Most of the sights that make Budapest interesting these days were more or less built in the long peaceful period that streched from 1867 to 1914. You should bear in mind that Hungary, the 1000-year old country was much bigger then, and Budapest was one of the two capitals of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, a major power in Europe of those days. During the short walk we will see representatives of the last part of that period, and we will have a look at about a dozen buildings, mostly designed in Art Nouveau style. The city center is filled with exquisite Art Nouveau structures and interiors, the radical design style that swept across turn-of-century Europe within architecture, applied arts, and fine art. Hungary developed its own cutting-edge take on the movement, known as Hungarian Secession, or in Hungarian: