Radó Dezső: Parks and Forests - Our Budapest (Budapest, 1992)
The city park (városliget) International experts consider the City Park as the world’s first public garden. Not so long ago it was on the outskirts of the city, which now entirely surrounds it. It is justly called the busiest and most popular park of Budapest. The park occupies an area of one square kilometre, or 100 hectares. Various institutions cover 19 hectares, so the park itself is 81 hectares in area. There is a lake with a surface of nearly 6 hectares as well as numerous playgrounds and game fields. There are 6,907 trees. According to historical sources, the site of the park used to be a swampy area. In 1241, during the mongol invasion, Batu Khan’s army pretended to withdraw in order to entice the Hungarians to here. The encircled Hungarians were shot at with arrows. A charter dating from 1259 records that King Béla IV granted this property - then named “ukur” (ox) land - together with Sinkota (today Cinkota in the east of Budapest) to the Dominican monastery of Rabbits’ Island. At that time the land was used for grazing, hence it took the ox’s name. It was recorded that in the 13th and 14th centuries the Diet assembled on this site The romantic City Park 11
