Not until as late as 1873, when the two districts of Buda and Pest were amalgamated, did the capital city of Budapest come into existence. But a lot of the Danube had flowed under its bridges by that time. The first major settlement here was Aquincum, a garrison town built by the Romans. Remains of their aqueduct and amphitheatres can be seen just north of Óbuda. Buda itself, universally proclaimed as the centre of Renaissance learning during the 16th century, fell into terminal decline during the 150 years of Turkish occupation. The legacy of the Turks was their thermal baths, most of which still function today and are an unmissable treat. Pest, however, really didn't come into prominence until the 19th century when it became the focus of the city's cultural and commercial renewal under the Austrian Hapsburgs. Such was their passion for investment in the arts, shared by the Hungarians, that Budapest, almost overnight, became one of the major cultural cities in Europe, offering the visitor today an almost limitless choice of cultural venues.