60 Fun Facts About Budapest

Roughly how many people live within Budapest's city limits?

The wider metro area holds about 3.3 million, a third of the country.

What are the districts west of the Danube collectively called?

The colloquial name takes in the former Óbuda as well.

How wide is the Danube at its narrowest point in Budapest?

The river enters from the north and encircles Óbuda Island and Margaret Island.

In which year were Buda, Pest and Óbuda unified as Budapest?

Before that the towns were sometimes called Pest-Buda.

Which side of the Danube is Pest on?

Buda is the hilly western side; the Danube islands belong to neither.

What was the Roman town on the site of Budapest called?

It was capital of Pannonia Inferior from AD 103 and lies in today's Óbuda district.

Which Roman emperor is believed to have written part of Meditations in the Roman town on this site?

The city was capital of Pannonia Inferior from AD 103.

Under which Renaissance king did Buda become a European cultural centre in the 15th century?

The first Hungarian book was printed in Buda in 1473.

In which year did the Ottomans finally occupy Buda, beginning some 150 years of rule?

They built many of the city's bathing facilities.

In which year did the Holy League's army retake Buda from the Ottomans?

The 74,000-strong army included Germans, Croats, Dutch, English, Spaniards and Swedes.

According to medieval legend, Buda was named for the brother of which ruler?

The chronicle says Attila killed his brother and threw the body into the Danube.

What was the Chain Bridge, opened in 1849, the first of?

Designed by Englishman William Tierney Clark, it was built by the unrelated Scot Adam Clark.

What decorations on the Chain Bridge survived the wartime destruction of every Danube bridge?

They have guarded the bridge since 1852.

Which count gives his name to the Chain Bridge?

He was a major supporter of the bridge's construction.

Who designed the Hungarian Parliament Building?

It has been the largest building in Hungary since completion.

How much gold was used in building the Hungarian Parliament?

The building also swallowed 40 million bricks and half a million precious stones.

How tall are both St. Stephen's Basilica and the Parliament, the city's two tallest buildings?

The equal height symbolised that worldly and spiritual thinking mattered equally; both are 96 metres.

Which relic is housed in St. Stephen's Basilica?

The building was originally to be named after Saint Leopold, patron of Austria.

Which two kings of Hungary were the last to be crowned in Matthias Church?

During Ottoman rule the church served as a mosque.

What do the towers of the Fisherman's Bastion symbolise?

The chieftains founded Hungary in 895; the bastion was built between 1895 and 1902.

Which guild defended this stretch of the Buda castle wall in the Middle Ages, giving the Bastion its name?

They lived below the walls in Fishtown, or Watertown.

What distinction does the big neo-Baroque spa in City Park hold?

More than 200,000 bathers visited in its opening year, 1913.

Roughly how many medicinal geothermal springs does Budapest have?

It also has the world's largest thermal water cave system.

In what architectural style were the Gellért Baths built between 1912 and 1918?

They form part of the famous Hotel Gellért at the foot of the hill.

How did Saint Gerard, namesake of a Buda landmark, die?

The 235-metre Gellért Hill overlooks the Danube and carries the Citadella and Liberty Statue.

What does the 14-metre Liberty Statue on Gellért Hill hold aloft?

Erected in 1947 to honour Soviet troops, it was later rededicated to Hungarian freedom.

Which emperor inaugurated the continent's first underground railway in Budapest in 1896?

Only London's underground is older; the line still runs beneath the city's grandest boulevard.

What anniversary did Hungary celebrate in 1896 with the underground, Heroes' Square and Vajdahunyad Castle?

The Millennium Monument's column is topped by the archangel Gabriel.

What was Vajdahunyad Castle originally made of for the 1896 Millennial Exhibition?

It proved so popular it was rebuilt in stone and brick between 1904 and 1908.

Which collection, the biggest of its kind in Europe, is housed in Vajdahunyad Castle?

A statue of Anonymus, the unknown medieval chronicler, sits in its courtyard.

Which composer was director of the Budapest opera house from 1888 to 1891?

The house, by Miklós Ybl, opened in 1884 with money from the city and the emperor.

The Dohány Street Synagogue is the largest in Europe; how many people does it seat?

Its Moorish Revival design was based on the Alhambra and North African models.

Which Zionist leader's birthplace stood where the synagogue's Jewish museum now stands?

Dohány Street itself formed the border of the wartime Budapest Ghetto.

Which Swedish diplomat saved tens of thousands of Budapest Jews with protection papers?

He was abducted by the Soviets on 17 January 1945 and never regained his freedom.

Which fascist militia's massacres are commemorated by the Shoes on the Danube Bank memorial?

Victims were told to remove their shoes before being shot into the river.

From which date to which did the Battle of Budapest siege last?

The Germans destroyed every bridge over the Danube.

On what date did the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 begin with a demonstration in Budapest?

Soviet tanks crushed the uprising on 4 November.

Which reformist prime minister declared Hungary's withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact in November 1956?

His government also disbanded the ÁVH secret police.

Where is the House of Terror museum, former HQ of the Arrow Cross and the ÁVH?

Visitors descend to the basement cells where prisoners were tortured.

Which Budapest bar, opened in 2002, is considered the pioneer of ruin bars?

Its name means Simple Garden and it hosts a farmers' market and a bicycle flea market.

Who was the first architect of the Great Market Hall of 1897?

It was the largest investment of the city's first mayor, Károly Kamermayer.

Café Gerbeaud stands on which Budapest square?

Founder Henrik Kugler moved his shop there in 1870, when it was called Gizella Square.

What was Margaret Island called before the 14th century?

The Latin means Island of Rabbits; it was later named for Saint Margaret, a daughter of Béla IV.

Which is the largest Danube island in Hungary, with only its tip inside Budapest?

It forms the city's XXI district, belonging to neither Buda nor Pest.

What is the highest point in Budapest?

It rises 527 metres above sea level in the Buda hills.

How many districts has Budapest had since Soroksár's secession in 1994?

Six are in Buda and sixteen in Pest, plus the island district; Soroksár's secession in 1994 made 23.

After which composer was Budapest's airport renamed on his 200th birthday in 2011?

It was formerly known as Ferihegy.

What did Ernő Rubik build his cube prototype from at his Budapest academy?

It took him a month to solve after scrambling it.

How many goals did Ferenc Puskás score in 85 matches for Hungary?

He later played four internationals for Spain after joining Real Madrid at 31.

Which four national capitals stand on the Danube?

The river is Europe's second longest after the Volga.

Which showpiece match did the Puskás Aréna host in 2026?

The 70,000-seat stadium also hosted the 2023 Europa League final and four Euro 2020 matches.

How many metro lines does Budapest's transport authority BKK operate?

The network also includes 33 tram lines and the BuBi bike-share scheme; under-14s and over-65s ride free.

Which two Budapest tram lines are described as the busiest city tram lines in the world?

They run 54-metre Siemens Combino trams at two- to three-minute intervals at peak times.

The firm behind which Asian city's smart-ticket helped launch Budapest's e-ticket system from 2014?

The real-time passenger information system Futár was rebranded BudapestGo in 2022.

Which numbered Budapest borough contains Ferenc Liszt International Airport?

It lies 16 km east-south-east of the centre and is a base for Wizz Air and Ryanair.

Which large music festival, one of Europe's biggest outdoor events, is held in Budapest?

The city also stages a Wine Festival and Pálinka Festival each May.

Who founded the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra in 1853?

It still performs regularly at the Hungarian State Opera House and National Theatre.

Which Budapest club holds the record for most Hungarian League titles?

Ferencváros lead the all-time table; MTK have 23 titles and Újpest 20; Honvéd, Puskás's old club, have 14.

Since which year has the Hungaroring hosted a round of the Formula One World Championship?

The circuit outside the city was fully resurfaced for the first time in 2016.

Which sports body announced in 2023 it would move its HQ from Lausanne to Budapest?

Budapest hosted the World Aquatics Championships in 2017 and the World Athletics Championships in 2023.