Hungary (Magyarország) is a country in Central Europe. Member of the European Union since 1 May 2004. The country offers many diverse destinations: relatively low mountains in the north-west, the Great Plain in the east, lakes and rivers of all sorts (including Balaton - the largest lake in mainland Europe), and many beautiful small villages and hidden gems of cities. Top this off with Hungary's great accessibility in the middle of Europe, a vivid culture and economy, and you get a destination absolutely not worth missing if you're in the region.
Cities
Smaller towns
Other destinations
Understand
The country is not very different from most other European countries: you can expect to find safe food and water, good safety and generally political stability.
Hungary doesn't attract terrorists and keeps drug and crime levels moderate.
Hungary has been ethnically diverse since its inception, and while over 90% of the population are ethnically Hungarian, pockets of ethnic and cultural Slovaks, Romanians, Germans and others dot the country. Due to the frequent border shifts in Eastern European history, over 2 million ethnic and cultural Hungarians live in bordering countries, as well.
Get in
Hungary is now a part of the European Union, which means that entering from other member countries (Austria, Slovakia, Slovenia) has become easier, while a rather more thorough check awaits those entering from elsewhere (Ukraine, Romania, Serbia). Citizens of Croatia can enter the country by showing their idenitity card. Citizens of the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, are free to enter without a visa. The usual length of stay is 90 days without any additional permit.
By plane
Hungary's international airports are Budapest Ferihegy Airport in Budapest, Airport Debrecen in Debrecen and FlyBalaton Airport in Sármellék. The Hungarian national carrier is Malév (Hungarian Airlines). There are also several low cost carriers operating to Budapest: for example SkyEurope, Wizzair, Easyjet, Germanwings.
By train
:See also: Get Around:By train
There are direct connections to Hungary from:
You can search for international train connections at official schedule site of MÁV, national train company.
By car
When driving into Hungary, ensure that the border crossing on the route you choose allows the passage of foreigners. Also some smaller crossings close in the afternoon for the night.
By bus
Several international bus lines go in or through Hungary. You can find timetables and book tickets on the homepage of Volánbusz, which is the national bus company and also the local Eurolines representation.
On the southern border with Serbia you shouldn't be surprised when there in the bus a collection is being held for a donation to the border-guards, to let the bus pass faster.
By ship
It is possible to enter Hungary by international shipping lines on Danube (Duna) or Tisza rivers.
There is a scheduled hydrofoil service on the Danube to and from Vienna and Bratislava daily between early April and early November operated by Mahart.
Get around
By plane
Hungary presently has no regular domestic flights. As Budapest lies in the center of the country and pretty much any point can be reached within three hours by train or bus, there isn't much need for scheduled domestic flights.
However there are many opportunities for people with a valid pilot's license to rent a plane and explore by air.
By train
The Hungarian national train company is MÁV and GYSEV (some lines in the west of the country). MÁV has online schedule and pricing site with online booking system coming soon.
The train network is star-shaped, fanning out from the centre at Budapest. This is caused by history because half of the once complete train system went to the neighbor countries after World War I. If none of the start or endpoint is Budapest, expect to travel for a long time often with change in Budapest.
Intercity (IC) trains are the fastest, and they're up-to-date, well maintained and cleaned. They link the major cities with Budapest. For these trains usually you pay 550 Forints (= 2 EUR) extra fee independently from the distance which includes a seat reservation (not in international ICs, ECs). In some cases the extra charge can be lower. Compared to the majority of Western European ticket prices, Hungary's IC trains are amongst the cheapest with an excellent record of speed and comfort. In almost all cases they also have a restaurant car. At the weekends many students use these IC trains to commute between Budapest and other cities, so an early advance booking is recommended on Friday afternoons for the trains leaving Budapest and on Sunday evenings for trains towards Budapest. Working with a notebook is generally safe, unless it's heavy overcrowded.
Other train lines usually are not that fast, and not always cleaned up to the high standards (even in the 1st class), and often vandalised (mostly in Budapest region) however quality standards are considerably raising. During summer period trains linking Balaton to Budapest are sometimes overcrowded. Pricing depends only on the distance and on the car class. Cash desks assume 2nd class by default for non-IC trains (at least in Budapest for English speakers), so if you didn't catch your IC, consider asking 1st class, paying small extra for much more comfort. When in the train, keep in mind that there are smoking and non-smoking cars--check a sign over a door inside a car.
Young people (under 26 years) may travel with 33% reduction at the weekends (Friday afternoon included). Children (under 6 years) and retired (citizens from EU countries over 65 years) can travel free except on InterCity trains where the extra fee (reservation) must be paid.
It is possible to buy Inter Rail pass for Hungary. Check whether buying tickets for each journey is cheaper.
By bus
Bus lines often are more complete than train lines, the prices and the speed is quite similar. Buses are normally clean.
There are several companies that provide coach services. Most of them belong to the Volán conglomerate . You can search for connections at http://www.menetrendek.hu/cgi-bin/menetrend/html.cgi (Hungarian only).
By boat
These are not used very often (since Hungary has limited amount of waterways). Although from April to October there is a good hydrofoil boat connection between Vienna and Budapest.
There are some ferries on Danube and Tisza but their undetermined working hours make them non-recommended. You can trust the ferry on Lake Balaton, though, for a modest price.
By car
Roads of Hungary are mostly in good shape, but in big cities, and especially in Budapest, prepare for the opposite: cracks and potholes in the street surfaces are common, though they are constantly being repaired. Usually you can travel by using a map and the road signs.
Highways are not free, but there are no other toll roads or tunnels.
Don't count on Western European travel times though: if you travel by normal roads the speed limit is 90 km/h between cities and 50 km/h inside, which slows you to the average around 60km/h. Roads often have high traffic (especially main roads like #8 to the west, #6 to the south and #4 to the east).
When you cross the country from the west to the east (or vice versa), take into account that there are only a few bridges crossing the Danube outside Budapest. There are some ferries available though.
It is a legal requirement to drive with headlights on, even during the day -- a requirement that is becoming more common across the EU.
Highways
There is a fast growing highway network in Hungary. Each highway starts at Budapest.
Planned:
A single vignette is required to use all highways, except for M0 and short sections around major cities, which are free. Vignettes can be purchased online with bankcard on http://www.ppo.hu, at filling stations and at ÁAK (State Motorway Management Co.) offices. A 4-day vignette for a passenger car costs HUF 1520 (~EUR 6) during summertime. Vignettes are controlled automatically through a camera system. See http://www.motorway.hu/ or http://www.nart.hu/ for details.
By taxi
Inspect the change that taxi drivers give you. Cabbies commonly rip off tourists by giving them change in outdated Romanian currency, which looks similar to Hungarian currency, but is worthless and cannot be redeemed.
: See also: Budapest#By taxi.
Talk
: See also: Hungarian phrasebook
Hungarians speak Hungarian (Magyar), a language remotely related to Finnish and Estonian and not at all related to any of its neighbors, much less English. It may sound somewhat similar to Russian or other Slavic languages, but there's not any relation with them at all. Pointing out the seeming similarity may upset or even anger locals.
English-speakers tend to find most everything about the language tough going, including a number of unusual sounds like gy and ű, as well as agglutinative grammar that leads to fearsome-looking words like hozzáadottérték-adó (value-added tax) and viszontlátásra (goodbye). On the upside, it's written with the friendly Roman alphabet (if adorned with lots of accents), and - unlike English - it has a phonemic orthography. This means that if you learn how to prononunce the 44 letters of the alphabet, you'll be able to pronounce almost every Hungarian word with near perfection, even if you don't understand a word of it. Attempting anything beyond the very basics will gain you a great deal of respect.
Among foreign languages, German is most popular, widely understood and can be spoken by locals--and is used on public signs and schemes, in restaurant menus. English is just next to German in chances to be understood and spoken. In Budapest, the basics of Russian are understood by elders, and by staff in the Budapest venues popular among Russians (airports, duty free shops, top hotels, famous restaurants, famous thermal baths)--but the language is poorly spoken. English is spoken by many younger people, but don't expect the average Hungarian to speak much English, especially not if you travel outside of the capital city.
See
Hungary Guide
Hungary has several World Heritage sites. These are:
Other major tourist destination is Lake Balaton, with winehills, thermal spa in Hévíz around.
There are also some amazing things to see.
Do
:See also: New Year holidays in Hungary.
Baths
See Budapest#Baths, Nyíregyháza#Do for details.
Buy
Money
The unit of Hungarian currency is known as the forint (HUF). The Hungarian "cent" (fillér) is long since obsolete. Bills come in 20000, 10000, 5000, 2000, 1000, 500 and 200 HUF denominations, coins are 100 (two colored, similar to €2), 50, 20, 10, 5, 2, 1 HUF.
Euro is now accepted at most hotels and some of the restaurants and shops. Make sure you check the exchange rate though, sometimes even well known places (like McDonald's) will exchange at unrealistic rates. Forint is scheduled to disappear around 2010-2012, but no date is fixed yet.
You can use major credit cards (EuroCard, Visa) in major shops and larger restaurants, but never expect that without checking first. Small places cannot afford to handle cards. ATMs are available even in small cities, the coverage is good.
Money Exchange
There are 198.88 forints to the USD and 256.64 forints to the EUR (28 January 2007).
Exchange rates for EUR and USD are roughly the same within downtown (at least in Budapest and Eger). Rates may be much worse in airports and large train stations - so change exactly what you need to reach downtown. Official exchange offices always give a receipt and normally have a large glass between client and a cashier making all steps transparent for client.
Travellers report that unofficial money changers operating nearby an official money changing booth offer unfavourable rates--and recommend to use official exchange offices.
If you arrive to Budapest at late nights it is quite likely you won't be able to find any working bank or exchange office. In this case you may attempt to exchange your money with any random taxi driver. They will rip you off by 100-200 forints (around 1 EUR), but it's better than nothing. There is an ATM in the arrival hall at Budapest Ferihegy, and the rates for using ATMs with a card are often better than the bureau de change
Adventurous locals in Budapest report they change EUR unofficially with arabs on a train station, but they don't recommend it to unaccompanied travellers.
What to buy?
Apart from classical tourist souvenirs like postcards and trinkets, here are some things unique to Hungary or just hard to find elsewhere.
Eat
Main courses in menu are normally 2500..3000HUF in touristy places in Budapest, 1500..1800HUF outside it, in towns like Eger and Szentendre (Jan 2007).
A lunch in Budapest is from 1000 to 8000 HUF per person, and half or third of that outside Budapest (Chinese fast food menu is around 500 HUF).
In restaurants, a service charge is frequently included into bill, 10% or even 12%, but this has to be clearly pointed out on the menu. If it'n not, the place has no right to include a service charge in the bill.
Even if there's no service charge, unless the service was preposterous most Hungarians tend to leave a generous tip (10% minimum). Unlike in most western countries, tip is usually not left on the table, but rather the amount is specified to the waiting staff when you pay.
There were some places (mainly in downtown Pest) that tried to rip off drunk tourists at night by charging ridiculously high prices for drinks. Most of these places are closed now, but it's still a good idea to always check the prices on the menu before ordering.
In major cities and next to the highways you can find restaurants of the major international chains such as KFC, McDonald's, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Subway and TGI Friday's.
Cuisine
Hungarians are quite proud of their cuisine (Magyar konyha), and most of the time not without a reason. Food are usually spicy (but not hot by general standards), and it's tasty rather than healthy — many dishes are prepared with lard or deep-fried. The national spice is paprika, made from ground sweet bell peppers and which actually has some flavor when fresh. The national dish is, of course, goulash, but Hungarians call the thick paprika-laden stew known as goulash elsewhere by the term pörkölt and reserve the term gulyás for a lighter paprika-flavored soup.
Less well known in the rest of the world are paprikás csirke, chicken in paprika sauce, and halászlé, paprika fish soup often made from carp.
Goose is also quite popular in Hungary. While tourists gorge on goose liver (libamáj), still cheap by Western standards, probably the most common dish is sült libacomb, roast goose leg. Stuffed (töltött) vegetables of all kinds are also popular, and Hungarian pancakes (palacsinta), both savoury and sweet, are a treat. Common snacks include kolbász, a Hungarianized version of the Polish kielbasa sausage, and lángos, deep-fried dough with a variety of toppings.
A Hungarian meal is almost always — even at breakfast — accompanied by Hungarian pickles called savanyúság, literally "sourness". These are often dubbed saláta on menus, so order a vitamin saláta if you want fresh veggies. Starch is most often served as potatoes, rice or dumplings (galuska' or nokedli), the primary Hungarian contribution in this field is an unusual type of small couscous-like pasta called tarhonya.
Vegetarian food
Vegetarians will have a tough time in Hungary and strict vegans will starve to death.
Budapest is not a problem, as there is a wide variety of restaurants to choose from, but in an ordinary Hungarian restaurant the non-meat mains on the menu are pretty much limited to rántott sajt (fried cheese) and gombafejek rántva (fried mushrooms).
However, in recent years, Italian food has become a lot more popular, so as long as you don't mind a pasta heavy diet as a vegetarian you will find a wider choice.
If one self-caters from supermarkets or local shops and markets, however, the selection of fruits and vegetables is quite good, especially in summer.
Drink
Wine
Hungary has several famous vine regions, most known are Villány, Eger, Badacsony, Tokaj, Szekszárd. Prices are reasonable.
If new to Hungarian wine, be aware that both champagne ("pezsgő") and wine, red or white, are quite likely to be sweet ("Édes"). If dry wine is your preference, look for the word "Száraz" on the label.
Liquor
In Hungarian, pálinka denotes strong brandy-like liquor distilled from fruit. Pálinka is a very social drink: just as the English drink tea, the Hungarians, especially in rural areas, will offer pálinka to guests upon arrival. The best-known varieties are barackpálinka, made from apricots, körtepálinka from pears, and szilvapálinka made from plums. Factory-made pálinka is widely available, but keep an eye out for homemade házipálinka. Pálinkas usually contain around or above 40% of alcohol, often more for the homemade ones. Pálinka bottles marked mézes will be heavily sweetened with honey.
Unicum is a strong digestif made from a secret mix of over 40 herbs. It comes in striking black bottles emblazoned with a red and white cross, and has a very strong and unusual taste. Unicum Next has a lighter, citrusy flavor, and is rather more palatable.
Beer
Hungarian beer is quite average compared to other Central European countries like Germany and the Czech Republic as it has long been a wine culture. The most common beers are Dreher, Borsodi, Soproni Ászok and Arany Ászok, available in the styles világos (lager) and barna (brown). They cost about 150-200 Forints at a store and 300-500 at a bar.
Imported beers like Pilsner Urquell, Staropramen and Budweiser (the Czech variety) are widely available in bars and markets for not much more than the ubiquitous Hungarian brands.
Coffee
Cafe culture is alive and well in Hungary, although it may never recover the romance of its turn-of-the-century intellectual heyday. Unless asked, it's a good idea to specify what kind of coffee you prefer. The word kávé means the strong, espresso like coffee to most Hungarians, although American-style coffee (known as hosszú kávé in Hungarian, usually translated as "long coffee") is now also available at most places.
Tea
Hungarians usually do not drink much tea and most of them use tea bags for making it. They will probably drink it with sugar and lemon juice. In restaurants and cafes, lemon juice is frequently served in a small bottle.
The situation is getting better and there are already several tea houses, mainly in Budapest and some bigger cities where people can buy several types of loose tea. As it is quite fashionable to spend time in a tea house, more and more people will be able to serve good tea even at home. The best teas to go for are the herbal and fruit varieties.
In a restaurant, cafe or confectionery however, good teas are hard to find; even in in Budapest Newby looks the best you can have.
When you ask for a black tea in a budget cafe, frequently Earl Grey is served instead--remember to specify if that does matter for you.
Mineral water
Widely available:
Most mineralized (and hard to find, judging by Budapest):
It should be noted though that as it is the case of most European countries, in Hungary, it is possible to drink tap water.
Sleep
Hostels
Prices vary greatly. For the cheapest room in a youth hostel in Budapest expect to pay between €10 and €12, but the normal rate in a hostel is €20-22 per person.
Farmhouses
Village Tourism is quite popular in Hungary, and can be a remarkable experience. Start your research with National Federation of Rural and Agrotourism and Centre of Rural Tourism .
Learn
Hungarian universities are open to all foreign students. Many European exchange students come through the EU's Erasmus program. There are quite a lot students from Asia and the Middle East as well, particularly because despite the high standard of education, fees are still considerably lower than in the more developed Western European countries. Interested should visit Study in Hungary website.
Work
It would be very inadvisable for an individual to seek (legal) employment in Hungary because of the complexity, cost and time involved. Most foreign workers in Hungary have received their visas and other necessary documents through the company they are employed by. It is hoped, however, that since the joining of Hungary to the EU a reduction will follow in the amount of red tape involved.
Many students (usually on a gap year) work as second language teachers at one of Budapest's many language schools. Be advised that a qualification is required (ESL/TEFL/TESOL)and that experience is preferred.
An excellent option is to teach through the Central European Teaching Program . For a reasonable placement fee they will take care of all your paperwork and set you up in a school in Hungary teaching English. Contracts are for one semester or a whole school year.
See also Work section in Budapest article.
Stay Safe
Watch your baggage and pockets, especially when you are traveling by public transports. In large cities (especially Budapest) avoid walking in the night outside main, well-lit roads. There is the danger of pickpockets, and some even slash bags on crowded buses and trains.
Stay healthy
Food and water is almost always safe.
Private health care providers are good quality but limited in scope. Dentistry is cheaper here than in Western Europe (8-10000 HUF for an appointment and x-ray), and physiotherapy also (3000HUF for a half hour treatment), but check the price with the provider before you confirm the appointment. Outside Budapest you will need to speak Hungarian to communicate your needs clearly as fewer doctors will have good English or German.
Public health care is free for qualifying (insured) people but cheap in quality, inefficient and often corrupt.
The country joined the EU, so basic coverage is present for EU citizens, but check before entering the country how far are you insured and what you have to pay for. Do not expect that the local doctor knows the EU rules, prepare to provide info.
The European Health Insurance Card is required from EU citizens applying for free treatment under this regulation. European health card for 1 June 2004
Pharmacies are everywhere, you may expect high prices (compared to local incomes) but good pharmaceutical coverage. The only problem might be communicating with the pharmacist as most of them speak only Hungarian outside the downtown of Budapest. Even some rusty Latin might come handy quite unexpectedly. For travellers from Eastern Europe, note that due to limited or abandoned trade of Hungary with Romania (as of Dec 2006), some of familiar medications are unavailable--so be prepared to find a substitute in advance.
Respect
Uncommon customs
Hungary (Magyarország; ; ), officially in English the Republic of Hungary (Magyar Köztársaság , literally Magyar (Hungarian) Republic), is a landlocked country in Central Europe, (in the Carpathian Basin) bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. Its capital is Budapest.
Hungary has been a member state of the European Union since May 1 2004.
History
In the time of the Roman Empire, the region west of the Danube river was known as Pannonia. After the Western Roman Empire collapsed under the stress of the migration of Germanic tribes and Carpian pressure, the Migration Period continued bringing many invaders to Europe. Among the first to arrive were the Huns, who built up a powerful empire under Attila. It is presently believed that the origin of the name "Hungary" does not come from the Central Asian nomadic invaders called the Huns, but rather originated from a later, seventh century Bulgar alliance called On-Ogour, which in Old Turkish meant "(the) Ten Arrows".
After Hunnish rule faded, the Ostrogoths then the Lombards ruled in Pannonia, and the Gepids ruled in the eastern part of the Carpathian Basin for about 100 years, during which the Slavic tribes began migrating into the region. In the 560s, the Slavs were supplanted by the Avars, who maintained their supremacy of the land for more than two centuries. The Franks under Charlemagne from the west and the Bulgars from the southeast managed to overthrow the Avars in the early ninth century. However, the Franks soon retreated, and the Slavonic kingdom of Great Moravia and the Balaton Principality assumed control of much of Pannonia until the end of the century. The Magyars migrated to Hungary in the late ninth century.
Medieval Hungary (896 – 1526)
Magyar tradition holds that the Country of the Magyars (Magyarország) was founded by Árpád, who led the Magyars into the Pannonian plain in approximately 896 AD, and - according to the legend - was a distant relative to Attila. The "Ten Arrows" mentioned above referred to ten tribes, the alliance of which was the foundation of the army of the invading Magyars.
The Kingdom of Hungary was established in 1000 by King Saint Stephen. Originally named Vajk, Stephen was a direct descendant of Árpád, and was baptised as a child. He married Giselle of Bavaria, the daughter of Henry II, Duke of Bavaria in 996, and after the death of his father Prince Géza in 997, he assumed the mantle of ruler and became the first Christian king of Hungary.
St. Stephen I received his crown and the double cross from Pope Silvester II in 1000. As a Christian king, he established the Hungarian Church with ten dioceses and the royal administration of the country that was divided into counties (comitatus or vármegye). Hungary became a patrimonial kingdom where the majority of the land was the private property of the ruler. In 1083, he was canonized along with his son, Imre of Hungary.
Initially, Hungarian history and politics developed in close association with that of Poland and Bohemia, driven by the interventions of various Popes and Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire. Between 1241–1242, under King Béla IV, Hungary was devastated, suffering great loss of life at the hands of the Mongol (Tatar) armies of Batu Khan who defeated the Hungarians at the Battle of Muhi. Despite the victory, the Mongols did not occupy Hungary, but withdrew shortly after upon the news of the death of Ögedei Khan, leaving behind a country in ruins.
Gradually, under the rule of the dynasty of the Árpáds and even before it (since the ninth century), Hungary joined the greater West European civilizations. Ruled by the Angevins since 1308, the Kingdom of Hungary slowly lost control over territories later called Wallachia (1330) and Moldavia (1359).
János Hunyadi, the Regent of Hungary, fought offensive-defensive wars - with intermittent success - against the aggressive Ottoman Empire mostly outside Hungary. The custom of sounding the noon bell is closely related to an important battle won against the Ottomans that took place on June 29, 1456, at Nándorfehérvár.
János's son, King Matthias Corvinus, ruled the Kingdom of Hungary from 1458 to 1490. He newly strengthened Hungary and its government: under his rule, Hungary became an important artistic and cultural centre of Europe during the Renaissance. Matthias, whose wife was Italian, imported artisans from Italy and France. Likewise, Hungarian culture influenced others--for example, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. However successful in many battles against the Ottomans he only postponed the final conflict with the strengthened Ottoman Empire
Ottoman occupation 1526-1686
The forthcoming two centuries were dominated by constant warfare against the Ottoman Empire this time inside the Hungarian ethnic heartland. The Ottomans gained a decisive victory over the Hungarian army at the battle of Mohács in 1526. The next decades were characterised by political chaos; the divided Hungarian nobility elected two kings simultaneously, Ferdinand Habsburg (1526-1540) and János Szapolyai (1526-1540), whose armed conflicts with one another weakened the country further. After the conquest of Buda by the Ottomans in 1541, the Kingdom of Hungary came to be divided into three parts: one third of Hungary fell under Ottoman rule; one third (in the West) remained under Habsburg rule (see Kings of Hungary); and the third part, in the east (originally supporting János Szapolyai), remained independent (the Principality of Transylvania) and subsequently become a semi-independent, vassal state of the Ottoman Empire. It was only more than 150 years later, at the end of the seventeenth century, that Austria and its Christian allies regained the territories of the Kingdom from the Ottoman Empire.
Habsburgs and the Austro-Hungarian empire 1686-1918
After the final retreat of the Ottomans, struggle began between the Hungarian nation and the Habsburg kings for the protection of noblemen' rights (thus guarding the autonomy of Hungary). The fight against Austrian absolutism resulted in an unsuccessful revolt for popular freedom between 1703 and 1711, led by a Transylvanian nobleman, Ferenc II Rákóczi. The revolution and war of 1848–1849 eliminated serfdom and secured civil rights. The Austrians were finally able to prevail, but only with Russian help.
Thanks to the victories against Austria by the French-Italian coalition (the Battle of Solferino, 1859) and Prussia (Battle of Königgrätz, 1866), Hungary would eventually, in 1867, manage to become a theoretically equal half of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (see Ausgleich). Having achieved this, the Hungarian government made an effort to nationally unify the kingdom by Magyarization of the various other nationalities. The defeat suffered in World War I led to the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918.
Interwar 1918-1941
In March 1919, the Communists took power in Hungary. In April, Béla Kun proclaimed the Hungarian Soviet Republic. But Kun's government, like its immediate predecessor, proved to be short-lived. This was despite some initial military successes against the Czechoslovakian Army.
On 13 June1919, the Versailles Peace Conference ordered Hungary to evacuate the northern territories and Romania to leave Tiszántúl. Hungary fulfilled its part of the order by 30 June 1919. But the Romanian army refused to leave Tiszántúl.
The ensuing war between Hungary and Romania led to the defeat of the Hungarian Red Army. By August 1919, more than half of present-day Hungary, including Budapest, was occupied by Romania. The Romanian occupation lasted until November 1919 when the Romanian army departed.
Rightist Hungarian military forces, led by the former Austro-Hungarian Admiral Miklós Horthy, entered Budapest in the wake of the Romanian army's departure and filled the vacuum of state power. In January 1920, elections were held for a unicameral assembly. Admiral Horthy was elected Regent, thereby formally restoring the monarchy to Hungary. However, there would be no more "Kings of Hungary" despite attempts by the former Habsburg ruler to return to his former seat of power. Horthy ruled as Regent until 16 October 1944. But, after 1932, autocratic tendencies gradually returned as a result of Nazi influence and the Great Depression.
On June 4, 1920, the Treaty of Trianon was signed, establishing Hungary's new borders. Hungary lost 71% of its territory and also 66% of its population. About one-third of the Magyar population became minorities in neighbouring countries. Hungary also lost its only sea port at Fiume (today Rijeka). As a result, Hungarian politics and culture of the interwar period was dominated by irredentism ( the restoration of historical Greater Hungary). Throughout this era the Hungarian Economy was severely unstable, becoming prosperous after the war, suffering greatly during and in the aftermath of the Great Depression, and stabilizing just before the start of World War II. The country moved closer to Germany and Italy in the 1930s in hopes of reversing some of the effects of the Treaty of Trianon. Some lost territories were returned to Hungary in the two Vienna Awards.
Hungary in World War II 1941-1945
In 1941, Hungary participated in the invasion of Yugoslavia, gaining some territory but effectively joining the Axis powers in the process (showing his non-agreement, prime minister Pál Teleki committed suicide). On 22 June 1941, while Germany invaded the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa, Hungary declared war on 26 June, entering World War II. In late 1941, the Hungarian troops on the Eastern Front experienced success at the Battle of Uman. By 1943, after the Hungarian Second Army suffered extremely heavy losses at the river Don, the Hungarian government sought to negotiate a surrender with the Allies. On 19 March 1944, as a result of this duplicity, German troops quietly occupied Hungary in what was known as Operation Margarethe. But, by now it was clear that the Hungarians were Germany's "unwilling satellite". On 15 October 1944, Horthy made a weak effort to drive the country out of the war. This time the Germans launched Operation Panzerfaust and Horthy was replaced by a puppet government under the pro-German Prime Minister Ferenc Szálasi. Szálasi and his pro-Nazi Arrow Cross Party remained loyal to the Germans until the end of the war. In late 1944, Hungarian troops on the Eastern Front again experienced success at the Battle of Debrecen. But this was followed immediately by the Soviet invasion of Hungary and the Battle of Budapest. During the German occupation in May-June 1944, the Arrow Cross Party and Hungarian police deported nearly 440,000 Jews, mostly to Auschwitz. Over 400,000 Hungarian Jews were murdered during the Holocaust, as well as tens of thousands of Romani people. Hundreds of Hungarian people were also executed by the Arrow Cross Party for sheltering Jews. The war left Hungary devastated destroying over 60% of the economy and causing huge loss of life. On 13 February 1945, the Hungarian capital city surrendered unconditionally. On 8 May 1945, World War II in Europe officially ended.
Soviet era 1945-1989
Following the fall of Nazi Germany, Soviet troops occupied all of the country and through their influence Hungary gradually became a communist satellite state of the Soviet Union. After 1948, Communist leader Mátyás Rákosi established Stalinist rule in the country complete with forced collectivization and planned economy. The rule of the Rákosi government was nearly unbearable for Hungary's war-torn citizens. This led to the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and Hungary's temporary withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact. The Soviets retaliated massively with military force, sending in over 150,000 troops and 2,500 tanks. Nearly a quarter of a million people left the country during the brief time that the borders were open in 1956. From the 1960s through the late 1980s, Hungary was often satirically referred to as "the happiest barrack" within the Eastern bloc. This was under the autocratic rule of its controversial communist leader, János Kádár. The last Soviet soldier left the country in 1991 thus ending Soviet military presence in Hungary.
Hungarian Republic 1989-present
In the late 1980s, Hungary led the movement to dissolve the Warsaw Pact and shifted toward multi-candidate democracy. This means that even though there were several candidates, the communist party, MSZMP, was not out for dispute. However, independent candidates were elected as protest against the party. At this time, there were increasing pressures for reform within the party. They also moved towards a market-oriented economy. On October 23 1989, Mátyás Szűrös declared the Third Hungarian Republic and became interim President. Hungary's first free elections were held in 1990. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Hungary developed closer ties with Western Europe as well as with other Central European countries. It became a member of the Visegrad Group in 1991, joined NATO in 1999, and became a member of the European Union on May 1, 2004.
Politics
The President of the Republic, elected by the Parliament every five years, has a largely ceremonial role, choosing the dates of the parliamentary elections.
The prime minister selects Cabinet ministers and has the exclusive right to dismiss them. Each Cabinet nominee appears before one or more parliamentary committees in open hearings and must be formally approved by the President.
A unicameral, 386-member National Assembly (the Országgyűlés) is the highest organ of state authority and initiates and approves legislation sponsored by the Prime Minister. National Parliamentary elections are held every four years; the next are due to be held in 2010.
An 11-member Constitutional Court has power to challenge legislation on grounds of unconstitutionality.
Counties and regions
: See also List of historic counties of Hungary
Administratively, Hungary is divided into nineteen counties. The capital city (főváros), Budapest, is independent of any county government. The counties and the capital are the twenty NUTS third-level units of Hungary.
Since 1996, these twenty administrative units have been grouped into seven regions for statistical and development purposes. These seven regions constitute NUTS' second-level units of Hungary.
There are also twenty-three towns with county rights (singular megyei jogú város), sometimes known as "urban counties" in English (although there is no such term in Hungarian). The local authorities of these towns have extended powers, but these towns belong to the territory of the respective county instead of being independent territorial units.
| Counties (County Capital) | Regions |
|---|---|
Economy
Hungary continues to demonstrate economic growth as one of the newest member countries of the European Union (since 2004). The private sector accounts for over 80% of GDP. Hungary gets nearly one third of all foreign direct investment flowing in to Central Europe. Foreign ownership of and investment in Hungarian firms are widespread, with cumulative foreign direct investment totalling more than US$23 billion since 1989. The Hungarian sovereign debt's credit rating is BBB+ as of July 2006, making Hungary the only other country in the EU apart from Poland not to enjoy an A grade score. Inflation and unemployment have been on the rise in the past few years, and they are expected to rise further. Foreign investors' trust in the Hungarian economy has declined, as they deem that the stringency measures planned in the second half of 2006 are not satisfactory, their focus being mainly on increasing the income side rather than curbing government spendings. Economic reform measures such as health care reform, tax reform, and local government financing are being addressed by the present government.
The Hungarian government has expressed a desire to adopt the euro currency between 2010 and 2014. However, foreign analysts widely criticised that date (2010) as highly unrealistic given the current shape of the economy in relation to the Maastricht criteria; their assessments suggest that a date of 2013-2014 for Euro adoption is more realistic.
Geography
Landscape
Approximately slightly more than one half of Hungary's landscape consists of flat to rolling plains of the Carpathian Basin: the most important plain regions include the Little Hungarian Plain in the west, and the Great Hungarian Plain in the southeast. The highest elevation above sea level on the latter is only 183 metres.
Transdanubia is a primarily hilly region with a terrain varied by low mountains. These include the very eastern stretch of the Alps, Alpokalja, in the west of the country, the Transdanubian Medium Mountains, in the central region of Transdanubia, and the Mecsek Mountains and Villány Mountains in the south. The highest point of the area is the Írott-kő in the Alps, at 882 metres.
The highest mountains of the country are located in the Carpathians: these lie in the northern parts, in a wide band along the Slovakian border (highest point: the Kékes at 3,327 ft; 1,014 m).
Hungary is divided in two by its main waterway, the Danube (Duna); other large rivers include the Tisza and Dráva, while Transdanubia contains Lake Balaton, a major body of water. The largest thermal lake in the world, Lake Hévíz (Hévíz Spa), is located in Hungary. The second largest lake in the Carpathian Basin is the artificial Lake Tisza (Tisza-tó).
Climate
Hungary has a continental climate, with cold, cloudy, humid winters and warm to hot summers. Average annual temperature is 9.7 °C (49.5 °F). Temperature extremes are about 42 °C (110 °F) in the summer and −29 °C (−20 °F) in the winter. Average temperature in the summer is 27 to 35 °C (81 to 95 °F), and in the winter it is 0 to −15 °C (32 to 5 °F). The average yearly rainfall is approximately 600 millimetres (24 in). A small, southern region of the country near Pécs enjoys a reputation for a Mediterranean climate, but in reality it is only slightly warmer than the rest of the country and still receives snow during the winter.
Demographics
Hungary's population by ethnicity
For 95% of the population, mostly Hungarians, the mother tongue is Hungarian, a Finno-Ugric language unrelated to any neighbouring language and distantly related to Finnish and Estonian. Several ethnic minorities exist: Roma (2.1%), Germans (1.2%), Slovaks (0.4%), Croats (0.2%), Romanians (0.1%), Ukrainians (0.1%), and Serbs (0.1%).
The Roma minority
The real number of Roma people, known colloquially as "Gypsies", in Hungary is a disputed question. In the 2001 census, only 190,000 people called themselves Roma, but experts and Roma organisations estimate that there are between 450,000 and 600,000 Roma living in Hungary. Since World War II, the size of the Roma population has increased rapidly. Today every fifth or sixth newborn Hungarian child belongs to the Roma minority. Estimates based on current demographic trends claim that in 2050 15-20 percent of the population (1.2 million people) will be Roma.
Romas (called cigányok or romák in Hungarian) suffer particular problems in Hungary. School segregation is an especially acute one, with many Roma children sent to classes for pupils with learning disabilities. Currently slightly more than 80% of Roma children complete primary education, but only one third continue studies into the intermediate (secondary) level. This is far lower than the more than 90% proportion of children of non-Roma families who continue studies at an intermediate level. The situation is made still worse by the fact that a large proportion of young Roma are qualified in subjects that provide them only limited chances for employment. Less than 1% of Roma hold higher educational certificates. Their low status on the job market and higher unemployment rates cause poverty, widespread social problems and crime.
Ethnic Hungarians in neighbouring countries
For historical reasons (see Treaty of Trianon), significant Hungarian minority populations can be found in the surrounding countries, notably in Romania (in Transylvania), Slovakia, Serbia (in Vojvodina), Ukraine (in Transcarpathia), Croatia (mainly Slavonia) and Austria (in Burgenland); Slovenia is also host to a number of ethnic Magyars, where Hungarian language has an official status.
Religion in Hungary
In the past
The majority of Hungarian people became Christian in the 10th century. Hungary's first king, Saint Stephen, took up Western Christianity, although his mother, Sarolt, was baptized in the eastern rite. Hungary remained predominantly Catholic until the 16th century, when the Reformation took place and, as a result, first Lutheranism, then soon afterwards Calvinism became the religion of almost the entire population. In the second half of the 16th century, however, Jesuits led a successful campaign of counterreformation among the Hungarians. Jesuits founded educational institutions, including the oldest university that still exists in Hungary (Péter Pázmány), but they organized so-called missions too in order to promote popular piety. By the 17th century, once again, Hungary became predominantly Catholic. The eastern parts of the country, however, especially around Debrecen ("the Calvinist Vatican") and Transylvania (except the majority of the Székelys), remained predominantly Protestant.
Orthodox Christianity in Hungary has been the religion mainly of some national minorities in the country, notably, Romanians, Rusyns and Ukrainians, Serbs.
Hungary has been the home of a sizable Armenian community as well. They still worship according to the Armenian liturgical rite, but they have reunited with the Church of Rome (Armenian Catholics) under the primacy of the Pope. According to the same pattern, a significant number of Byzantine Rite Christians became re-united with the rest of the Catholic world (Greek Catholics).
Hungary has been the home of a significant number of Jews since the Early Middle Ages, in fact, the largest synagogue in Europe is in Budapest. However, even Hungarian Jews did not escape the Holocaust during World War II, and hundreds of thousands of them were either deported to concentration camps or simply executed.
Today
According to the last official census (2001), about three quarters of the citizens of Hungary (74.6%) claimed to belong to a particular religious denomination. Most of the Hungarians professed to be Catholics (54.5%), whereas among the numerous Protestant confessions Calvinism (15.9%) and Lutheranism (3%) are the most populous. It is remarkable, however, the number of those who did not wish to give a straight answer regarding religious affiliation (10.1%). This phenomenon goes back probably to the turbulent religious history of the country, when citizens were persecuted on basis of their religious background, notably, the substantial Jewish community during World War II., and also the faithful Christians during communism.
The number of non-religious people in Hungary is 14.5%, which corresponds, approximately, to the proportion of non-religious people in other European countries. This does not mean, however, that the rest of the population consists of frequent churchgoers. Frequent religious attendance, that is to say, going to the church at least once a week, is about 12% in Hungary, which is, again, very much the European average.
Culture
Music
The music of Hungary consists mainly of traditional Hungarian folk music and music by prominent composers such as Franz Liszt, Béla Bartók and Zoltán Kodály. Hungarian traditional music tends to have a strong dactylic rhythm, as the language is invariably stressed on the first syllable of each word.
Cuisine
Hungarian cuisine is also a prominent feature of Hungarian culture, with traditional dishes such as goulash (gulyás or gulyásleves) a main feature of the Hungarian diet. Dishes are often flavoured with paprika. Stews are often to be found with typical elements such as pork or beef, for example as used in pörkölt.There are also many desserts that are usually flavoured with fruit and pastry based(rétes).Food is a big part of the Hungarian culture and it is viewed often as rude to not accept it when offered.
Science
Hungary is famous for its excellent mathematics education which has trained numerous outstanding scientists. Famous Hungarian mathematicians include Paul Erdős, famed for publishing in over forty languages and whose Erdős numbers are still tracked; János (John) Bolyai, designer of non-Euclidean (or "absolute") geometry in 1831;
and John von Neumann, a pioneer of digital computing. Many Hungarian Jewish scientists, including Erdős, von Neumann, Edward Teller, and Eugene Wigner, fled rising anti-Semitism in Europe and made their most famous contributions in the United States.
Hungarians are very proud of their inventions. These include the noiseless match (János Irinyi), Rubik's cube (Ernő Rubik), and the krypton electric bulb (Imre Bródy). A number of other important inventions, including holography (Dennis Gabor), the ballpoint pen (László Bíró), the theory of the hydrogen bomb (Edward Teller), and the BASIC programming language (John Kemeny, with Thomas E. Kurtz), were invented by Hungarians who fled the country prior to World War II.
Literature
Hungarian literature has recently gained some renown outside the borders of Hungary (mostly through translations into German, French and English). Some modern Hungarian authors became increasingly popular in Germany and Italy especially Sándor Márai, Péter Esterházy, Péter Nádas and Imre Kertész. The latter is a contemporary Jewish writer who survived the Holocaust and won the Nobel Prize for literature in 2002.
The older classics of Hungarian literature and Hungarian poetry remained almost totally unknown outside Hungary. János Arany, a famous nineteenth century Hungarian poet is still much loved in Hungary (especially his collection of Ballads), among several other "true classics" like Sándor Petőfi, the poet of the Revolution of 1848, Endre Ady, Mihály Babits, Dezső Kosztolányi, Attila József and János Pilinszky. Other well-known Hungarian authors are Zsigmond Móricz, Gyula Illyés, Albert Wass, and Magda Szabó.
Sport
One of the most famous Hungarians is the footballer Ferenc Puskás (1927 – 2006). He scored 84 goals in 85 internationals for Hungary, and 511 goals in 533 matches in the Hungarian and Spanish leagues. Puskás played the 1954 World Cup final against West Germany. In 1958, after the Hungarian Revolution, he emigrated to Spain where he played in the legendary Real Madrid team that also included Alfredo Di Stéfano, and Francisco Gento.
Hungarians are also known for their prowess at water sports, mainly swimming, water polo and canoeing; this can be said to be surprising at first, due to Hungary being landlocked. On the other hand, the presence of two major rivers (the Duna and the Tisza) and a major lake (Balaton) give excellent opportunities to practice these sports. Some of the world's best sabre fencing athletes have historically hailed from Hungary.
See also
Lists
External links
