Budapest was built in the middle of the Central Danube basin at the junction of the most favorable river-crossing, and at the meeting-point of territories with varying geographical features and different economic conditions. The determinant components of the city's foundation therefore were its river-crossing location and its market-city potential. Numerous products of many kinds from the territories changed hands here. Already in Roman times a castrum (fort) was erected on the left bank of the river in recognition of the strategic location. It is no accident that the old, forrner marketplace was established in the same spot. Here, too, was built Pest's oldest church, the Central Town Church (Belvárosi templom), marking the site of the ancient city-center. We first hear the name 'Pest' being used in the reign of King Géza II, in an AD 1148 deed.

The settlement of Buda is as old as the Conquest itself (896), but it only started to develop in the 13th century when King Béla IV built a castle on the hill for protection against the Mongol attacks. The court moved to Buda in 1347, and at this time the castle was extended into a palace in the Gothic style of the time. Along with Pest and the Castle Hill Óbuda (Old Buda) is the third ancestral city-centre. Tbe latter is thought to be the 'Fejéregyháza' mentioned in the chroniele of Anonymus in the 12th century where Árpád, the Conqueror, was buried.

During the reign of king Matthias it became a dazzling renaissance royal residence. The town was freed from one and a half centuries of Turkish rule in 1686. The three months of siege caused significant damage in both the castle and the town itself. Using the medieval ruins the rebuilding started in the baroque style.

Several medieval charters rnention "Insula Leporum" (Rabbit Island), now Margaret Island (Margitsziget), as being a part of Óbuda. Finally, these three settlements: Pest, Buda and Óbuda, were joined together in 1873 under the name: Budapest. For the occasion a new, representative royal palace was built. However in the Second World War the building and the Castle Quarter suffered serious damage. With the clearing up of the ruins archaeological digs were started and the excavations are still going on today, as are the restoration of medieval ruins. The majority of the buildings in the Castle are historical monuments, the gateways have Gothic seat niches and the carved stone of the rebuilt facades is reminiscent of the middle ages.

The first stone bridge built here over the Danube, the Lánchíd, has become a symbol of the city. The Széchenyi Chain Bridge is a chain suspension bridge incorporating architectural elements in the classicist style. This was the fint fixed stone bridge over the Danube in the capital. After Széchenyi's initiative it was constructed from 1839 to 1849. The englishman William Thierney was its designing architect. It was carried out by another englishman, Adam Clark, who later on settled in the city. Count István Széchenyi, often called '”the greatest Hungarian” initiated the foundation of the Hungarion Academy of Science, enhanced steamship transport on the Danube and paid the costs of the buildíng of the first permanent bridge between Pest and Buda (Chain Bridge, Lánchíd) was also Minister of Transport in 1848 in the first independent Hungarian government. His old castle in Nagycenk has been turned into a museum.

Budapest was born in 1873 with the unification of Buda, Óbuda and Pest, for which a new, representative royal palace was built. However in the Second World War the building and the Castle Quarter suffered serious damage. With the clearing up of the ruins archaeological digs were started and the excavations are still going on today, as are the restoration of medieval ruins. The majority of the buildings in the Castle are historical monuments, the gateways have Gothic seat niches and the carved stone of the rebuilt facades is reminiscent of the middle ages. Today the Buda Castle Palace is the country's most significant cultural centre. Here you can find the Budapest History Museum (Budapesti Történelmi Múzeum), including some medieval castle sections, the Hungarian National Gallery (Magyar nemzeti Galéria), the Ludwig Museum (Ludwig Múzeum) and the National Széphenyi Library (Nemzeti Széchenyi Könyvtár). In the centre of the Castle Quarter you can see one of Budapest's best known buildings, the Church of our Lady or, as it is popularly known, the Mathias Church (Mátyás templom). lt was the venue for famous events, as several Hungarian kings were crowned here and king Matthias was married hare. The first church was built at about the same time as the castle itself, but Matthias extended it and added an 80-metre tower. The Turks transformed the church into a mosque, after which followed the rebuilding in baroque style. It gained its present form at the end of the 19th century. The greatest artists of the age worked on the restoration.

Following this, the Fisherman's Bastion was built in the neo-Romanesque style on the medieval castle walls. Opposite, on the Pest side stands one of the world's most beautiful parliament buildings. With its length of 268 metres and 96 metre high dome it provides an imposing sight above the waves of the Danube. lt may be visited in groups, and it is worth visiting not only for the beautiful interiors, the shining golden decorations, the frescos and statues made by the famous artists of the ago and the decorated stairways, but also to see the 1000 year old crown of the first Hungarian king, saint Stephen.