Budapest
Between East and West
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Beschreibung des Verlags
Budapest has always been an important place. Almost at the centre of Europe, it is at the crossroads of geographical regions and of civilizations, at the intersection of ancient trade routes. Mountains that gradually slope into gentle hills converge on a great river, the Danube, and the regions of Buda and Pest sprang up on either side.
Throughout history the centre of gravity in Budapest and among Hungarians has shifted between this division of East and West - culturally, politically, emotionally. Invaders have come and gone, empires have conquered, occupied for centuries or decades, and left a few footprints behind: the remains of a Roman bath house complete with wonderfully preserved mosaics stand next to a Soviet-style 'five-year-plan' apartment block. The city bears the scars of the rise and fall of multiple empires, two world wars, fascism, Nazi German occupation, Soviet Communism. It has been home to some of the world's greatest writers, artists and musicians. Hungary is a place of extremes, a small country that has often in history punched well above its weight. At many moments, events that began in Budapest have proved to be of world significance. This is the story of that tumultuous, often divided, but always fascinating city.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Historian Sebestyen (Lenin the Dictator) delivers a sweeping and insightful chronicle of Budapest from its origins as a first-century Roman settlement on the Danube to the present. Sebestyen highlights the arrival of the Magyars, who moved into the Carpathian Basin from the Urals in the 850s; the reign of Stephen I, who Christianized the country and named himself the first king of Hungary in 1000; the Hapsburg dynasty, which presided over a golden age in Budapest built on trading, manufacturing, and banking; WWI, which brought down the Austro-Hungarian empire and cost Hungary a third of its territory; WWII, when Hungary became an ally of Germany (the 102-day siege of Budapest at the end of the war killed thousands of civilians, including the majority of the city's Jewish population); and the postwar occupation by the Soviets, who drove the Germans out of Hungary in 1945 and controlled the country for the next 45 years. Sebestyen vividly describes the invasions, revolutions, wars, and catastrophes (including a devastating flood in 1838) that shaped Budapest as he profiles its notable rulers and citizens, including composer and Budapest Opera director Gustave Mahler and novelist Arthur Koestler. Along the way, he captures the city's innately pessimistic character and active café society. The result is a comprehensive account of one of Europe's great cities.
