• The closest relative of the Hungarian language is Finnish.
• When completed in 1904 the Parliament building, inspired by the Houses of Parliament in London, was the largest such building in the world. It is 268m long, 90m high, contains 691 rooms and is adorned with 88 statues.
• Budapest was once three separate cities: Buda, Óbuda and Pest. Today's city was only formed in 1873 when the two were joined together.
• The city is divided in two by the River Danube. At 2,800km, the Danube is the second longest river in Europe, after the Volga, and the only major river to flow from west to east. Its source is in Germany's Black Forest, its mouth on the Black Sea. It passes through four capital cities: Vienna (Austria), Budapest (Hungary), Bratislava (Slovakia) and Belgrade (Serbia).
• The Chain Bridge, which opened in 1849, was the city's first permanent river crossing. It was designed by Englishman William Tierney Clark and was based upon his own earlier design for London's Hammersmith Bridge.

• Budapest is the capital of Hungary, which is bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, Croatia and Slovenia.
• Hungary joined the European Union on 1 May 2004.
• The official currency is the Hungarian forint (HUF).
• One in five Hungarians live in Budapest, which has a population of almost 2 million.
• Budapest has three metro lines, with a fourth under construction. The Yellow Line is the oldest in continental Europe

Tata is a town in the Komárom-Esztergom County (the 'Komárom comitat' by its historic name). It is situated in a picturesque valley at the foot of the Gerecse Hills half the way from Budapest to Gyor, in an hour's drive or as long a railway trip from any of the two cities.
The surroundings of Tata offer excellent possibilites for hiking, but the town itself is no less attractive for a sightseeing tour. Its two lakes, numerous parks and gardens, flour mills, churches, museums, palaces and the castle, of course, are full of fascination waiting to be discovered.
Over the centuries, scientists have studied and explained the meaning of word 'Tata' in many different ways. A legend passing on from generation to generation says Saint Steven, the first Hungarian king, called his godfather Deodatus by the name of 'tata' meaning 'Papa', and so the town has reserved this amiable nickname (recorded also in the Chronicles).
According to some historians, 'Tata', can be attributed to the name of the founder of the local Benedictine Abbey, while others consider the word first appeared as Tota or Thota. Sigismund von Luxemburg, the King of Hungary and Kaiser of the German - Roman Empire, used to come here not only to enjoy the pleasures of hunting in the neighbouring woods, but also to negotiate matters of importance and meet ambassadors of European powers. Tata reached its prime during the rule of King Matthias. The surrounding lakes ample with fish, the woods full of game and the beauty of the castle reconstructed into a palace all made the settlement a genuine Renaissance leisure spot. During the Turkish invasion the settlement was ruined and the entire area became deserted.
In 1727 the family of Count Eszterházy got hold of this land. They chose Tata as the centre of their domain. For Tata and its vicinity this meant the onset of the second Golden Age. Creations by resident of Tata, prominent architect Jakab Fellner and his comrades contributed to the state-of-the-art baroque atmosphere that became the unique buildings can be seen yet; they make the dominating character and the visual image of Tata. The Tata in its modern state came to being in 1938 after it was merged with its nearest suburb Tóváros (Laketown).