
Obuda town hall in Budapest.
'Óbuda' (sometimes written in
English as ''Obuda'') was a historical city in
Hungary. United with
Buda and
Pest in
1873 it now forms part of District III of
Budapest. The name means ''Old Buda'' in
Hungarian (in
German, ''Alt-Ofen'').
The island (
Óbuda Island) next to this part of the city today hosts the
Sziget Festival, a huge music and cultural festival.
Its centre is ''Fő tér'' (Main Square), connected to a small square with a nice sculpture of people waiting for the rain to stop. It is available by
HÉV (''
Árpád híd'' station).
History
Settlements dating from
the stone age have been found in Óbuda.
The Romans built
Aquincum, the
capital of
Pannonia province here. Hungarians arrived after 900 and it served as an important settlement of major tribal leaders, later kings.
Béla IV of Hungary built a new capital after the 1241-1242
Mongol invasion in
Buda, somewhat south of ''Óbuda''. On
January 1,
1873 it was united with
Buda and
Pest to form
Budapest.
External links
★
Óbuda website
★
A Walk Through Old Buda
★
Photos of the sculpture of the waiting people