Evening star., 1901-12-24
BUDAPEST OF THE PRESENT
A REMARKABLE TRANSPORTATION
IN THIRTY-FIvE YEARS.
From Two Ordinary Cities IL Has Re-
come One of the Splendid Capi-
tails of Europe.

VIM. E. Curtis in the Chicago Record Herald.
The people of Hungary are now enjoying
the liberty for which Kossuth fought. II
has been theirs since 1866. and they have
celebrated it by building city Of marvels,
one of the most beautiful and splendid of
the European capitals. 1t compares with
Paris, Berlin and st. Petersburg, and is
second only to Vienna in the stately mag
nificence of its public buildings and streets.
The world at large knows less about Buda-
pest than about any other of the important
cities of Europe, although it could find
there more to admire. Budapest is so re-
cent and so modern that people do not real
ize that it has developed as rapidly as Chi
cago and Minneapolis. 1t is 200 years since
the Turks were driven out of Hungary, af-
ter centuries of occupation, but only since
1856 have national pride and progress been
combined in the development Of the king
dom and its capital.
Growth Since 1870.
Thirty years ago Budapest was a primi-
tive and forlorn settlement of not more
than 100000 people, living in tenements that
were built in the eighteenth century. Now
its people number nearly 60oO0o, and the
town has undergone physical and archi-
tectural Transformation that has never oc-
Cured elsewhere. 1t has developed into
splendidly appointed and symmetrical mod
ern metropolis, and its construction has
been kept so well in hand by the authori-
ties that every feature is harmonious and
every public improvement has been brought
about by the application of the highest de-
gree of artistic taste and scientific prin-
ciples
The River Danube, which here becomes
navigable for large steamers, flows between
two ancient cities. One was called Buda
and the other Pest. Both date back to
prehistoric times, and during the days of
the Roman empire Buda was an outpost of
Importance. The city was built around a
rugged promontory occupied by citadel
rising several hundred feet from the rivers
bank. Upon the site of that citadel has
been erected an enormous palace of marble,
one of the largest buildings in Europe, with
more than 600 rooms, with long series of
state apartments richly decorated and fur
nished, which are never used but once or
twice year when the emperor comes to
Budapest to open parliament, and gives
grand ball, to which invitations are extend
ed with democratic generosity.
The Parliament House.
The parliament house has already cost
SIC, 900, 900, which is equivalent to twice that
amount in our country values go. 1t has
been twenty years in building, and although
it will not be completed for year or two
more it is occupied by the two houses of
parliament for the first time this winter.
The interior is a blaze of splendor. marble
stairways, pillars, ceilings and walls, onyx
pillars, mantels and door frames, bronze
and brass work, that glisten with polish,
moSaicS of gold and colorS and brilliant mu-
raj decorations in Egyptian, Moorish and
Saracenic and modern poster effects-a wild
kaleidoscope of color and gliding which
gratifies the Magyars, a race that retains to
this day the oriental features, passions and
tastes of it's ancestors. Here and there
within the building you will find a group of
Ionic and Corinthian capitals and exquisite
examples of Gothic tracery, both in oak
,pylNla f,, t1,sa1
coting and screens.
The banks of the Danube are walled up
with stone, with two terraces, the lower
one furnishing landing piers for freight and
passengers from the thousands of steamers
that ply the river. The upper terrace is
utilized as a promenade, which is sought
by the people of the city every evening and
during their leisure hours. Cafes, musical
gardens and cosy little groves afford rem
desvous for social parties. and during the
summer season half the population may be
found upon this esplanade. A few miles
down the river is an island, which has
been fitted up as pleasure ground, and is
sought by the common people. There are
wide parks in different directions and the
facilities for amusement are as ample as
they are in Paris.
The street car system of Budapest is con-
sidered the best in the world, and has been
initiated by several American cities, includ-
ing Washington. The underground railway
is also model, and is frequently inspected
by delegations of engineers from different
part of the world. 1t is four miles long
running from the center of business to the
suburbs, where it connects with surface
steam railways The stations are built of
porcelain tiles inside and out, and are very
ornamental and artistic. The cars hold
forty-two people; they run by the electric
third rail system, and the fare is four
cents, the stations being at intervals of a
quarter of a mile.
The sewers, water works. electric light
facilities, the telephone service and other
public conveniences are all of the most ad-
vanced and complete order, and no other
city in Europe or the United States is so
nearly perfect in these respects.