The name "Budapest" is the composition of the city names "Buda" and "Pest", since they were united (together with Óbuda) to become a single city in 1873. One of the first occurrences of the combined name "Buda-Pest" was in 1831 in the book "Világ" ("World" / "Light"), written by Count István Széchenyi.
The origins of the words "Buda" and "Pest" are obscure. According to chronicles from the Middle Ages the name "Buda" comes from the name of its founder, Bleda (Buda), the brother of the Hunnic ruler Attila. The theory that "Buda" was named after a person is also supported by modern scholars. An alternative explanation suggests that "Buda" derives from the Slavic word "вода, voda" ("water"), a translation of the Latin name "Aquincum", which was the main Roman settlement in the region.
There are also several theories about the origin of the name "Pest". One of the theories claims that the word "Pest" comes from the Roman times, since there was a fortress "Contra-Aquincum" in this region which was referred to as "Pession" by Ptolemaios. According to another theory, "Pest" originates from the Slavic word for cave "пещера, peshchera" or from the word for oven "печь, pech'", in reference to a cave where fires burned or to a local limekiln. In the old-Hungarian language there was a similar word meaning oven/cave and the original old-German name of this region was also "Ofen". Later, the German "Ofen" referred to the Buda side.
布达佩斯是匈牙利首都，也是该国主要的政治、商业、运输中心和最大的城市，也被认为是东欧一个重要的中继站。布达佩斯的人口在1980年代中期曾达到高峰207万（布达佩斯都会区人口达到2,451,418人[9]），目前仅有约170万居民，它是欧洲联盟第七大城市。该市是在1873年由位于多瑙河右岸（西岸）的城市布达和古布达以及左岸（东岸）城市佩斯合并而成的。此前没有布达佩斯这个称呼，过去人们一般将它称为佩斯-布达（Pest-Buda）。
链子桥
在布达佩斯有九座桥梁跨越多瑙河，其中最老的是链子桥，它同时也是布达佩斯的标志之一。
从链子桥出发沿小环路可以在佩斯一边经过烟草街犹太会堂、国家博物馆、市场大厅一直到自由桥。烟草街犹太会堂标志着历史上布达佩斯犹太区的入口，位于内环和外环之间，是欧洲最大的犹太会堂，世界第二大犹太会堂。小环路基本上沿原佩斯的城墙而筑，这座城墙最后的一座城门于18世纪被拆毁，有些地方还有城墙遗迹。小环路与多瑙河之间是布达佩斯真正的内城。这里与多瑙河平行的瓦茨街过去是城市的商街，今天是市内最著名的购物街。它连接市场大厅与弗洛斯马提广场。内城北部是布达佩斯最大的教堂建筑：圣伊什特万圣殿。
.jpg) |
| Chain Bridge链子桥 |
布達佩斯有「東歐巴黎」和「多瑙河明珠」的美譽。布达佩斯最重要的名胜都位于多瑙河畔。在西岸布达一边岩石陡峭的山上树立着自由碑和城堡。山下有盖勒特浴场，其下游是布达佩斯技术和经济大学的主楼。城堡的北面的山上有布达城堡。今天城堡里是国家图书馆、匈牙利国家画廊和市博物馆。城堡边的桑多尔宫是匈牙利总统的驻地。
多瑙河东岸，也就是平缓的佩斯一边，矗立着匈牙利國會大廈、匈牙利科学院、多座大酒店、佩斯舞厅，继续向南国家歌剧院和艺术宫。
