Republic or Soviet Republic of Hungary was a short-lived Communist state established in Hungary in the aftermath of World War I....
, a short-lived Communist regime led by Béla Kun
Béla Kun
Béla Kun , born Béla Kohn, was a Hungarian Communist politician and a Bolshevik Revolutionary who led the Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919.- Early life :...
, followed by two years of White Terror
White Terror (Hungary)
The White Terror in Hungary was a two-year period of repressive violence by counter-revolutionary soldiers, with the intent of crushing any vestige of Hungary’s brief Communist revolution. Many of its victims were Jewish.-Background:...
. The Hungarian–Romanian War of 1919
Hungarian–Romanian War of 1919
The seeds of the Hungarian–Romanian war of 1919 were planted when the union of Transylvania with Romania was proclaimed, on December 1, 1918. In late March 1919, the Bolsheviks came to power in Hungary, at which point its army attempted to retake Transylvania, commencing the war. By its final...
ended with the Romanian occupation of parts of Hungary proper, including Budapest in August 1919, and the establishment of the Kingdom of Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946)
The Kingdom of Hungary also known as the Regency, existed from 1920 to 1946 and was a de facto country under Regent Miklós Horthy. Horthy officially represented the abdicated Hungarian monarchy of Charles IV, Apostolic King of Hungary...
, led by Miklós Horthy
Miklós Horthy
Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya was the Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary during the interwar years and throughout most of World War II, serving from 1 March 1920 to 15 October 1944. Horthy was styled "His Serene Highness the Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary" .Admiral Horthy was an officer of the...
, the self-appointed regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
for the exiled King Karl IV
Karl I of Austria
Charles I of Austria or Charles IV of Hungary was the last ruler of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He was the last Emperor of Austria, the last King of Hungary, the last King of Bohemia and Croatia and the last King of Galicia and Lodomeria and the last monarch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine...
(see the conflict of Charles IV with Miklós Horthy
Charles I of Austria's attempts to retake the throne of Hungary
After Miklós Horthy had been chosen Regent of Hungary on 1 March 1920, Charles I of Austria-Hungary, who had reigned in Hungary as Károly IV, returned to Hungary twice, to try unsuccessfully to retake his throne...
). His domain and regency was characterized by gala balls as well as hunger marches by the poor, of nationalism and anti-Semitism by inheritance, again inherited by joining the wrong side (the Nazis), who promised the sweet reward of re-joining of the Hungarian nation as a whole in the post-Trianon era. Yet Horthy was considered a moderate compared to the fascist Arrow Cross Party
Arrow Cross Party
The Arrow Cross Party was a national socialist party led by Ferenc Szálasi, which led in Hungary a government known as the Government of National Unity from October 15, 1944 to 28 March 1945...
, whose power grew as World War II raged across Europe.
Anticipating and knowing about Horthy's communication with the Allies and possible defection from the Axis alliance in 1944, the Nazis staged “Operation Panzerfaust
Operation Panzerfaust
Operation Panzerfaust, known as Unternehmen Eisenfaust in Germany, was a military operation to keep the Kingdom of Hungary at Germany's side in the war, conducted in October 1944 by the German military...
”, a coup against Horthy, and installed an Arrow Cross government under Ferenc Szálasi
Ferenc Szálasi
Ferenc Szálasi was the leader of the National Socialist Arrow Cross Party – Hungarist Movement, the "Leader of the Nation" , being both Head of State and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Hungary's "Government of National Unity" for the final three months of Hungary's participation in World War II...
to make allowance for the unobstructed massacre of the Jews of Budapest.
Before World War II, approximately 200,000 Jews lived in Budapest, making it the center of Hungarian Jewish cultural life. In the late 1930s and early 1940s, Budapest was a safe haven for Jewish refugees. Before the war some 5,000 refugees, primarily from Germany and Austria, arrived in Budapest. With the beginning of deportations of Jews from Slovakia in March 1942, as many as 8,000 Slovak Jewish refugees also settled in Budapest. Hungary was allied with Nazi Germany. Despite discriminatory legislation against the Jews and widespread antisemitism, the Jewish community of Budapest was relatively secure until the German occupation of Hungary in March 1944 (Operation Margarethe
Operation Margarethe
During World War II, the Germans planned two discrete operations using the codename Margarethe.Operation Margarethe I was the occupation of Hungary by German forces on 19 March 1944. The Hungarian government was an ally of Nazi Germany, but had been discussing an armistice with the Allies...
). With the occupation, the Germans ordered the establishment of a Jewish council in Budapest and severely restricted Jewish life. Apartments occupied by Jews were confiscated. Hundreds of Jews were rounded up and interned in the Kistarcsa
Kistarcsa
Kistarcsa is a town in Pest county, Budapest metropolitan area, Hungary.Site of the Nazi camp for political prisoners during the Second World War.- External links :*...
transit camp (originally established by Hungarian authorities), 15 miles (24.1 km) northeast of Budapest. Between April and July 1944, the Germans and Hungarians deported Jews from the Hungarian provinces. By the end of July, the Jews in Budapest were virtually the only Jews remaining in Hungary. They were not immediately ghettoized. Instead, in June 1944, Hungarian authorities ordered the Jews into over 2,000 designated buildings scattered throughout the city. The buildings were marked with Stars of David. About 25,000 Jews from the suburbs of Budapest were rounded up and transported to the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp. Hungarian authorities suspended the deportations in July 1944, sparing the remaining Jews of Budapest, at least temporarily. Many Jews searched for places of hiding or for protection. They were aided by foreign diplomats like Nuncio
Nuncio
Nuncio is an ecclesiastical diplomatic title, derived from the ancient Latin word, Nuntius, meaning "envoy." This article addresses this title as well as derived similar titles, all within the structure of the Roman Catholic Church...
Angelo Rotta
Angelo Rotta
Angelo Rotta , originally from Milan, Italy, was the Apostolic Nuncio in Budapest at the end of World War II.During his previous diplomatic activity in Bulgaria, he already saved many Bulgarian Jews by issuing them baptismal certificates and safe conducts for the trip to Palestine.In 1944 - 1945 he...
, Raoul Wallenberg
Raoul Wallenberg
Raoul Wallenberg was a Swedish businessman, diplomat and humanitarian. He is widely celebrated for his successful efforts to rescue thousands of Jews in Nazi-occupied Hungary from the Holocaust, during the later stages of World War II...
, Giorgio Perlasca
Giorgio Perlasca
Giorgio Perlasca was an Italian who posed as the Spanish consul-general to Hungary in the winter of 1944, and saved thousands of Jews from Nazi Germany and the Holocaust.-Early life:...
, Carl Lutz
Carl Lutz
Carl Lutz was the Swiss Vice-Consul in Budapest, Hungary from 1942 until the end of World War II. He helped save tens of thousands of Jews from deportation to Nazi Extermination camps during the Holocaust. He is credited with saving over 62,000 Jews...
, Friedrich Born
Friedrich Born
Friedrich Born was a Swiss delegate of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Budapest between May 1944 and January 1945, when he had to leave Hungary following orders of the occupying Red Army.He already lived in the Hungarian Capital city before his appointment by the ICRC, working as...
, Harald Feller
Harald Feller
Harald Feller was a Swiss diplomat who saved Hungarian Jews during the Holocaust.He replaced Maximilian Jaeger as head of the Swiss legation in Budapest, Hungary, in 1944. He supported Carl Lutz with the rescue of Jews under Swiss protection...
, Angel Sanz Briz
Ángel Sanz Briz
Ángel Sanz Briz was a Spanish diplomat during World War II who helped save many Hungarian Jews from Nazi persecution.After studying law, his first diplomatic posting was to Cairo...
and George Mandel-Mantello who organized false papers and safe houses for them. These actions saved tens of thousands of Jews.
In October 1944, Germany orchestrated a coup and installed a new Hungarian government dominated by the fascist Arrow Cross Party
Arrow Cross Party
The Arrow Cross Party was a national socialist party led by Ferenc Szálasi, which led in Hungary a government known as the Government of National Unity from October 15, 1944 to 28 March 1945...
under Ferenc Szálasi
Ferenc Szálasi
Ferenc Szálasi was the leader of the National Socialist Arrow Cross Party – Hungarist Movement, the "Leader of the Nation" , being both Head of State and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Hungary's "Government of National Unity" for the final three months of Hungary's participation in World War II...
. The remaining Jews of Budapest were again in grave danger. The Arrow Cross instituted a reign of terror in Budapest and hundreds of Jews were shot. Jews were also drafted for brutal forced labor. On November 8, 1944, the Arrow Cross militia concentrated more than 70,000 Jews—men, women, and children—in the Ujlaki brickyards in Obuda, and from there forced them to march on foot to camps in Austria. Thousands were shot and thousands more died as a result of starvation or exposure to the bitter cold. The prisoners who survived the death march reached Austria in late December 1944. There, the Germans took them to various concentration camps, especially Dachau in southern Germany and Mauthausen in northern Austria, and to Vienna, where they were employed in the construction of fortifications around the city. In November 1944, the Arrow Cross ordered the remaining Jews in Budapest into a closed ghetto. Jews who did not have protective papers issued by a neutral power were to move to the ghetto by early December. Between December 1944 and the end of January 1945, the Arrow Cross took Jews from the ghetto in nightly razzias, as well as deserters from the Hungarian army or political enemies, shot them along the banks of the Danube and threw their bodies into the river. Soviet forces captured Budapest on February 13, 1945. More than 100,000 Jews remained in the city at time of capture.
Upon retreating, the Germans also blew up all the Danube bridges as a way of hampering the progress of the Communist Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
of the Soviets. A two month long siege of Budapest reduced the entire city, but mostly the Castle District to rubble, as it was assigned to the mostly Hungarian army with German leadership to defend and to "hold back". Most roofs in Budapest were blown in by Soviet bombs, walls blown in by Soviet tanks. The occupants sought shelter in cellars and ate dead horsemeat found in the streets just to survive.
After 1945 free elections were held, in which many party, among them the Smallholders, the Social Democrats, and the Communists got into the Parliament, to Soviet pressure the government coalition led by the Social Democrats accepted the small Communist Party into the coalition. By the next election, most of the former government MEPs were entered into the Communist Party. In the election of 1949, the party, with Soviet backup resources, used the flaw in the so-called blue-ticket election system, from which this election got its infame, to have his voters transported in trucks to all voting offices, where with reproduced and collected blue tickets they could vote away from their home address district.
As the Communists gained power while the Soviet Army helped ensuring the state remained standing, the former Arrow Cross torture chambers in the prisons filled up once again. Arrests, beating or shooting to the head was used as a standard tool by the Secret Police, who enforced an extensive net of informants. Random arrests without any reason were commonly initiated for gain by informant neighbors, which made people disappear, sometimes into black limousins, never to be heard from again. By this time mostly hardline communists or carrierists made up the Soviet-accepted staff to control or gain wealth. They orchestrated the confiscation of confiscatable materials from Hungarians to the USSR for War Repairs, and were rewarded with position and some well-being. This was paired with aggressive industrialisation, militarisation, collectivisation and politicisation of the economy, in Budapest with grand-scale repairs. Factories, chimneys, bridges, and railways grew out of nothing. Workers during rest time were hearing Readings or Singing, and had to practice public self-criticism regarding their last week jobs during meetings. Rákosi's government was one of the most dictatoric and most exploitative of the Warsaw Pact countries.
The Interior Situation was advancing the interest of the well-being oriented informal fractions, and Imre Nagy was elected as next Prime Minister. He formerly gained popularity by distributing land to farmers, and trust from the elite by practicing self-criticism and doing party programs, even when it overruled his proposals. He, after facing the mistakes of a lifetime, moved to create a multiparty system, winning the support of MEP majority. He declared that Hungary got back his souvereignity, had left the Warsaw Pact, and was willing to cooperate with all counties. During this time, the CIA-sponsored Radio Free Europe (the hearing of which could result in arrest) was presenting the methods of street-fight, setting up barricades and making explosives. In Budapest, peaceful protests demanding Soviet withdrawal, free press, freedom of expression and free elections, were organized by university students, professors and intellectuals. The Soviet Minister for War Issues ordered the brigades to move into the city, the protesters set up defenses. When the tanks and elite forces presumably from roofs opened fire to the mass protesting in front of the Parliament, they created a country-wide uprising overnight, with men, women and children defying Soviet tanks on the streets. Long-stationed Soviet soldiers joined the revolution, there were times, when Soviet tanks were shooting at Soviet tanks, and Hungarians were killing Hungarians, those not accepting one of the proclaimed legitimate officers.
Finally, the Soviets were defeated, surviving units were ordered home. Imre Nagy declared Hungary was neutral, was working to cooperate with all willing countries, and declared free elections, parties were founded or reopened in the city. The USA declared that the neutrality of the small country did not affect the World Powers. The Soviet Union, which feared NATO deployment, took this as a permission to invade Hungary. The USA wanted to ensure Hungary does not get invaded as its stance would not become a threat. Units far away from Hungary were ordered to invade, along with the militaries of the surrounding nationalities of the Warsaw Pact, with which Hungary already had a strained history. On November 4, the Warsaw Pact forces launched attack. Imre Nagy fled to the Yugoslavian Embassy, and did not take the responsibility for ordering resistance. He was promised free passage to the border by the next leader, but was arrested by Soviet troops and later put on show trial.
The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 was suppressed, the Soviets, before taking the course of appointing a Hungarian hardliner or a Soviet general, gave a chance to applying János Kádár, a former kidnapped minister of the revolution. He put down the remaining rebel forces then embarked on cautious reforms to create a "Goulash Communism" that made Hungary stand out from its Warsaw Pact neighbors. Due to the cooperative efforts of Kádár and huge loans taken from the West to offset the failing economy, Hungary became the favorite Communist state of the West by the late 1970s. A decade later, the city was the center of the Opposition activity, rallies, printing and selling of unauthorized material, secret-service surveillances and the Opposition Round Table Consultations (with the representatives of the Government) were held there. Finally, the majority of the multi-sided regime decided to step over Gorbachev's line and opened the borders (the first break on the Iron Curtain), declared Hungary a Republic on October 23, 1989 then issued free elections. While communism was toppled in Berlin and Prague, the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party was simply voted out of power in Hungary, initiating a peaceful transition from one system to another. Hungarians simply refer to all that has happened since then as "after the System-change".
After 1989
The revolutions of 1989Revolutions of 1989
The Revolutions of 1989 were the revolutions which overthrew the communist regimes in various Central and Eastern European countries.The events began in Poland in 1989, and continued in Hungary, East Germany, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia and...
brought with them the end of Soviet occupation of Hungary
Soviet occupation of Hungary
The Soviet occupation of Hungary, followed the defeat of Hungary in World War II, lasted for 45 years ending in 1991 shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union -World War II:...
, which meant the end of Communism in Hungary
End of Communism in Hungary (1989)
The Communist rule in the People's Republic of Hungary came to the end in 1989. The events were part of the Revolutions of 1989.-Pressure:Young liberals formed the Federation of Young Democrats ; a core from the so-called Democratic Opposition formed the Alliance of Free Democrats , and the...
. Budapest succeeded in taking advantage of new economic possibilities and pursuing development more efficiently than the other parts of the country. Upon the shutdown of Socialist industrial plants plenty of new workplaces were generated, especially on the fields of service and trade industries. In the Budapest area unemployment is the lowest and average income per capita is the highest.
The local government law legislated after the transition provided new rights or licenses for the districts of Budapest, like the right to own and finance the community public services should they want and decide the density and micro-layout of area types that are defined by the Metropolitan Government. Local minority governments had also sprang forth, active mainly on cultural fields.
The Metropolitan Government does not interfere with the emphases of cultural or civil life but has difficulties conducting an autonomous financial policy due to lack of funds. Gábor Demszky
Gábor Demszky
Gábor Demszky is a Hungarian politician, lawyer and sociologist by qualification. Demszky was the Mayor of Budapest from 1990 to 2010.- Biography :...
, a former member of the liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
Alliance of Free Democrats
Alliance of Free Democrats
The Alliance of Free Democrats – Hungarian Liberal Party is a liberal party in Hungary, led since July 2010 by Viktor Szabadai . The SZDSZ is a member of the ELDR and of Liberal International...
(SZDSZ), was the mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Budapest between 1990 and 2010.
During the 2006 protests in Hungary
2006 protests in Hungary
The 2006 protests in Hungary were a series of anti-government protests triggered by the release of Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány's private speech in which he confessed that his Hungarian Socialist Party had lied to win the 2006 election, and had done nothing worth mentioning in the...
, triggered by the release of Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány
Ferenc Gyurcsány
Ferenc Gyurcsány is a Hungarian politician. He was the sixth Prime Minister of Hungary from 2004 to 2009.He was nominated to take that position on 25 August 2004 by the Hungarian Socialist Party , after Péter Medgyessy resigned due to a conflict with the Socialist Party's coalition partner...
's private speech
Ferenc Gyurcsány's speech in Balatonoszöd in May 2006
Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány gave a speech in Balatonőszöd in May 2006 to MSZP members of the National Assembly of Hungary. This meeting was supposed to be confidential but the Prime Minister's speech was taped and Magyar Rádió began broadcasting it late afternoon on Sunday September...
, tens of thousands of people assembled in Budapest in September and October 2006. Politicians and radicals as organizations assembled and from podiums and loudings demanded the resignation of the PM before the Parliament all day, traditional symbol sellers, stands for reproduced political materials and flags, and moving restaurants settled there. Every night there was chaos in the inner city and on Great Bulevuard, smashed windows, burnt cars, traffic sign columns and glasses used as weapons, buses used as barricades, occupied water cannons and one time a memorial tank managing to roll 50 meters took part fighting the police fighting with rub sticks, tear gas, water and fences cutting the ravagers to smallers segments and gradually distancing them. Many protesters used the national colours and their organizations' symbol, the motto "Gyurcsány Go To Hell" (Gyurcsány Takarodj) could be heard skanded from groups on the streets, sometimes from thousands on the square.
Before dissolvings of the masses, multiple times official orders to everyone to leave the street calmly were given from the police by audiospeakers. No reporter was beaten who did not go to places in time when the police told in advance they cannot guarantee their security. Reporters and cameramen even with distincting glowing clothes were beaten in fights by both sides, willing to take the risks. For thwarting the initial unregulatory aggression of some policemen, individual number signs were placed onto them. This did not close out accidents like an eye shot out by tear gas bullet. Thousands of people were mobilized before every sunrise from emergency governmental and metropolitan funds to clear up the places and make tram and general travel available and safe.
A few days after the National Health Office forbade selling or making food on Kossuth square before the Parliament, during night special forces stormed the camps (reported to authorities before establishment as political rallies). Oiled carbon bricks, explosives, weapons classified as dangerous, and other undisclosed materials were found, which justified the action. At the arrival of winter, the phrase "In March we start again" was well known in Budapest, but the futility of trying to overthrow the government could be the reason of not starting it again.
By 2010 many major investment projects, some planned even before the system-change have gone over their point of no-return or have been finished.
Timeline of the history of Budapest
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| B.C. | Neolithic Neolithic The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age... , Chalcolithic Copper Age The Chalcolithic |stone]]") period or Copper Age, also known as the Eneolithic/Æneolithic , is a phase of the Bronze Age in which the addition of tin to copper to form bronze during smelting remained yet unknown by the metallurgists of the times... -, bronze Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age... and iron age Iron Age The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing... cultures, Celt Celt The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria.... ic and Eravisci Eravisci The Eravisci, a Celtic people, were the original inhabitants of Dunaújváros. The centre of the tribe may be assumed to have been on Gellért Hill in the Budapest of today.... settlements on present day Budapest. |
| 1st century | Romans found the settlements known as Aquincum Aquincum The ancient city of Aquincum was situated on the North-Eastern borders of the Pannonia province within the Roman Empire. The ruins of the city can be found today in Budapest, the capital city of Hungary... , Contra-Aquincum and Campona. Aquincum becomes the largest town of the Danubian region and one of the capitals of Pannonia Pannonia Pannonia was an ancient province of the Roman Empire bounded north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia.... . |
| 5th century | The Age of Huns Huns The Huns were a group of nomadic people who, appearing from east of the Volga River, migrated into Europe c. AD 370 and established the vast Hunnic Empire there. Since de Guignes linked them with the Xiongnu, who had been northern neighbours of China 300 years prior to the emergence of the Huns,... . King Attila builds a city for himself here according to later chronicles. After his death, the sons of his brother Mundzuk (Hungarian: Bendegúz, Turkish: Boncuk), Attila and Bleda (Hungariahn:Buda), in control of the united Hun tribes. |
| 896 | Following the foundation of Hungary Hungary Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The... , Árpád Árpád Árpád was the second Grand Prince of the Hungarians . Under his rule the Hungarian people settled in the Carpathian basin. The dynasty descending from him ruled the Hungarian tribes and later the Kingdom of Hungary until 1301... , leader of the Hungarians, settles in the "Town of Attila", usually identified as Aquincum. |
| 10th century | Out of the seven to ten Hungarian tribes, four have settlements in the territory of modern Budapest: Megyer, Keszi, Jenő and Nyék. |
| 1046 | Bishop Gellért Gerard Sagredo Saint Gerard Sagredo , also called Gerhard or Gellert, was an Italian bishop from Venice who operated in the Kingdom of Hungary , and educated Saint Emeric of Hungary, the son of Saint Stephen of Hungary). He played a major role in converting Hungary to Christianity... dies at the hands of pagans on present-day Gellért Hill Gellért Hill Gellért Hill is a high hill overlooking the Danube in Budapest, Hungary. It is part of the 1st and 11th Districts. Gellért Hill was named after Saint Gerard who was thrown to death from the hill. The famous Hotel Gellért and the Gellért Baths can be found in Gellért Square at the foot of the... . |
| 1241 | Tatar invasions destroy both towns. King Béla IV Béla IV of Hungary Béla IV , King of Hungary and of Croatia , duke of Styria 1254–58. One of the most famous kings of Hungary, he distinguished himself through his policy of strengthening of the royal power following the example of his grandfather Bela III, and by the rebuilding Hungary after the catastrophe of the... builds the first royal castle on Castle Hill, Buda Buda Castle Buda Castle is the historical castle and palace complex of the Hungarian kings in Budapest, first completed in 1265. In the past, it was also called Royal Palace and Royal Castle .... in 1248. The new town adopts the name of Buda from the earlier one (present day Óbuda Óbuda Óbuda was a historical city in Hungary. United with Buda and Pest in 1873 it now forms part of District III-Óbuda-Békásmegyer of Budapest. The name means Old Buda in Hungarian... ). Pest is surrounded by city walls. |
| 1270 | Saint Margaret of Hungary Saint Margaret of Hungary Saint Margaret was a nun and the daughter of King Béla IV and Maria Laskarina. She was the niece of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary and the younger sister of Saint Kinga and Blessed Yolanda.-Early life:... dies in a cloister on the Isle of Rabbits (present day Margaret Island Margaret Island Margaret Island is a long island, 500 metres wide, in the middle of the Danube in central Budapest, Hungary. It belongs administratively to the 13th district. The island is mostly covered by landscape parks, and is a popular recreational area. Its medieval ruins are reminders of its importance... ). |
| 1458 | The noblemen of Hungary elect Matthias Corvinus (in Latin) or Hunyadi Mátyás (in Hungarian) as king on the ice of the Danube. Under his reign Buda Buda For detailed information see: History of Buda CastleBuda is the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest on the west bank of the Danube. The name Buda takes its name from the name of Bleda the Hun ruler, whose name is also Buda in Hungarian.Buda comprises about one-third of Budapest's... becomes a main hub of European Renaissance Renaissance The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not... . He dies in 1490, after capturing Vienna in 1485. |
| 1541 | The beginning of Ottoman occupation. The Turkish Pashas build multiple mosques and baths in Buda. |
| 1686 | Buda and Pest are reconquered from the Turks with Habsburg Habsburg The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and... leadership. Both towns are destroyed completely in the battles. |
| 1690s | Resettlement, initially only a few hundred German settlers. |
| 1773 | Election of the first Mayor of Pest. |
| 1777 | Maria Theresa of Austria Maria Theresa of Austria Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina was the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the last of the House of Habsburg. She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands and Parma... moves Nagyszombat University University of Budapest The Eötvös Loránd University or ELTE, founded in 1635, is the largest university in Hungary, located in Budapest.-History:The university was founded in 1635 in Nagyszombat by the archbishop and theologian Péter Pázmány. Leadership was given over to the Jesuits... to Castle Hill. |
| 1783 | Joseph II Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790 and ruler of the Habsburg lands from 1780 to 1790. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I... places the acting government (Helytartótanács) and Magyar Kamara on Buda. |
| 1795 20 May | Ignác Martinovics Ignác Martinovics Ignác Martinovics was a philosopher, political adventurer, and a leader of the Hungarian Jacobin movement... and other Jacobin Jacobin (politics) A Jacobin , in the context of the French Revolution, was a member of the Jacobin Club, a revolutionary far-left political movement. The Jacobin Club was the most famous political club of the French Revolution. So called from the Dominican convent where they originally met, in the Rue St. Jacques ,... leaders are executed on Vérmező or 'The Field of Blood'. |
| 1810 | A fire in the Tabán Tabán Tabán usually refers to an area within the 1st district of Budapest, the capital of Hungary. It lies on the Buda side of the Danube, to the south of György Dózsa Square, on the northern side of Elisabeth Bridge and to the east of Naphegy... district. |
| 1825 | Commencement of the Reform Era. Pest becomes the cultural and economic centre of the country. The first National Theatre is built, along with the Hungarian National Museum Hungarian National Museum - History:The Hungarian National Museum is said to have been founded in 1802 when Count Ferenc Széchényi set up the National Széchényi Library. This would then be followed a year later by the donating of a mineral collection by Széchényi’s wife. This led to the creation of the Hungarian National... . |
| 1838 | The biggest flood in recent memory in March completely inundates Pest. |
| 1848 15 March | Start of the Revolution and War of Independence of 1848-49 Hungarian Revolution of 1848 The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 was one of many of the European Revolutions of 1848 and closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas... . Pest replaces Pozsony/Pressburg (Bratislava Bratislava Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava... ) as the new capital of Hungary and seat of the Batthyány Batthyány Batthyány is the name of an old distinguished Hungarian Magnate family. The members of this family bear the title count or countess respectively prince or princess Batthyány von Német-Ujvár... government and the Parliament. |
| 1849 | The Austrians occupy the city in early January, but the Hungarian Honvédsereg (Army of National Defense) reclaims it in April, taking the fortress of Buda on May 21 after an 18-day siege. In July, the Habsburg army again captures the two towns. |
| 1849 6 October | Lajos Batthyány Lajos Batthyány Count Lajos Batthyány de Németújvár was the first Prime Minister of Hungary. He was born in Pressburg on 10 February 1807, and was executed by firing squad in Pest on 6 October 1849, the same day as the 13 Martyrs of Arad.-Career:His father was Count József Sándor Batthyány , his mother Borbála... , the first Hungarian Prime Minister Prime minister A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime... is executed on the present-day Szabadság tér. |
| 1849 | Széchenyi Lánchíd, or Széchenyi Chain Bridge, the first permanent bridge across the Danube in Budapest was opened linking Buda (West bank) and Pest (East bank). |
| 1867 | Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, followed by unprecedented civic development, resulting in the style of present day Budapest. |
| 1873 | The former cities: Pest, Buda Buda For detailed information see: History of Buda CastleBuda is the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest on the west bank of the Danube. The name Buda takes its name from the name of Bleda the Hun ruler, whose name is also Buda in Hungarian.Buda comprises about one-third of Budapest's... and Óbuda Óbuda Óbuda was a historical city in Hungary. United with Buda and Pest in 1873 it now forms part of District III-Óbuda-Békásmegyer of Budapest. The name means Old Buda in Hungarian... are united, and with that the Hungarian capital is established with the name of Budapest. |
| 1874 | The Budapest Cog-wheel Railway Budapest Cog-wheel Railway The Budapest Cog-wheel Railway, officially called Tram line number 60, is a rack railway running in Budapest, Hungary.- History :Since 1868 a horse tramway ran on schedule from the Lánchíd to Zugliget set in operation by the Budai Közúti Vaspálya Társaság... service is inaugurated. |
| 1878 | Electric public lighting installed in the city centre. |
| 1893 | Electrification of Budapest finished |
| 1896 | Millennium celebrations, the Millennium Underground Budapest Metro The Budapest Metro is the rapid transit system in the Hungarian capital Budapest. It is the second-oldest underground metro system in the world after the London Underground. Its iconic Line 1, dating from 1896, was declared a World Heritage Site in 2002.-Lines:The Metro consists of three lines,... is inaugurated, and the Ferenc József híd (today's Freedom Bridge) is opened. |
| 1909–1910 | Electric public lighting expanded to the suburbs, the nearby towns villages had Electric public lighting. |
| 1910 | The census finds 880,000 people in Budapest and 55,000 in the largest suburb of Újpest (now part of Budapest). The religious make-up was 60.9% Catholic, 23.1% Jewish, 9.9% Calvinist and 5.0% Lutheran. Újpest was 65.9% Catholic, 18.4% Jewish, 9.7% Calvinist and 4.5% Lutheran. The percentage of ethnic Germans was 9.0% in Budapest and 5.7% in Újpest, while 2.3% of the population claimed to be Slovak. (Source: Történelmi Magyarország atlasza és adattára 1914, Budapest, 2001.) |
| 1918–1919 | Revolution and the 133 days of the Hungarian Soviet Republic Hungarian Soviet Republic The Hungarian Soviet Republic or Soviet Republic of Hungary was a short-lived Communist state established in Hungary in the aftermath of World War I.... (March–August 1919) under the leadership of Béla Kun Béla Kun Béla Kun , born Béla Kohn, was a Hungarian Communist politician and a Bolshevik Revolutionary who led the Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919.- Early life :... . It is the first Communist government to be formed in Europe after the October Revolution October Revolution The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917... in Russia. The Romanian Army invades and overthrows the Communist government. |
| 1924 | Hungarian National Bank Hungarian National Bank The Hungarian National Bank is the central bank of Hungary. The principal aim of the bank is to retain price stability. It is also responsible for issuing the national currency, the forint, controlling the cash circulation, setting the Central Bank base rate, publishing official exchange rates... is founded. |
| 1925 | Hungarian Radio Hungarian Radio Magyar Rádió is Hungary's publicly funded radio broadcasting organization. It is also the country's official international broadcasting station... commences broadcasting. |
| 1933 | Disassembly of the Tabán Tabán Tabán usually refers to an area within the 1st district of Budapest, the capital of Hungary. It lies on the Buda side of the Danube, to the south of György Dózsa Square, on the northern side of Elisabeth Bridge and to the east of Naphegy... commences. |
| 1944 19 March | The Germans occupy Budapest. At the time of the occupation, there were 184,000 Jews and between 65,000 and 80,000 Christians of Jewish descent in the town. The Arrow Cross collaborated with the Germans in murdering Jews. Fewer than half of Budapest's Jews (approximately 119,000) survived the following 11 months. |
| 1944 26 December - 13 February | Soviet and Romanian troops besiege Budapest from 15 January to 18 January. The retreating Germans destroy all Danube bridges. On 18 January, the soviets complete the occupation of Pest. The Buda castle falls on 13 February. World War II World War II World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis... took the lives of close to 200,000 Budapest residents and caused widespread damage to the buildings of the city. |
| 1956 23 October - 4 November | The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 breaks out, ending in the invasion of a large Soviet force. |
| 1960s | Wartime damage is largely repaired. Work on the final bridge to be repaired, the Elizabeth Bridge Elizabeth Bridge Elizabeth Bridge could refer to:* Elisabeth Bridge , a crossing of the Danube in Hungary* Regis R. Malady Bridge, a crossing of the Monongahela in the United States... is finished in 1965. |
| 1970–1972 | The first phase of the East-Western Metro begins. |
| 1982 | The first phase of the North-Southern Metro begins. |
| 1987 | Castle Hill and the banks of the Danube are included in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. |
| 1990 | The city is home to 2,016,100 residents. |
| 2002 | Andrássy Avenue Andrássy Avenue Andrássy Avenue is an iconic boulevard in Budapest, Hungary, dating back to 1872. It links Erzsébet Square with the Városliget. Lined with spectacular Neo-renaissance mansions and townhouses featuring fine facades and interiors, it was recognised as a World Heritage Site in 2002... is added to the list of World heritage Sites, along with the Millennium Underground railway Budapest Metro The Budapest Metro is the rapid transit system in the Hungarian capital Budapest. It is the second-oldest underground metro system in the world after the London Underground. Its iconic Line 1, dating from 1896, was declared a World Heritage Site in 2002.-Lines:The Metro consists of three lines,... and Heroes' Square Heroes' Square (Budapest) Hősök tere is one of the major squares of Budapest, Hungary, rich with historic and political connotations. Its iconic statue complex, the Millennium Memorial, was completed in 1900, the same year the square was named "Heroes' Square"... . |
| 2006 | 2006 Hungarian protests 2006 protests in Hungary The 2006 protests in Hungary were a series of anti-government protests triggered by the release of Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány's private speech in which he confessed that his Hungarian Socialist Party had lied to win the 2006 election, and had done nothing worth mentioning in the... . |
| 2006 | 200 km of the 1000 km road in capital level local government handling is reconstructed after 80 km in the former year. The world's longest trams, Siemens Combino Supras Combino Supra The Combino Supra , Combino MkII, or Combino Plus is a new Combino model made of stainless steel instead of light materials, and manufactured at a new assembly line in Vienna.-Design differences with original Combino:... start service on Great Boulevard, by the end of the year 150 Volvo 7700 buses take part in replacing the aging BKV BKV BKV is the unified public transport company of Budapest, established in 1968... fleet. Reconstruction of metro line 2 finishes. |
| 2008 | The Eastern part of the M0 motorway with Megyeri Bridge around the city is finished and given to public. The new Northern Railway Bridge is finished and is opened to public. |
| 2008 | By this year 400 km road have been reconstructed due to the road reconstruction program paired with pipe (heating and water) replacements to modern, narrow and heat-conserving ones, and where needed sewer system expansion or replacement. |
| 2009 | The 2007-2009 complete reconstruction of Liberty Bridge finishes, along with the tracks of tramlines shared with tramline 49 which is going through it. |
| 2009 | The reconstruction of Margaret Bridge begins, planned to be finished in 2011. |
| 2010 | In August the Central Wastewater Treatment Plant starts its normal operation after one year of test service. This increases biologically treated sewage from 51% to 100%. As part of the Living Danube Project, along with finishing modernizations of the other Wastewater Treatment Plants and other subcenters, and expansion of the pipe system to 100% coverage (which included building the complete 7 km Central Danube main-collector, of which only less than 1 km was built back in the Reform Era (1880s)), the city, which was the only one in Hungary with a population level larger than the range that was required to reach Western European levels of Sewage Treatment by the end of December 2008 reached it before the 2010 December 31 deadline of its range, fulfilling this obligation of the EU Accession Treaty. |
| 2010 | The tunnel of Metro line 4 is finished. |