The remarkable unification of Budapest: What came before?

The unification of Pest, Buda, and Óbuda in 1873 created Budapest. But how did these cities originally get their names?

In 1873, when Pest, Buda, and Óbuda were unified, choosing the name Budapest for the new capital seemed natural. Interestingly, the idea of merging the twin cities had emerged decades earlier, in the 1830s. In 1831, István Széchenyi shared his views on unification in his work Világ:

“Your capital should be renamed Budapest, a name that within a few years—or even months—would sound as familiar and natural as Bucharest. This way, the two cities, which currently view each other with scepticism, would unite. What benefits would stem from this union! In no time, Hungary would have a flourishing capital! Especially if the national assembly were not held in Pozsony (Bratislava), far from the country’s heart and from Transylvania, but in the centre of the nation… There should be one capital, not two; one unified, rather than a divided heart.”

Széchenyi, who spoke several languages, was troubled by the name Pest, since in German it evoked “pest” (a plague) and in Latin “peste” (an epidemic). Additionally, the combination of “Buda” and “Pest” brought to mind “pestis” (the plague in Hungarian). As a result, he proposed several alternatives, including “Bájkert” (Charm Garden), “Dunagyöngye” (Danube Pearl), “Etelvár,” and “Hunvár.” Ultimately, he championed the name “Honderű.” However, in the early 1840s, he abandoned this idea when it was pointed out that “Honderű” sounded too similar to the French words “honte” (shame) and “rues” (streets), as noted by Szabolcsi Miklós in his book Honderű.

When the widely accepted name Pest-Buda was about to be printed on maps, the letters of “Pest” would have overlapped on the Buda side of the Danube, while “Buda” would have appeared on the Pest side. To prevent confusion, it became increasingly accepted that the name of the capital—formed from the unification of Pest, Buda, Óbuda, and Margaret Island—should be Budapest. In 1846, János Arany had already written in the ninth canto of Toldi: “Many thousands live in the city of Budapest.”

Why Budapest? And where did Buda and Pest get their names?

To find the origins of the first great city in the region, we must go back to Roman times, as revealed by the Budapest Archives. From the mid-2nd century BC, Roman conquerors appeared in the area, and the Danube became the natural border of the Roman province of Pannonia. Military camps were established at crossing points to defend the empire, and civilian settlements grew around the legionary bases. One of the most significant was Aquincum, located in today’s Óbuda, which became the capital of Pannonia Inferior in AD 103. The citizens built stone houses and baths, entertained themselves in an amphitheatre, and relied on Roman troops for protection.