"Budapest was living its golden age at the turn of the 20 century. As a result of the Great Compromise of 1867 between Austria and Hungary, the Kingdom of Hungary and its capital city experienced a period of dynamic growth spurred by developments in industry, commerce and agriculture. The population of Budapest tripled to almost 900.000 residents in less than 40 years and by 1910 the city was attracting settlers from every section of the monarchy and beyond. A significant number of the architects presented in this book were second or third generation emigrants, many of whom had „Hungarianised” their names, spoke the language fluently and evidently considered themselves Hungarian."