Here are 17 interesting facts about Budapest.
1-5 Interesting Budapest Facts
1. Budapest was once two cities, Buda and Pest. They merged in 1873. – Source
2. Budapest, Hungary declares lomtalanítás or “get-rid-of-junk” days where residents pile mountains of trash in the streets. Scavengers, scrappers, and collectors sift through the piles before sanitation workers clean it all up. – Source
3. Shoes on the Danube Promenade is a trail of 60 iron sculpted shoes installed along the banks of the Danube in Budapest in honor of the Jews executed by Arrow Cross militiamen who ordered them to take off their shoes before being shot at the edge of the water. – Source
4. In 1926, a waiter in Budapest committed suicide. He left his suicide note in the form of a crossword and the police had to get help from the public to solve it. – Source
5. There is a McDonald’s restaurant located in one of Budapest’s main railway stations (a 19th-century building) which has been chosen as Europe’s most beautiful McDonald’s at one point. – Source
6-10 Interesting Budapest Facts
6. The Budapest Metro is the 2nd oldest underground railway in the world opened in 1896. – Source
7. There is a railway in Budapest, Hungary which is run by children. It’s a throwback to the days of communism, when Hungary, as a satellite state of the Soviet Union, created the Pioneer Railway to give children the chance to learn teamwork and responsibility. – Source
8. There is a DIY shrine to Michael Jackson on a random tree in Budapest outside one of his favourite hotels in the city. – Source
9. Szimpla Kert or ruin pubs are located in Budapest, Hungary. These usually offer cheap drinks in unique locations and have become a popular tourist attraction. They usually host events such as movie screenings or live music. – Source
10. The underground labyrinth beneath Buda Castle in Budapest was forcibly overrun by government forces and wrenched away from its lawful operators in July 2011. No warning, no court order. It remains closed to the public to this day. – Source
11-15 Interesting Budapest Facts
11. Workers constructing a then-secret bomb/fallout shelter in Budapest meant to protect the leadership were told the project was actually a subway station. The Rákosi-bunker (AKA F-4 Object) was active from the 1950s to the 70s. Few in the public knew of it until a documentary appeared in 1994. – Source
12. World War Z filming in Budapest was raided by the Hungarian Anti-Terrorism Unit. 85 assault rifles, sniper rifles, and handguns where seized, all were found to be fully functional. – Source
13. Budapest is home to the world’s largest known thermal cave system. – Source
14. You can view the mummified hand of a saint who has been dead for a thousand years in a basilica in Budapest. – Source
15. There is a statue known as the Liberty or Freedom statue placed on the Gellért Hill in Budapest, Hungary. – Source
16-17 Interesting Budapest Facts
16. Due to an online poll, a bridge near Budapest was almost named after Stephen Colbert. – Source
17. There was a “Smile Club” set up in Budapest, Hungary to combat the suicidal tendencies brought on by the infamously depressing song, “Gloomy Sunday”. – Source
