From the Romans to the Ottomans
The history of Budapest begins with the Romans: Aquincum, the capital of the province of Pannonia, was located in today's Óbuda (Old Buda). Ruins of the amphitheater and the civilian town are still visible today. After the fall of Rome, Huns, Avars, and Slavs arrived.
The Magyars (896)
In the year 896, Prince Árpád led the seven Magyar tribes from the Eurasian steppe into the Carpathian Basin — the Landnahme (Honfoglalás), the founding event of the Hungarian state. The number 896 is omnipresent: The Parliament is 96 meters high, Andrássy Avenue has the house number 896. In the year 1000, Stephen I was crowned the first Christian king — the Holy Crown of St. Stephen, Hungary's most sacred relic, is now housed in the Parliament.
Tatar Invasion and Golden Age
In 1241, the Tatar invasion devastated Hungary. Afterward, King Béla IV built the Buda Castle as a fortress — the beginning of Buda as a royal residence. In the 15th century, under King Matthias Corvinus, Budapest experienced a Renaissance golden age: The king was a humanist who established a famous library (Bibliotheca Corviniana) and made the Visegrád Palace one of the most magnificent in Europe.
Ottoman Occupation (1541–1686)
For 150 years, Budapest was under Ottoman rule. The Turks built mosques (most of which have disappeared) and — as a lasting legacy — the thermal baths: Rudas, Király, and Veli Bej date from this period. The recapture of Buda in 1686 by the Habsburgs was bloody — the city lay in ruins.
