Why You Should Stay Away From 'Dangerous' Budapest

One actress gets in a bar fight in Budapest and all local media channels go wild. But celebrities get their feathers ruffled all the time. It’s inevitable and there are entire You Tube channels dedicated to such incidents. But for some reason the interview of Jennifer Lawrence detailing her kerfuffle at a Budapest bar made headlines. What everybody seemed to miss was not the provocation of the actress dumping beer over a verbally aggressive fan’s head, but that Seth Meyers, the TV host and interviewer, called Budapest a ‘dangerous place.’ It took a moment for that to sink in. What could possibly prompt a person from LA to call Budapest dangerous? We looked into the matter, and found that Meyers has a point. Budapest is a very dangerous city indeed. Let’s look at why:

According to Numero.com, which tracks statistics for the world’s cities, Budapest rates as a ‘low’ in most fields related to crime, from mugging to drug dealing to fear of being harassed on the street. It is fair to say, we rate ‘dangerously’ low in violent crime statistics, with only a handful of shootings reported in the past year, and no international terrorism. With good reason, you will feel safe in Budapest, which may create a dangerous false sense of security.

Dangerous Hungarian street gang via Wikipedia commons

Krav Maga, according to multiple on-line sources, is the world’s most lethal martial art. It happens that it was also invented by a Hungarian. Back in pre-WWII, Pozsony (now Bratislava) resident and judo master Imre Lichtenfeld began to modify judo and boxing to give them a better street application in order to ward off thugs bent on committing violent acts in his Jewish neighborhood. After moving to Israel, he developed what we know as Krav Maga with the Israeli army. The Krav Maga scene is thriving in Budapest, and because it is purely focused self defense, this makes it very dangerous indeed for violent criminals.

Speaking of martial arts, be sure to watch out for throwing stars. They have pointy tips and tend to smart upon contact. Budapest has no shortage of stars, many of them adorning the mantles of its high-end restaurants. Budapest currently has more Michelin stars than any post-bloc country, with four. Such stars make dining out in Budapest a very dangerous prospect indeed, especially if fatally delicious goose liver is on the menu.

via Costes Downtown Facebook page

Finally, nobody pointed out to Miss Lawrence the dangers of spilling Hungarian beer. While not known as a beer country (though the vibrant craft-brew culture is changing that) a recent near page-long New York Times article was dedicated to the dangers of messing with a beloved Hungarian brewery. Csiki sör beer, which is brewed in culturally Hungarian Székely lands in Transylvania, was challenged by beer mega-giant Heineken over the belief the Csiki name was too similar to a Heineken-owned Romanian brand. Csiki fought back in the court of public opinion, and found great popular support for their cause, forcing the beer Goliath to back down.

So, yes, we agree with Mr. Meyers that Budapest is a dangerous town. For sure don’t come to this dangerously safe place, and eat and drink dangerously well. You may be in danger of wanting to stay.

Flatpack Films is based in Budapest, Hungary. We are a film company that offers an inspiring and professional work atmosphere for our local and international clients. Since our inception, our focus has been providing the best of the best in terms of local production resources, locations, cast, and technical teams to ensure that whatever the production we facilitate, we do to highest standard possible.