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| Parliament Building |
Each morning on the Danube was beautiful, but this day was
special. We were awakened to a wonderful view of the House of Parliament
with the rising sun’s rays on it. Although it was close on to 5:00AM, it was
hard to go back to sleep with the stunning scenery sliding by. Budapest was
officially created by merging Pest, Buda and Óbuda in 1873. But back in the
first century BC the Celts built the first town that would become a portion of
Budapest. This was a densely populated settlement with potteries and bronze
foundries, and perhaps a trading center. Romans colonized an area immediately
west of the Danube, using the natural thermal springs; the new baths in
Budapest reminded me of those in Karlovy
Vary in Czech Republic. By 106 AD the city had become the
capital of the
province Pannonia Inferior and the headquarters of the governor and a significant
military force. Of course this means that it was frequently involved in wars
along the Danube. A parade of conquerors made the city their headquarters from
the 5th century AD through the Middle Ages. Buda and Pest
started their development in the 12th century because the French,
Walloon, and German settlers worked and traded under royal protection along the
Danube. The history of Hungary followed the path of Czech Republic, Slovakia,
and Austria with prosperity, and the flourishing of the arts followed by wars
and destruction; in some instances Buda was a leading in others Pest was
preeminent.
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| Exterior of a bath house |
