25 BUDAPEST CURIOSITIES

The capital of Hungary seems to us one of the most beautiful and welcoming cities in Europe. We already tell you everything you can see and do here, but we have something very interesting in the pipeline and today tachán! Let's unveil you 25 curiosities of Budapest.

1. Yes, Budapest is the capital of Hungary, but it was not always like this: formerly the main Hungarian city was Esztegrom.

2. Budapest is a relatively “new” city: no born until 1873, when the cities Buda, Pest and Óbuda joined. You have understood well: Budapest is 3 cities in one!

3. The river that passes through the city is the famous Danube that crosses 10 different countries: Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova and Ukraine.

4. One of the main attractions of the city is its beautiful Parliament, which is not only super colorful, it is also huge. In fact it is the third largest parliament in the world (after that of Romania and that of Argentina). Some were used for its construction 40 million bricks. Almost na.

5. And one of the curiosities about Parliament that we like the most is that your air conditioning system It's very recent: until the '90s fans and ice blocks were used to cool the air ducts. How rustic!

6. If you are a festivalero without a doubt, you already know, one of the main electronic music festivals of Europe: the Sziget Festival.

7. The 96 is he lucky number For the Hungarians. The reason? The Hungarian Empire was founded in 896 (they were loaded on 8, go). And guess: Parliament is exactly 96 meters ... by chance? No way! In fact, together with the Church of San Esteban, they are the two tallest buildings in the city. If you look there are no skyscrapers in Budapest: apparently there is a law that says that no other building can measure 96 meters (or more).

8. The Chain Bridge It is one of the highlights of Budapest, this is known to all. What you may not know is that lions statues who guard it keep a secret: they have no tongue. According to legend, the architect swore that he would kill himself if someone found a minimum error in his great work. When on the opening day someone made him notice the absence of tongues, he decided to jump into the Danube. But calm, do not feel sorry for him, as many legends are still a lie. János Marschalkó, who was called that guy, died quietly on September 12, 1877 (the bridge was opened in 1849).

9. Hungarians are very athletic, although if there is a sport that stands out from the rest, it is the water polo!

10. This may be due to the fact that the inhabitants of Budapest and Hungary in general are crazy about water. Only in the capital there 118 hot springs, and its spas They are super common. Here we tell you which are the best spas in Budapest.

11. In the city you can visit one of the largest synagogues in the world, the Great Synagogue of Budapest. In fact it is exceeded in size only by the Emanu-El Congregation in New York.

12. The Budapest metro (yellow line) is one of the oldest from all over Europe, it was built in 1896. The first, as you know, is that of London dating from 1863.

13. Throughout Budapest you will run into tens and dozens of statues. One of the most famous is the Shoes Monument, which consists of more than 60 pairs of shoes made of cast iron arranged on the bank of the Danube. What is its meaning? He pretends to remember the Jews, innocent victims during the war and whose bodies were thrown into the river.

14. In Hungary the euro is not used. The national currency is the florin. The name comes from the Italian city of Florence, where small gold coins, called fiorini, began to be manufactured.

15. A Spaniard earned the nickname "the Angel of Budapest" We talked about Angel Sanz Briz, who managed to save more than 5,000 Hungarian Jews during World War II. To learn more about its history, we recommend you read “The Angel of Budapest” by Julio Martín Alarcón.

16. In the Dome Roomof the Parliament of Budapest, the Crown of St. Stephen is exposed. So far everything normal. The funny thing is that the cross over the crown is crooked. The reason? Absolute mystery (there are a few theories on the subject but none seems to be the definitive one).

17. If you arrive in Budapest by plane, you will notice that its airport is dedicated to Franz Liszt, composer and national hero. Only there is a but: Franz Liszt was Austrian. An Austrian who always felt Hungarian and who loved this nation madly!

18. Budapest is famous for its ruin pubs, a truly fascinating pubs, which knew how to take advantage of a "problem": ruined buildings of the city, transforming them into places full of personality. In this post we tell you which are the best ruin pubs in Budapest for us.

19. Beer in Budapest is good, cheap and plentiful, although you have to be careful when you provide: Do not bump the glasses. Cast? After the War of Independence that they fought (and lost) with Austria between 1848 and 1894, the Hungarian generals were executed and the Austrians celebrated by crashing their beer mugs. Curiosity of curiosity: this only applies to beer, it can be provided by crashing wine glasses without problem!

20. If you think of Hungarian food, surely the first thing that comes to mind is goulash, a stew of meat the sea of ​​rich. Error (with nuances): the Hungarian goulash It is a soup with pieces of stewed meat and paprika!

21. Did you know that the Mount Géllert It is also known as the Mount of Witches? It is said that during the Middle Ages they came here to prepare their potions and to make spells.

22. The Hungarian language It is one of the most complicated and mysterious in the world: its origin is unknown. The alphabet has 44 letters and a few curiosities as for example that there are different words to refer to the same thing. It is the case of the word "red", you can say "piros" or "vörös". They seem to be piros is more common and more specific vörös, as for example to say "red armada" or "red planet". Any Hungarian in the room to get us out of doubt?

23. If you want slim down without following any diet you will only have to visit the poly bellied statue and touch the little trot. They say that if you do, you can eat loquesea without gaining weight or a gram. I don't know, huh.

24. Did you know that the Rubik's Cube is it hungarian? Or at least it is its inventor, Erno Rubik, who was born in Budapest.

25. If you are writer and you look for inspiration, you have to book a trip to Budapest and approach the Anonymus statue in the Budapest City Park. They say that everyone who touches his pen will be blessed with the gift of a fluid, beautiful and original writing.

Did you like these 25 curiosities of Budapest? We hope so. If you know more we would love to read them to expand the list.

* Photocredit: Shutterstock

Video: 10+ Surprising Facts About Hungary (April 2024).