There are 20 million year old cave systems that 2 million people live above and most do not know it's secrets. Though the ancients knew of caves, two of these systems were just rediscovered in more recent times, such as the world's oldest limestone cave system below the Castle Hill district, which was rediscovered in 1818 or the caves beneath the Buda side of Buda Pest (the hilly part) that were rediscovered in 1873. In the early 1900's the Palvolgy Matyashegy cave system was found. Today there are 170 known caves, one up to 12 miles long, another up to 300 feet beneath the city.
Millions of years ago the entire country of Hungary and then some was under Lake Pannon. As the waters receded the caves were formed. Budapest and the hilly areas first appeared as islands.
We can go back to the time of the 13th century when the Mongols were riding over the country, and then the occupation by the Turks. Today most of the houses on Castle Hill have four sub cellars from the crude cave-like ones, to ones where they hid things from the Turks, to more recently built, and all these caves and cellars must be supporting the weight above them.
Over time 800 year old Matthias Church had to be retrofitted. The caves below show pillars built of stone used to reinforce but it wasn't the weight of the Church or buildings in general, it was the 10 ton double decker tour buses that sent vibrations below. The buses caused so much expensive damage that they are no longer allowed on Castle Hill.
Saint Ivan once healed people in a cave below Budapest. That cave is believed to be below the famous Gellert Baths!
Saint Istvan (Stephen's) church is also below ground in a cave. There are over 118 natural hot springs in Budapest. In 89 AD when the Roman's occupied they called the city "Good Water." So besides saints healing and Roman's bathing, citizens hiding their possessions from raiders and tax collectors, and so on, what else could be down there?!
Think World War II and then the Russian invasion! Think about an underground hospital that follows the natural path of a cave system that goes on for a mile! It was considered bomb proof but when the Russians came the 600 people who were down there were massacred. In the 1960's fall out shelters with ventilators were installed and the machinery still works!
So I don't want to ruin all the surprises in wait for you when you watch this film!
At the time that I watched this film, I also watched one about Paris and Paris has at least 3 million skeletons beneath it. I bring this up because oddly, it does not seem that the cave system in Budapest has been used for mass burials.
C 2013 Magyar- American BlogSpot Film Review
