Buda

Buda (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈbudɒ], German: Ofen)^[1] is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (Hungarian: Várhegy), which was the capital of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1249 to 1873, when it was administratively unified with Pest and Óbuda.

Royal Buda is called the Várnegyed (lit. 'Castle Quarter') today, while “Buda” is used colloquially to denote Budapest’s I., II., III., XI., XII. and XIII. districts—which includes medieval Óbuda as well. This amounts to a third of the city’s total area. Much of Buda is heavily forested. Landmarks include the Royal Palace, the Citadella, and the residence of the President of Hungary, Sándor Palace.