Jaw-dropping stories from the reform era Buda and Pest

Have you ever wondered how would cities look like if you were to travel back in time a couple of decades or centuries? How would people behave or in what way everyday life would be different from what is considered the norm today?

Thanks to Index, you can now get a fascinating insight into the everyday life of the residents of Budapest, some 180 years ago. You will be surprised how different things were back then.

Budapest, as we know it today, used to refer to two individual cities Buda and Pest lying on each side of the river Danube.

During the era of the Reform Age and the Széchenyi Family, many noblemen started to build their palaces and mansions here. The new look of the city was very attractive to people in the countryside. By the end of the 1830s, the two cities became the most important hub in Hungary.

Population

While one might say that the Hungarian capital is somewhat of a metropolis with many ethnicities living in and around Budapest, it is not as multicultural as some other big cities in the West are.

However, according to Index, this was not always the case; around 180 years ago Budapest and Hungary used to belong to the Habsburg Empire. The Hungarian capital had a population of less than 100,000 before the middle of the 19^th century, and it was more colourful compared to the now “teeming” city with around 2 million inhabitants, of which about 90% are Hungarian.

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Hungarians made up 39% of Budapest’s population back then while another 37% consisted of people from over the Leitha (the right tributary of the Danube in Austria and Hungary).

The third-largest ethnic group involved Jews from Moravia (a historical region in the Eastern Czech Republic) and Galicia (a historical and geographic region spanning over two regions that are now known as Southeastern Poland and Western Ukraine). The other 14% of ethnicities in the capital listed Slovakians, Serbians, Romanians, Italians, Poles, Greeks and Gypsies, Index reports.

During that time, many Jews formed language studios to assimilate into the Hungarian culture. One such group was located at the Fogazó kacsa (Toothy Duck), an infamous brothel. The name of the establishment was a reference to a certain type of service the prostitutes provided, to put it mildly. Brothels were popular in this period in the Hungarian capital.

Construction boom

Index reports that in this era, the facade and architectural style of the buildings in Budapest were so wildly disconnected from one another that, with a short walk, you could find yourself in dark alleys recalling the Middle Ages, but taking a few more steps you would be greeted by loud cafés evoking the Balkans; while at the next corner, well-lit ambient hotels would make you believe you have just arrived in Paris.

There were a couple of factors that played a role in the rapid development of Budapest in this period, for instance, the Great Danube Flood which destroyed many buildings and, thus, led to the ban of loam brick and other construction materials like straw and reed.

The need for a new more cohesive architectural style made the ascension of Lipótváros possible. Many new buildings were constructed based on the designs of the classicist architect József Hild. The city’s new look even captivated the Danish writer Christian Andersen when he visited Budapest in 1841, Index writes.

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Poor hygiene

István Szécheny, “the Greatest Hungarian” deemed by his contemporary and political opponent Lajos Kossuth, would often visit the Diana-fürdő (Diana bath), which was popular among the gentry in the era.

There are recollections of the count and his drunk friends urinating from the side of the pool into a goldfish pond, after which they continued to party and drink in the bath to the dismay of other guests.

Index also reports that cholera outbreaks were common in Budapest since many people bathed in the water of the Danube. Bathing would not have been such big of an issue itself, but herdsmen, who came to the city to sell their animals, often quenched their thirst along the banks of the Danube.

In addition to animal feaces, fishermen would throw their old, unsold and often rotting fish back into the waters near the ports of the Danube, further polluting the water quality of the river.

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Source: Index.hu