Situated on the banks of Danube in Central Hungary with hilly Buda to the west and Pest to the east, the colourful city of Budapest (or the twin cities of Buda and Pest) exchanged many hands since the Hungarians settled in the area around 10th Century AD. The Mongols plundered and destroyed both the cities in 13th Century. It was rebuilt again. before the Ottomans captured in 16th Century and built several mosques and baths across the city. After around 150 years of Ottoman rule, the Austrians conquered the city and it was a part of Austria-Hungary till end of World War I. The architecture of Pest is heavily influenced from the Austrians, since most of the buildings were built during that time. The the city went through terrors from the Nazis and the Communists through the 20th Century until the fall of Soviet Union. Apart from all this, Budapest has the 2nd largest Synagogue in the world(largest outside Israel), the 2nd oldest underground railway system(M1 line) in the world after London and was home to one of the greatest footballer of all time Ferenc Puskás. The newer part of the city is a financial hub with many multinational companies having their offices. And if you happen to see any really ugly building in this beautiful city you can only blame the Communists.
