The river Danube ( Duna) runs through the middle of Budapest, a metropolis of 1.7 million inhabitants, dividing the old royal town Buda , Old Buda ( Ó-Buda) and the flat Pest plain.
The area was inhabited 50,000 years ago, but took on today's name just 130 years ago: until 1873, Óbuda, Buda and Pest were considered separate settlements.

ROMAN PERIOD
The earliest traces of Jewish communities in Hungary dates back to the 3th century.
This time the line of the river Duna (Fluvius Danubius or Ister) and the western part of the today county under the name Province Pannonia had been controlled by the Roman Empire. Beside of the Roman military contingent some Jewish military legion soldiers and food supply commercials had been appeared in Aquincum / today Óbuda.
 The earliest gravestone was designed for a roman family withhe death boy.
 
The stala was bought from an other Jewish family, engraving the family name Béneiamin and the    design of thee Menorah on it.
You can find these early Jewish stones (designed with Menorahs, other symbols, like lulag, etrog, sofar and a nice writing: Heisz Theosz... The only one God) in the historic collection of the Hungarian National Museum ( Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum) BP. VIII.Múzeum krt. 14/15 open from 10 a.m- to 6 p.m every day, except Mondays). The copy is exhibited in the Hungarian Jewish Museum ( Dohány str. Sinagogue II. floor). The stone was bought by a Hungarian noble family, gr. Szapáry in 1830/40 and added to their Alber-Irsa castle collection. The Jewish signs were discovered only in 1878.

HUNGARIAN FEUDAL KINGDOM
After an unexpected, devastating Mongolian attack in the middle of the 13th century, the first citizens of the formal royal seat town Esztergom, moved up the hill the western part of the river Duna. Later the Royal Court was established on the north part of the hill, and with this began the quite lengthy golden age of the new fortified city Castrum Budeaensi , of the town Buda.
We can detect the first signs of Jewish settlements in this area from the11th century.
Jews were granted rights to liberty and freedom of worship by Béla IV after The Tatar invan named in Latin language servus camerae from 1220.
The medieval Mint stood near Szt. György Square in The Buda Castle and The first Jewish quarter was formed here on the so called Platea Judeorum or Old Jewish Quarter.
The communitysion. They were renowned for being the treasurers and chamberlains of the royal administratio built up the first Jewish Cemetery outside the city walls, at the Ördögárok area, as Sepoltura Judeorum.  The earliest grave stone is dating back to 5038 ( 1278 ) with the name: R(av) Peszah b(en) r(av) Peter. It was brought to light in 1894 from the today Alagut utca and Pauler utca corner ( Buda, I. district).
The Jewish were several time expulsed out from Buda, in 1348, 1360. They could return beck in 1364, but their quarter was already occupied from other citizens, so they could get a new area in the North of the Castle Hill, near to the former Magna Curia Regis (Kammerhof), today the area of the Bécsi kapu tér ( Vienna Gate square). They started the new life with privileges of Jewish authorities, like index Judeorum titus Regui, court of justice and Praefectus.

Buda was overruled by the Ottoman Turks and the city Buda was turned into a Turkish town. From 1541 the Jewish could return to their town and under the name Jahudiler Mahalleszi the Jewish quarter started to return into the normal commercial and religious life. In the 16 th century more than 60 families used to live in a peaceful period with the free independent organisation of the Jewish court (kethüda in Turkish). The community had been used a New Buda Cemetery at the +Viziváros ( Watertown), today at the BP. I.  Hunfalvy and Batthány utca. The former Jewish cemetery could not be used, because of the mixed entombed Hungarian, Turkish and Jews died in the war of the Turkish occupation.
In the 1686 recaptured war, the Jewish and Ottoman enemies were killed or taken in hostage ( 274 Jewish person, paid and freed from the Prague Jewish community). This is registered in the Megillah Oven. The died Jewish bones were gathered and entombed in the BP. X. Kozma utca Jewish Cemetery at the Martyr Plot in 1968 on the Pest side.

At the former prefects house Mendel, we can find the Small Synagogue ( today Middle-aged Jewish Synagogue Museum, +Középkori Zsidó Zsinagóga Múzeum BP. I. Táncsics Mihály u. 26). On the left , inside the entrance there is a small lapidarium exhibition of the Jewish gravestones of the First and New Buda Cemeteries.When Buda was recaptured from the Turks in 1686, the Jews were  expelled.

    Old gravestone at the entrance of  Középkori Zsinagóga Múzeum.

Ó-BUDA (Old Buda) near today's Árpád bridge ( Buda North ). By Jews called Ofen Jasan
For the forbidden to establish Jews in the royal free towns, at the countryside, like near to the Buda Royal city gates, the landlord noble Zichy family could settle down the good tax playing and working Jews, arriving mostly from the Czech Moravian country.
In the 18th century they helped to create a flourishing industrial city in Ancient Buda (Óbuda) and near today's Árpád bridge with famous dyeing workshops and a textile factory established by the reputed Goldberger family.
The late 18th century witnessed the birth of new Jewish communities in Pest and the then largest synagogue in the world was constructed between 1854 and 1859 on what is(Óbuda) and near today's Árpád bridge with famous dyeing workshops and a textile factory established by the reputed Goldberger family.
From the 18th centuries Old Buda become a Jewish centre under the name Ofen Jasan/ Alt Ovn. In 1822, the inhabitants of Old Buda totally 7356 persons, 3210 were of the Jewish community. Shops, small industrial and craftsman workshops characterized the today III: Lajos utca area. Famous dyeing workshops and a textile factory established by the reputed
Goldberger family ( III. Lajos u. 138). The Goldberger Textile Factory imported their products, blue painted textile in 50 other states and gave work for 450 people. Leo Goldberger, already member of the High Court in the Hungarian Parliament, died in the death camp in Mauthausen.

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