Budapest, the capital of the Hungarian Republic, lies in the centre of the Carpathian Basin in Europe, on both sides of the river Danube.
The area of the capital has been inhabited for thousands of years. The Romans conquered the Region in around 35BC and it became part of the Roman Empire within the province of Pannonia. The Roman troops occupied the Celtic settlement they found here and named the place Aquincum. Aquincum (now Óbuda district) developed to Pannonia's capital. After Roman withdrawal, it was first controlled by Huns then by Eastern Goths, Longobards and Avars. From the 8th century it was inhabited by Slavs, vassals of the Franks. The Hungarian appeared around the end of the ninth century, establishing the seat of their prince near the crossing of the Danube. In 1873 the formerly separate but interdependent towns Buda, Pest and Óbuda were integrated into one administrative unit - Budapest.
Budapest has a temperate, transitional climate that is influenced by the weather of the Transdanubian region (mild and rainy) and the weather of the Great Plain. Summer can be hot with average temperature between 27°C (80.6°F) and 35°C (95°F). Winters are fairly short, the very cold weather arriving in mid-December, usually cloudy and damp with odd bright sunny days and frequent, but light snow. Springtime (April through June) brings plenty of rain, and autumn tends to be cold and foggy. The mean annual precipitation in the capital is 650 mm.
Budapest is the economic centre of the country. All branches of its economy, except agriculture, have national significance. More than half the factory workers in Budapest are employed in heavy industry; the rest are divided between light industry and food processing. The tourist industry occupies a very important position in the economy of Budapest. Its hotels and other accommodation facilities receive a third of all guests requiring accommodation in Hungary, and half of all such foreign citizens.
Budapest's public transportation systems are operated by the company BKV. The service includes buses, trolleybuses, trams, underground trains (Metro) and above-ground suburban trains (HÉV). Tickets, which can be bought at metro stations and newspaper stands, are valid for one trip and must be validated prior to travel. Budapest has three underground metro lines intersecting at Deák tér. Generally, buses, trams and trolleys in Budapest operate between 4:30 and 23:00. At night 15 bus and 2 tram lines are in service. The HÉV lines are part of the Budapest transport system and connect the city with the surrounding towns and villages. Taxis in Budapest are marked with the word “Taxi”, often accompanied by a company name such as “City Taxi”. All taxi vehicles must have a yellow registration plate. All taximeters are equipped with a receipt-printing function, displaying the fares charged and identification of the driver.
Education in Hungary is compulsory and free up to the age of 18. Compulsory full-time education is administered by kindergarten, primary, secondary, vocational, vocational training schools. The official language of instruction is Hungarian, although English, German and other foreign languages are used in specialized bilingual programs. Hungarian higher education has a dual system with colleges and universities. Some colleges are associated with universities and operate as college faculties within universities. The school academic year runs from September to mid-June while institutes of higher education are finished by the end of May.
Budapest is very rich in historical buildings and monuments. The commanding building of Budapest Parliament stretches between Chain Bridge and Margaret Bridge on the Pest bank of the Danube. Work on the building began in 1884 to the designs of Imre Steindl and it was completed in 1902. It is ornamented with white neo-gothic turrets, arches and decorated by statues of Hungarian monarchs and military commanders. The main cupola is decorated with statues of Hungarian kings. The building has nearly 700 rooms, is 268 m long, 118 m wide at its maximum and over 90 m high at the top of the dome. Byzantine influence is noticeable in the interior of the building, especially in the marvelously decorated staircase hall.
One of the highlights of a walk in the Andrássy Street is the beautiful neo-Renaissance building - Opera House. Construction started in 1875 and the building was finished in 1884. The statues on the facade, renovated in 1966, represent the following great composers from left to right: Verdi, Moussorgsky, Monteverdi, Tchaikovsky, Scarlatti, Bizet, Gluck, Mozart, Wagner, Beethoven, Donizetti, Gounod, Rossini, Smetana and Glinka. The interior boasts an impressive foyer with a double grand staircase and grey marble columns supporting the arches. The staircase and the auditorium of the palace are designed by Miklós Ybl. Beyond the main entrance is the vestibule, decorated with allegorical frescoes from Bertalan Székely, and at the entrance to the foyer are landscapes from Árpád Feszty.
The city offers a wide range of events and festivals every season. Many of the biggest festivals take place at the Budapest Convention Centre on Jagelló Street.
The Budapest Spring Festival is the largest annual cultural event in Hungary, boasting orchestral and chamber concerts, contemporary dance, jazz, folklore programs, film screenings and much more. Grand opera and ballet are staged at both the Opera House and the Erkel Theatre, whereas the Operetta Theatre is the place to see and hear the operettas and musicals of Lehár, Kálmán and Ábrahám. The festival opens with sculpture in public squares.
Budapest has also been called the City of Spas, as there are a dozen thermal baths complexes served by over a hundred natural thermal springs.
