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			About Budapest

Budapest from Gellert Hill

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Budapest was severely damaged at the end of World War II and during the uprising in 1956, little of its earlier medieval structure remains today.

It was originally a Roman fortress, Aquincum in the first century A.D and served as a trading town for the Roman Empire. Subsequently, the Magyar tribe, the ancestors of modern day Hungarians settled in the area and the town of Buda developed. However in 1241 during the Mongol Invasion the town was destroyed. When the Mongols left the area the city was in ruins. The Hungarian King Bela VI built Buda Palace for defence and this increased the city's importance.

During the 15th century the area became a Renaissance centre attracting scholars and travellers from all over Europe. The Turks invaded and sacked Buda in the 16th century and made it a provincial capital in the Ottoman empire. They remained in Buda and Pest for 150 years and legacies of their rule such as baths remain today.

The Austrian Habsburgs were the next occupiers and they played a large role in the development of the towns. Pest became a commercial centre and attracted immigrants such as Jews. The old Jewish quarter remains today in the seventh district of Pest. Buda and Pest were still very much separate entities and it was not until 1842 that the first stone bridge was built to cross the Danube. The Hungarians revolted against the Habsburgs in 1848 and were defeated. However Hungary eventually became a more equal power in the Habsburg Empire.

The final unification of Buda and Pest led to growth and prosperity. During the 1890s Budapest was one of the fastest growing cities in Europe. Having being on the losing side of World War I, Budapest allied itself with Germany during World War II. The city was subjected to allied bombing and much of it was destroyed during the fighting.

After the war the city's development was delayed by 45 years of communist government but it's now a lively and attractive capital and slowly regaining its position as the Paris of the east.

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