Budapest - Hungary

Budapest is the capital city of Hungary and the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial and transportation centre. Budapest has approximately 1.7 million inhabitants, down from a mid-1980s peak of 2.1 million. Budapest became a single city occupying both banks of the river Danube with the amalgamation on 17 November 1873 of right-bank (west) Buda (Ofen in German) and Óbuda (Old Buda or Alt-Ofen) together with Pest on the left (east) bank. It is the ninth largest city in the European Union.

The capital city of Hungary, Budapest, was created out of the unification of the separate historic towns of Buda, Pest and Óbuda in 1873. Whilst the area had been inhabited from early times, it was from this date that the city’s expansion into a world capital really began. Budapest is bisected by the River Danube, with the city as much a natural geographical centre as it is the country’s transport hub. Covering an area of two hundred square miles and divided into 23 administrative districts, it is home today to a population of 1.8 million people.

Flowing north to south through the centre of the city is the mighty River Danube. Buda and Óbuda, comprising roughly a third of the total, are situated mainly in the hills to the west, with commercial Pest on the plains to the east. There are three islands – Óbuda Island, Margaret Island and Csepel Island – and nine bridges, two of which carry railway lines

Budapest possesses a rich and fascinating history as well as a vibrant cultural heritage. Recognizing the unique value of its traditions it has managed to maintain its magic and charm, and is rightly known as the Queen of the Danube. It has also been called the City of Spas, as there are a dozen thermal baths complexes served by over a hundred natural thermal springs.

Budapest has the most shopping centers in Europe, including WestEnd City Center, the largest shopping centre in Central and Eastern Europe, and the biggest Tesco and Auchan hypermarkets in the world. The Great Market Hall is a large indoor market and a major tourist attraction. All luxurious brands can be found, on the high streets, such as Andrássy Avenue and Váci utca.

W4B models from Budapest

Hungary

Hungary, officially in English the Republic of Hungary, literally Hungarian Republic), is a landlocked country in Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. Hungary has been a member state of the European Union since May 1, 2004.

Hungary continues to demonstrate economic growth as one of the newest member countries of the European Union (since 2004). Hungary gets nearly one third of all foreign direct investment flowing in to Central Europe. Foreign ownership of and investment in Hungarian firms are widespread, with cumulative foreign direct investment totalling more than US billion since 1989. The Hungarian sovereign debt's credit rating is BBB+ as of July 2006, making Hungary the only other country in the EU apart from Poland not to enjoy an A grade score. The Hungarian government has expressed a desire to adopt the euro currency in 2010. However, foreign analysts widely criticised that date as highly unrealistic given the current shape of the economy in relation to the Maastricht criteria; their assessments suggest that a date of 2013-2014 for Euro adoption is more realistic. Some analysts even go as far as to suggest that Romania and Bulgaria, who joined the EU in 2007, might beat Hungary to euro adoption.

Approximately a bit more than one half of Hungary's landscape consists mostly of flat to rolling plains of the Carpathian Basin: the most important plain regions include the Little Hungarian Plain in the west, and the Great Hungarian Plain in the southeast. The highest elevation above sea level on the latter is only 183 metres.

Source: Wikipedia