Gems of Hungary

Any visit to Budapest reveals a city that is going places. Communism is well and truly history – the young are eager to adopt Western European values, while remaining in an obsessive relationship with Hungary’s fascinating past. The traditions and history of the Magyar people are still vitally important, as is the ubiquitous mobile phone.

The key to Budapest lies in its history, marked by alternate periods of great wealth and prosperity and devastating eras of political and social upheaval. Repeated warfare was inevitable due to the strategic location of Budapest, spreading out on either side of the River Danube (Duna) in the heart of Europe, offering a defensive position and potential control of Central Europe’s main waterway.

The Magyars view their history not in black and white but in gold and silver. The first Golden Age coincided with the reign of Renaissance King Matyás (1458-90). The second Golden Age was symbolised by the 1896 Millennium celebration in Városliget (City Park) and the Silver Age was the 20th-century inter-war period, when the likes of Evelyn Waugh and the Prince of Wales frequented Budapest’s spas and casinos. Balanced against the good times, however, there is the Turkish victory over the Hungarians in 1526 – with the ensuing rebuilding of Buda as a Turkish capital – the Hapsburg rule that continued to deprive Hungary of its autonomy until 1867, the devastation caused by World War II and Russian control, only lifted in 1989. These significant events have turned the Hungarians into a flexible and resilient race, proud of their national heroes – Count István Széchenyi (1791-1860), responsible for the first bridge across the River Danube, and the poet Sándor Petofi, remembered for his revolutionary Nemzeti dal (National Song), read on the steps of the National Museum on 15 March 1848.

The modern Budapest was born in 1873, when Buda, Óbuda and Pest were officially joined. Today, the city is composed of 23 districts (kerületek), each designated on maps, street signs and addresses by Roman numerals (I to XXIII). Buda and Pest still remain distinct, however, creating an interesting west bank–east bank contrast. Hilly Buda is situated in the west, with its narrow cobbled streets and mixture of medieval and neo-classical buildings almost totally reconstructed after World War II. Flat Pest lies to the east, with its wide boulevards and Art Deco styles. The city is a mixture of Turkish, Venetian, Empire and Art Nouveau in a crazy mosaic of mismatching styles. Perhaps the Hilton Hotel combines the oddest example, with its 13th-century Gothic church, 17th-century façade and gleaming modern glass and concrete.

Budapest has a continental climate, with extreme differences in temperature between the winter and summer months. Snowfall is frequent in winter and rain is fairly common all year round. Two and a half million people – roughly one-fifth of the country’s population – live in this cosmopolitan city, making Budapest the political, intellectual, commercial and cultural capital of Hungary.

The Castle District in Buda is the ancient kernel of the capital's right-bank settlement. Everything that surrounds it was once only suburbs. From whatever direction you reach the Castle District, you cross the ramparts which completely encircle Castle Hill. The whole area within the ramparts is protected as an ancient monument: the lines of the streets and the foundations and architectural remains of the buildings retain the atmosphere and memories of the medieval and eighteenth and nineteenth-century capital.

Behind Hôsök tere lies the City Park, the largest park on the Pest side, covering exactly one square kilometre (0.4 sq.m). The area was once part of the sand and grass-covered Field of Rákos, where in former days the Diets and the national markets were held; at the beginning of the last century it was converted into a park. By the turn of the century it had already become a place of entertainment popular with all layers of society: members of the aristocracy drove out here in their carriages and exercised their horses; the middle-classes came here for a day out; and here the workers organised their meetings and their May Day demonstrations.

Behind Hôsök tere and the Museum of Fine Arts, on Állatkerti körút (Zoo Boulevard) is the Zoo with the Municipal Circus next to it; further down is the Amusement Park and on the opposite side are the Széchenyi Baths. Immediately behind Hôsök tere is the artificial lake: used for rowing in summer, it becomes an artificial skating rink in winter. Around the lake there are a wooded park and a children's playground · on a small island in the lake we find an interesting group of buildings, Vajdahunyad Castle.