Budpest's Selective Scars
I've always enjoyed Hungarian history: it bruises and berates. And the diamond of the Danube, Budapest, wears that tumultuous and tragic roller-coaster historical ride unapologetically. For the most part.
The timeless Danube cuts Budapest into two major sections: to the east of the river, flat and modern Pest bristles and bustles with commercial activity while to the west the hilly and historic Buda dramatically rises above nine bridges connecting the two very different siblings. The history of today’s Budapest starts in 1873 when three administrative units (Buda, Pest and Obuda) joined to form one greater metropolis. The area, however, has housed a great variety of peoples: the Celts had moved into the Carpathian Basin by the third century BC before colonized by the Romans. Following the Roman collapse, the area became a veritable revolving door of cultural groups: the Huns, Goths, Longobards, Avars, Franks and Slavs all took turns basking in the Carpathian sun.
