Budapest

Budapest (Hungarian IPA: ) is the capital city of Hungary and the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial and transportation centre. The official language spoken is Hungarian. Budapest had 1,697,343 inhabitants in 2005 (with official agglomeration 2,421,831citation needed]), down from a mid-1980s peak of 2.1 million. Budapest became a single city occupying both banks of the river Danube with the amalgamation on 17 November 1873 of right-bank (west) Buda (Ofen in German) and Óbuda (Old Buda or Alt-Ofen) together with Pest on the left (east) bank.