Before Budapest, there was Aquincum – a major Roman city with baths, temples and a huge amphitheatre, around much of which you can now walk.
The Roman ruins of Aquincum mark the first – and oldest – of the three cities that eventually came together as Budapest. Many of its most important buildings have been carefully uncovered, and restored. Now you can wander around them, in this, one of the Roman Empire's most far-flung cities.Aquincum lay on the western bank of the Danube – in what is now Óbuda – and eventually housed 40,000 people. But it all started with a garrison on the River Danube, in 41 AD, when Roman cavalrymen were sent to control this restive province of the Roman Empire. The River Danube was then a major defence against the war-mongering tribes of the west.By AD 89, a Roman legion of six thousand men had built a major fort here, and the town grew up outside it. Pannonia, as this part of Hungary was called, grew increasingly wealthy, and many large public buildings were built.The ruins of Aquincum are found in two main areas in Óbuda. The northern section, around Pók Street, is the best preserved. Here you will find a small civilian amphitheatre and major sections of the city – with its cobbled streets, mosaic-tiled houses and temples – completely uncovered. It's also where the Aquincum Museum is located, featuring reconstructions of Roman technology, including hot-air heating systems and a water-organ. Or, head to the spa at Thermae Maiores to see how the Romans used to relax after a long day’s work.The most impressive monument is in the military encampment to the south, just off Nagyszombat Street, where the garrison had their own amphitheatre – one of the biggest in the Empire.
