75 Years of Greater Budapest

History / 10 March 2025 /

Probably most tourist know that Budapest is divided by the Danube into the Pest and the Buda side. Fewer people might know that the original creation of the city in 1873 was done by the merger of the cities of Buda, Pest, Óbuda and Margaret Island. But did you know that there was another milestone in the administrative history of the city?

2025 marks the 75th anniversary of the creation of Budapest as we know it today with the annexation of nearby towns and villages. Although the city’s official name remained Budapest, the unification of surrounding towns and districts in 1950 fundamentally reshaped its administrative and urban landscape.

Budapest in the 19th century

The concept of Greater Budapest dates back to the late 19th century. As Budapest rapidly expanded, urban planners and city officials recognized the need to integrate the surrounding settlements into a more cohesive administrative structure. The model for this transformation was likely inspired by the 1892 creation of Greater Vienna, which set a precedent for metropolitan development in Central Europe.

The first documented proposal advocating for the annexation of surrounding areas emerged in 1901 from the administrative committee of Pest-Pilis-Solt-Kiskun County. By 1906, Budapest’s mayor, István Bárczy, officially addressed the need for expansion, building upon an earlier study by urban planner Ferenc Harrer. Their proposal aimed to accommodate the city’s rapid growth and improve urban planning.

The border between Budapest and then-independent Újpest in 1937
Image source: arcanum.com

Throughout the early 20th century, discussions on Greater Budapest’s formation continued. The interwar period saw a gradual extension of Budapest’s influence over its neighboring communities. By the 1930s, urban planners had already envisioned a larger, more integrated Budapest, though political and administrative challenges delayed the process.

According to Act XXVI of 1949 the long-debated expansion finally took effect on January 1, 1950, with the annexation of 7 towns and 16 large villages from surrounding Pest-Pilis-Solt-Kiskun County. This expansion nearly doubled Budapest’s territory and increased its population significantly, making it one of the largest cities in Central Europe at the time. The city's population skyrocketed form around 1 million to 1.6 million.

The newly incorporated cities were: Budafok, Csepel, Kispest, Pestszenterzsébet, Pestszentlőrinc, Rákospalota and Újpest

Former large villages: Albertfalva, Békásmegyer, Budatétény, Cinkota, Mátyásföld, Nagytétény, Pesthidegkút, Pestszentimre, Pestújhely, Rákoscsaba, Rákoshegy, Rákoskeresztúr, Rákosliget, Rákosszentmihály, Sashalom and Soroksár

The formation of Greater Budapest brought about significant urban and infrastructural development. The expansion facilitated better city planning, improved public transportation, allowed for more efficient governance and also played a crucial role in shaping the city's identity as a modern European metropolis. Budapest's population peaked in 1980 at over 2 million.

In the early 50's, a few villages tried to regain their administrative independence citing that they want to maintain their rural character, but none of these secessions were successful.

Land usage map of Budapest from 1960
Image source: hungaricana.hu

Today many sights of Budapest are located in the areas that were annexed in 1950, such as Budapest Liszt Ferenc Airport, the Tropicarium, the Castle Museum of Nagytétény, the northern part of Csepel Island, the water tower of Újpest or the 100 meter tall Megyeri Bridge over the Danube.