Budapest ( , also /ˈbʊdəpɛst/ or /ˈbjuːdəpɛst/; ; names in other languages) is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it serves as the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation center and is considered an important hub in Central Europe. In 2008, Budapest had 1,702,297 inhabitants, down from a mid-1980s peak of 2.1 million, with an official agglomeration of 2,451,418 , in the official Budapest Commuter Area (established by the government in 2005) live 3,271,110 people. The city covers an area of within the city limits. Budapest became a single city occupying both banks of the river Danube with the unification on 17 November 1873, of right-bank (west) Buda and Óbuda (Old Buda) together with Pest on the left (east) bank.

Aquincum, originally a Celtic settlement, was the direct ancestor of Budapest, becoming the Roman capital of Lower Pannonia. Magyars arrived in the territory in the 9th century. Their first settlement was pillaged by the Mongols in 1241-42. The re-established town became one of the centers of Renaissance humanist culture in the 15th century. Following the Battle of Mohács and nearly 150 years of Ottoman rule, development of the region entered a new age of prosperity in the 18th and 19th centuries, and Budapest became a global city after the 1873 unification. It also became the second capital of Austria-Hungary, a great power that dissolved in 1918. Budapest was the focal point of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, the Hungarian Soviet Republic of 1919, Operation Panzerfaust in 1944, the Battle of Budapest of 1945, and the Revolution of 1956.

Widely regarded as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, its World Heritage Site includes the banks of the Danube, the Buda Castle Quarter, Andrássy Avenue, and the Millennium Underground Railway, the second oldest in Europe. Other highlights include a total of 80 geothermal springs, the world's largest thermal water cave system, second largest synagogue, and third largest Parliament building.

The city ranked 3rd (out of 65 cities) on Mastercard's Emerging Markets Index (2008), and attracts over 20 million visitors a year. The headquarters of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) will be in Budapest.

History

main: History of Budapest

The first settlement on the territory of Budapest was Ak-Ink ( ) built by Celts before the birth of Christ. It was later occupied by the Romans. The Roman settlement - Aquincum - became the main city of Lower Pannonia in 106 AD. The Romans constructed roads, amphitheaters, baths and houses with heated floors in this fortified military camp .