The Hungarian capital Budapest was created by the
incorporation in 1837 of three much older cities: Buda, Pest and Obuda. The
name for this new city reflects this as it is a conjunction of the two largest
cities of the three. An alternative form was written as Buda-Pest. Of the three
urban cores Obuda is the oldest. There was a roman settlement and military camp
here from 29 AD called Aquincum. At the heart of Pest and further north near
Margetsziget a small roman fort was built on the bank of the Danube.
Pest is first mentioned in 1148 as the trade city opposite
the castle on Buda-Hill (Budavári Hégy). As is often the case the church
freedom is located on the old roman fortress. A settlement grew along two
parallel roads on the floodplain of the Danube. It is unclear when this
settlement was fortified with walls. The first fortifications from the eleven
hundreds were most likely a raised bank with a paling on top. Most walled fortifications
were constructed from the 13th century onwards. The well known semicircular
shape with a high wall and 4 large gates was probably constructed under King Mathias
Corvinus in the 15th century. After the recapture of the city from the Ottoman
Turks by the Habsburg Emperor in 1686 the city lay in ruins and had to be
rebuilt and resettled. Reconstruction adhered to the older medieval layout.
In 1704 Pest received the charter of Imperial Free
City of the Habsburg Emperor. The construction of the Invalid Hospital (now the
City Hall) between 1725 and 1735 resulted in a break of the medieval walls to
create a better connection to existing roads and the market fields beyond the
walls. By 1730 the area within the old walls has been completely repopulated
and filled in. This quickly lead to the development of suburban settlements
beyond the walls. In an effort to guide the spatial development and regulate
the supply of fitting residential areas new suburbs were designed encircling
the walled city during the second half of the 18th century, much like what was
done in Vienna and Munich.
Again along the Germanic model, these suburbs were
named after royal patrons. In 1777 Térezváros (Theresiënstadt) was named for Queen
Mary Therese who had visited the area in 1751. The Alsó-Külváros (Lower Suburb)
was renamed Józsefváros (Josefstadt) in 1the same year to honour Emperor Joseph
II. In 1790 the northern suburb is (re)named Lipótváros (Leopoldstadt) in
honour of king Leopold II. In 1838 a large flood destroys large parts of this
and the other suburbs and it is rebuilt on a grid layout. In 1792 the
development of a new suburb started in the south. It was named in honour of
King Francis I of Hungary as Ferencváros (Franzstadt) In 1882 a section of Térezváros was renamed in
honour of the popular Queen Elisabeth (Sisi) as Erzsébetváros (Elisabethstadt).
By 1780 more people were living in the suburbs than
within the old city. This development required better communications. There had
been no bridge across the Danube, but in 1761 a barge bridge was constructed
linking Pest and Buda. The first bridge constructed was the Széchenyi Lánchid
(Chain Bridge) opened in 1849.
As part of the planned suburbs wide radial streets
were laid out that ended at the old city gates. On the north side several
squares were laid out along a wide street from 1812 onwards. Before large market
fields for livestock and horses were located here. The poor connectivity
between the old city and the suburbs created congestion and traffic problems,
so a rethink along the lines of Hausmann with large boulevards was planned. The
initiative came from count Gyula Andrássy, the then Prime-Minister, who
proposed a new boulevard belt road and radial in 1870. This plan included a
small boulevard ring (Kiskörút) that replaced the former city defences, a large
boulevard ring (Nagykörút), a new radial (Sugárút) and two new bridges on
either end of the large semicircular ring road.
In 1900 a very Hausmannian intervention was proposed,
with a new boulevard running straight through the old city centre from the east
station across a new bridge towards a new square on flat terrain between Castle
Hhill and Gellért Hill. This would materialise as the Kossuth Lajos út and the
Erzsébet híd (Elisabeth Bridge). The boulevard was angled such that it avoids
the medieval church of Mathew. At the same time most buildings around this
church were torn down. The old central square was thus greatly enlarged, but
lacks a clear spatial definition.
The axial interventions superimposed on the historic
core of Pest. The seminal structure was a roman fortress located underneath the
central square and church freedom (A). The second urban core was centred around
a former abbey - now a university (B). To the north of this walled city on the
market field the Erszébet tér (E) and Vörösmarty tér (V) were laid out. The
Bajcsy Zsilinszky út (1) was built as a wide thoroughfare along the edge of
Lipótváros. In similar fashion the Rákóczi út (2) and Üllöi út (3) were
constructed. The National Museum (M) of 1849 predates the ring boulevard that
was built over the former city walls. This Kiskörút connects indirectly to the
Széchenyi Lánchid (H1 - 1849), and directly to the Szabadság híd or Liberty
Bridge (H3 - 1896). The central Erzsébet híd (H2 -1903) connects to the new
central boulevard.
Budapest is still very much a twin city with the hills
of Buda in the west and the flat city of Pest in the east. Of the 5 bridges
connecting this "inner city" span the wide Danube, 4 are part of the
historic ring boulevard structure impose on the expanding capital of Hungary in
the 19th century. Nowadays the city centre has expanded beyond the old walled
city, but also includes parts of the planned suburbs within the 1877 Nagykörút.
The spatial structure of Budapest is dominated by the physical
landscape and the 19th-century interventions. The double semicircular boulevard
belt roads are the most prominent feature.This structure is mainly located in
Pest (P) and avoids the hilly terrain of Buda (B), Budavári (V) and Gellért
Hill with the Citadel (C). The flat "Watercity" Víziváros (Vv) is
also avoided.The old city of Pest is encircled by planned suburbs starting with
Lipótváros in the north via Térezváros (T), Erzsébetváros (E) and Jószefváros
(J) to Ferencváros (F) in the south. Two large urban spaces, Vörösmarty tér (1)
and Erszébet tér (2), form a buffer between the grid suburb of "Leopoldcity"
with its central garden square (3) and the old city. At the edge of this suburb
the parliament building (4) was built. Andrassy út (A) with the Opera HOuse (6)
forms the back bone of "Theresiacity" beyond the outer belt boulevard.
It culminates in Hörök tére (Heroes Square - H) on the edge of the City Park
(Városliget - VL). Both railway stations (north station - 5 and east station -
7) are located on the edge of the planned suburbs near an important junction of
radial roads. There are no formal ensembles along the boulevards! The National
Museum (8) and the Corvinus University (9) are located directly adjacent to the
inner boulevard. The 5 bridges started with the central Széchenyi Lánchid (h1) and
was followed by the Margit híd (h2 - 1876), Szabadság híd (h3), Erzsébet híd
(h4) and finally the Petöfi híd (1933), thus completing the circuit.
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