20 November: Budapest

On this date in 1873 the cities of Buda and Pest united to form the capital of Hungary. 10 things you never knew about Budapest.

1. In fact, three cities merged to create Budapest - Buda (the name of its founder, who was Attila the Hun's brother), Pest (from the Roman word Pession, meaning fortress) and Óbuda (Old Buda). Buda is built on a hill, on the Western bank of the river and forms the historical part of the city. Pest stands on a plain and is where you'll find the shops and businesses.
2. Buda and Pest are separated by the river Danube, but linked by the Chain Bridge which was built in 1849, when the two were still separate cities. Count István Széchenyi ordered a bridge to be built and there are two different theories as to his motivation. One is that it was too dangerous to cross the river by boat on the night his father died, so he never got to say goodbye. Not wanting any other family to go through that, he had the bridge built. The other theory is a more selfish reason - that he had a mistress on the other side of the river. The Bridge has four Lions, two guarding each end of the bridge. They were carved by János Marschalkó who prided (geddit?) himself on knowing the anatomy of lions well and claimed that if anyone found anything wrong with the lions he'd kill himself. At the opening ceremony, a boy shouted that the lions had no tongues, so Marschalkó threw himself off the bridge and became the first suicide. The story isn't true - the lions do have tongues, they are just hidden behind the teeth and are difficult to see. One would think Marschalkó would point that out to the child rather than top himself.
3. If you're visiting Budapest you can ensure good luck by visiting several of the statues and touching certain parts of them. If you want to be lucky in love and not put on weight, rub the belly of the statue of the policeman in front of the Basilica of San Esteban. If you're not ready to settle down but want to enjoy the company of the opposite sex, twirl his moustache. To become a successful writer, touch the pen of the statue of Anonymous in one of the parks. For luck and self-actualisation, rub the knees of the Little Princess, and if you're a student seeking luck in exams, you need to stop by the statue of András Hadik, the Russar general., near Matthais Church on Castle Hill, and rub the testicles of his Horse.
4. The population of Budapest in 2016 was 1,759,407. It's the largest city as well as the capital with 20% of the population living there. That's one in five of the Hungarian people.
5. There's a tie for the tallest building in Budapest. The Parliament Building (which is the third largest Parliament Building in the world and 40 kilograms (88 pounds) of 23-carat gold was used to decorate it); and St. Stephen’s Basilica, built to honour the first king of Hungary and took 54 years to build. 896 was the year that Hungarian Magyars first settled in the region, which is why that height was chosen for two important buildings. Since then, an ordinance was passed forbidding the construction of any buildings higher than that..
6. Famous people from Budapest include actress Zsa Zsa Gabor, composer Béla Bartók, Harry Houdini, Ernő Rubik, inventor of the famous cube and László Bíró, inventor of the Ballpoint pen.
7. Budapest has the second oldest underground railway in Europe, which opened in 1896 in the year when Hungary celebrated its 1000th anniversary, hence the name Millennium Underground. The only older underground railway is the Tube in London.
8. The city is also home to the second largest synagogue in the world, and the largest in Europe. The Dohány Street Synagogue can accommodate 3,000 worshippers. It is 44 metres (144 feet) high and covers an area of 2000 sq metres (21,528 sq feet). It was built between 1854 and 1859.
9. Budapest has more thermal springs than any other capital city in the world.
10. Sister cities around the world include New York City, Shanghai, Beijing, Tehran, Berlin, Vienna, Lisbon, Florence, Sarajevo, and Tel Aviv.

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