Budapest is a great metropolis, the capital of Hungary (Central Europe), on the banks of the river Danube ("Duna" in Hungarian), a great mix of late 19th century architecture and of a hectic cosmopolitan urban jungle, with fast regenarating café life. It is the home of about 1.7 million people, but its scope looks larger than that. It has a magnetic riverfront. The language spoken here is the not even Indo-European Hungarian language, what is a far relative of Estonian and even farther relative of Finnish — not understandable to speakers of any of the two.

The 12 most important facts about Budapest Edit

1. YEAR OF BIRTH: 1873. (It is a mistake to talk about Budapest before that)
2. POPULATION: about 1.7 million
3. POLITICAL SYSTEM: 23 districts, with elected mayors and councils, plus 66-member Budapest City Council, and Mayor-in-Chief, who is the 67 member
4. MOST TRADITIONAL PASTRY SHOP: Gerbeaud, in Vörösmarty tér
5. GLITZIEST AVENUE: Andrássy út
6. OLDEST BRIDGE: Lánchíd (Chain bridge), completed in 1849
7. SQUARE WITH THE MOST CAFÉS: Liszt Ferenc tér, in District VI.
8. NICEST VIEW FROM BUDA: The front of the equestrian statue of Eugene of Savoye, liberator of Hungary from the Turks
9. OLDEST-LOOKING NEORENAISSANCE CATHEDRAL, WITH THE BEST LOOKOUT POSSIBLITIES FROM A BALCONY AROUND THE DOME: St. Stephen Cathedral, inaugurated in 1905 (view from 15 April to 15 October)
10. ANTIQUE DEALERS STREET, BORN AFTER 1990: V. Falk Miksa utca, between Parliament and Grand Boulevard
11. MOST EVOCATIVE COLLECTION OF COMMUNIST STATUES: Statue Park, Budapest XXIII, on M70
12. ZOO WITH THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF AUTHENTIC ART NOUVEAU BUIDINGS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD: Budapest Zoo, XIV. Városligeti körút

Sources:

• http://www.pergolam-budapest.hu
• http://www.budapest.hu
• http://www.budapestinfo.hu
• http://budapest-view.info

--Andras 05:34, 24 April 2006 (UTC)