Consider this a sip of Budapest’s past drawn directly from 15. Kút. The 15. Kút stands not just as a source of water but as a point connecting us to the city’s intricate history.
Budapest was officially created in 1873. This happened from the merger of three neighboring cities. These were Pest, Buda, and Óbuda. In 1950 smaller towns were integrated into Greater Budapest. However, the story of this area begins long before that formal unification.
The origins of Budapest go way back. They can be traced to Celts occupying the plains of Hungary in the 4th century BC. Later the Roman Empire conquered the area. They established the fortress and town of Aquincum around AD 100. It stood where today’s Budapest resides.
The Romans left in the 5th century. Then the Huns came. Various tribes challenged the Huns in the centuries that followed. The Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin began at the end of the 9th century. The Kingdom of Hungary was established at the end of the 11th century.
From around 1300 until 1873, Buda served as the capital of the Kingdom of Hungary. But this was only for five periods each less than a century. So as you stand near 15. Kút you are standing on land with a very long history.
The first town here was built by Celts in the first century BC. It occupied about 30 hectares along the slopes of Gellért Hill. Archaeological finds suggest a densely populated settlement. It even had a separate district of craftsmen. This included potteries and bronze foundries. Coins from different regions suggest it was a trading center.
At the beginning of the Christian era, the town was occupied by the Romans. The inhabitants moved to the Danube plains. They settled in a city retaining the Celtic name Aquincum. In AD 106, the city became the capital of the Roman province of Pannonia Inferior. A significant military force was stationed here. Its population numbered about 20,000. It frequently fought wars on the border of the Roman Empire. This border was formed by the Danube River.
Meanwhile, the area east of the Danube remained Germanic and Sarmatian. This area was not part of the Roman Empire. The Romans eventually pulled out of the Hungarian plains in the 5th century AD.
Following the Romans came the Huns. After the death of Attila the Hun, Germanic tribes and the Avars occupied the area. From 829, Pannonia became part of Bulgaria. The Bulgarians built two frontier fortresses. They were Buda and Pest on opposite sides of the Danube River.
The clan of Árpád settled down on Csepel Island. It’s a large island in the Danube. They formed a shelter for settlers. These settlers started agricultural works in what is the south part of Budapest today. Under the Árpád dynasty, Hungary became a Christian state. It was ruled first from Esztergom and later from Székesfehérvár.
Buda and Pest developed economically in the 12th century. This was largely due to French, Walloon, and German settlers. They migrated there and worked and traded under royal protection. Both towns were devastated during the Mongol invasion of Europe in 1241–42. They were subsequently rebuilt by colonists from Germany. They renamed Buda “Ofen” meaning “furnace”.
The name for Pest has a Slavic origin. It also means “furnace”. The Angevin kings of Hungary established Buda as the royal seat of centralized power during the 14th century.
Hungary’s defeat in the Battle of Mohács in 1526 led to the Ottoman occupation. Three years after the Battle of Vienna in 1683, Buda Castle was recaptured.
During the 18th century, Budapest was an insignificant provincial town. In the first decades of the 19th century, Pest became the center of the Reform movement. The construction of the Lánchíd became the first permanent bridge between Buda and Pest.
The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 aimed to overthrow the Habsburgs. After the civil war, Habsburg repression was symbolized by the Citadella on Gellért Hill. The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 led to rapid growth. In 1870, the Metropolitan Board of Public Works was created. Budapest’s millennial anniversary celebrations in 1896 brought further development. By the end of the 19th century, Budapest was one of Europe’s cultural centers.
So next time you pass by 15. Kút, think about this long history of Budapest.