1944 26 December - 13 February Soviet and Romanian troops besiege Budapest from 15 to 18 January. The retreating Germans destroy all Danube bridges. On 18 January, the Soviets complete the occupation of Pest. The Buda castle falls on 13 February. World War II took the lives of close to 200,000 Budapest residents and caused widespread damage to nearly all of the buildings in the city. 1956 23 October - 4 November The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 breaks out, ending in the invasion of a large Soviet force. 1960s Wartime damage is largely repaired. Work on the final bridge to be repaired, the Elizabeth Bridge is finished in 1964. 1970–1972 The first phase of the East-Western Metro begins. 1982 The first phase of the North-Southern Metro begins. 1987 Castle Hill and the banks of the Danube are included in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. 1989 19 August. Hundreds of East German citizens escape to West at the western frontier of Hungary with the help of the Hungarian Democratic Forum. 1990 The city is home to 2,016,100 residents. 2002 Andrássy Avenue is added to the list of World heritage Sites, along with the Millennium Underground railway and Heroes' Square. 2006 Hungarian protests. 2006 200 km of the 1000 km road in capital level local government handling is reconstructed after 80 km in the former year. The world's longest trams, Siemens Combino Supras start service on Great Boulevard. By the end of the year, 150 Volvo 7700 buses take part in replacing the aging BKV fleet. Reconstruction of metro line 2 finishes. 2008 The Eastern part of the M0 motorway around the city with Megyeri Bridge is finished and opened to the public. So is the new Northern Railway Bridge. 2008 By this year 400 km road have been reconstructed due to the road reconstruction program paired with pipe (heating and water) replacements to modern, narrow and heat-conserving ones, and where needed sewer system expansion or replacement. 2009 The 2007-2009 complete reconstruction of Liberty Bridge
