!!!Budapest

by Stas Sedov and Dmitry Moiseenko,
members of the [AirPano Team|Geography/About/Consortium/AirPano,_Team] that is a member of the [global-geography Consortium|Geography/About/Consortium]. \\

26 September 2016


Although Budapest has quite a rich historical heritage, "technically" it
is a rather young city: the settlements of Pest, Buda and Óbuda lying on
both banks of the Danube River have merged into one big city only in
1873. Nevertheless, people started inhabiting this area not later than
the 1st century BC. Hungarian tribes had first come to these lands in
895 and particularly Buda became the first political center of Hungary.
By the beginning of the 13th century the town had grown so wide that it
was divided into Óbuda (Old Buda) and Buda (new quarters).

[{Image src='01_Matthias Church.jpg' caption='Matthias Church' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='528'}]

For a long time the Kingdom of Hungary had been under control of Czech,
Bavarian, Austrian and Polish noble families in turn. In the middle of
the 16th century the Turks were in power here; later in 1686 the
Austrians had assumed ownership over these lands and returned them to
the Hesburgers Empire.

On March 15, 1867 an agreement was signed, giving independence to the
Hungarian part of the Austrian State concerning its domestic affairs.
One of the most important results of this historical decision was the
confluence of Buda, Óbuda and Pest into one administrative unit — the
capital of the autonomy. Since that moment the rapid development of the
city had begun; by the beginning of the 20th century its total
population had been around 730,000 people. On November 16, 1918 Hungary
declared itself an independent republic and Budapest continued to
function as the capital of the state.

[{Image src='02_Millennium Monument.jpg' caption='Millennium Monument' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='582'}]

Military actions which occurred here during the centuries caused damage
to the architectural heritage of the city, but still, many outstanding
monuments managed to remain till nowadays. Buda Castle (also known as
Buda Fortress) is among them. The first royal residence on the bank of
the Danube River was built by King Béla IV of Hungary between 1247 and
1265. In the Middle Ages the castle was rebuilt, but at the time of the
Great Turkish War in the 17th century a major part of the ancient walls
was destroyed. Soon after the Hungarian Revolution, in between 1850 and
1856, the castle was restored and now is a major landmark of Budapest.

[{Image src='03_Buda Castle.jpg' caption='Buda Castle' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='258'}]

This ancient royal castle could not have been ignored by the experts of
UNESCO: in 1987 it was declared a World Heritage Site. In addition to
this, some other places of the Hungarian capital were inscribed into the
list of Sites: the whole castle hill of Buda, the River Danube
embankment, Andrássy Avenue, the Hungarian State Opera House, the
Heroes' Square and even the Budapest Subway.

But the list of Budapest sights goes on and on! The Castle Quarter also
houses the Hungarian National Gallery, the Budapest Historical Museum,
Matthias Church, the Fisherman's Bastion, the Labyrinth, the Plague
column, the House of Hungarian Wines, and the funicular leading to János
hill. The building of the Hungarian Parliament constructed between the
end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries is among other
significant places of Budapest. It was created under the impression of
Westminster Abbey and the best examples of Paris Beaux-Arts
architecture.

[{Image src='04_St Stephen_s Basilica.jpg' caption='St Stephen_s Basilica' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='434'}]

In addition to many significant architectural monuments, Budapest is
also widely known for its parks and thermal springs. Actually, it is the
only European capital and a resort at the same time. Numerous thermal
springs were discovered here long back ago; archeologists managed to
find the remnants of the Roman baths dated the 2nd century within the
limits of the city. But the true bathing culture was brought here and
promoted by the Turks in between the 16th and 17th centuries. And now
the modern Budapest can offer more than 20 bathing complexes, including
outdoor ones.

[{Image src='05_Szechenyi thermal bath.jpg' caption='Szechenyi thermal bath' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='564'}]

Even though our virtual journey will not be able to reveal the
atmosphere of this city to the full, but it will help to create a
general impression and, probably, will inspire you to visit Budapest
personally.

\\ \\
[11 Panoramas of Budapest|Geography/Europe/Hungary/Pictures/Panoramas_of_Budapest]










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