20th Century Hungary

At the turn of the 20th century, which celebrated the millennium of the Magyar people arriving to this great land, new plans for the city were planned to invest in its future infrastructure and this brought about the first metro to be introduced to a European city, and because of the building boom, all the finest architecture was constructed in this period, which can be seen to this day.

The first and second World Wars devastated this beautiful city. Not one bridge was in tact across the Danube, the Royal Palace was a ruin and the Castle District was totally demolished.

Budapest’s history took a turn for the worst when an uprising in 1956 resulted from a peaceful protest that got violent when shots were fired. Thousands of Hungarians marched and the people appointed a new leader called Imre Nagy, and with this, they smashed Stalin’s statue. The Soviets did not accept this and sent in tanks and soldiers, with the result that 2,700 people were shot and the uprising was quelled. Hundreds of thousands of Hungarians emigrated to the West. The buildings around Budapest have the bullet holes to remind one of those dreadful days.

In 1989 the fence that divided Austria from Hungary was taken down and Russia stood idly by. The statue of Lenin was dismantled and Imre Nagy the peoples leader from 1956 was reburied, and the Soviets left for good.
Today Budapest is flourishing like a beautiful pearl on the Danube.

Copyright @ Global Travel Solutions