Frankfurt is at the crossroads of Europe. It is where for a thousand years the major trade routes between Amsterdam-Milan and Paris-Moscow have intersected. Today it is where thousands of people arrive, depart and change flights every day. Trade, transport and finance have been the lifeblood of Frankfurt. But it has also been the home of an amazing series of people who have made their mark in Frankfurt, in Germany and if not the whole world. They include Johann Wolfgang von Goethe the Shakespeare of German culture, Sibylla Merian the pioneer of botanical art, Alois Alzheimer who gave his name to the degenerative illness, Käthe Paulus who invented the modern parachute and the philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer. The most famous citizen of Frankfurt has been the banker Mayer Amschel Rothschild, whose rags to riches story is one of the most astounding in all human history. Hajdu interweaves the life and work of these people with the history and present features of Frankfurt. The result is a rich tapestry of a fascinating and very colourful city.
Budapest is famous for the beauty of its setting on the Danube River. This beauty has been heightened by the architectural splendour of its key buildings, built in pivotal locations next to the river. The Danube and its surrounds have also been crucial in the history of Budapest.
Castle Hill in Buda has been the seat of Hungarian royal power since the beginning of the 13th century. The symbols of this era are still visible today. Periods of foreign conquest—first under the Ottoman Turks in the 16th century, then two and a half centuries of Habsburg rule from Vienna—have also left their mark on the city.
The Golden Age of Budapest was the decades before 1914. The city experienced a veritable boom, and even today, Pest is filled with grand, lavishly decorated buildings that attest to the prosperity of this era.
The 20th century brought two world wars, economic collapse, social upheaval and, between 1948 and 1989, Communist rule to Budapest. The lives of key politicians and the fates of individual people are described to show the impact of this tumultuous century.
Finally, Budapest today: the city as seen by the large stream of visitors, the city of light and shade, the city of music, thermal baths, good food, entertainment and conviviality. It is all there for the reader of this book.
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