Kőbánya

Kőbánya (literally: Quarry, German: Steinbruch) is the 10th district of Budapest (Hungarian: Budapest X. kerülete) and one of the largest by territory. It is located in southeast Pest, easily accessible from the downtown by Metro 3, whose terminus is named Kőbánya-Kispest.

It has strong industrial and organized labour traditions and has suffered much setback after the collapse of Socialism in 1989-90. Today, the district is rebuilding itself into a living area for the middle classes. Due to its large size, there are several diverse areas within Kőbánya, each with different architecture.

The Kőbánya area was historically used to mine limestone for buildings in Buda and north-west Hungary. The extensive and often un-plotted tunnel network that was created during the past five centuries is a major source of problems today, causing buildings to sink and roadbeds collapse. There were also clay-mining pits for the brick industry. Most of these holes have been filled with urban garbage during the 20th century, then covered with soil and built upon, which also causes problems today. As an exception, one of the holes became a fishing lake due to collapse.

A third venue of economy in Kőbánya was wine-making, until the vineyards were destroyed by the Phylloxera disease at the end of the 19th century. A building which exemplifies the historical heritage of Kőbánya is the "Csősztorony" (a small vineyard watchtower) in the middle of the Óhegy area. The district recovered when beer-making enterprises moved into the area and the light beer "Kőbányai Világos" became a kind of national drink during the socialist regime.

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Wikipedia