Hungary ( /ˈhʌŋɡəri/ (help·info); Hungarian Hungarian (magyar nyelv listen ) is a Uralic language (more specifically a Ugric language) unrelated to most other languages in Europe. It is mainly spoken in Hungary and by the Hungarian minorities in the seven neighbouring countries. The Hungarian name for the language is magyar (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈmɒɟɒr̪]): Magyarország, pronounced [ˈmɒɟɒrorsaːɡ] ( listen)), officially the Republic of Hungary (Magyar Köztársaság listen (help·info) "Hungarian Republic"), is a landlocked A landlocked country is commonly defined as one enclosed or nearly enclosed by land. As of 2008, there are 44 landlocked countries in the world. Of the major landmasses that have more than one country, only North America does not have a landlocked country country in the Carpathian Basin The Pannonian Basin or Carpathian Basin is a large basin in Central Europe. The basin forms a topographically discrete unit set in the European landscape, surrounded by imposing geographic boundaries that have created a fairly unified cultural area that looks more towards the south and east than to the north and west. The rivers Danube and Tisza of Central Europe Central Europe is the region lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe. The term and widespread interest in the region itself came back into fashion after the end of the Cold War, which, along with the Iron Curtain, had divided Europe politically into East and West, splitting Central Europe in half, bordered by Austria Austria /ˈɔstria/ (help·info) (German: Österreich (help·info)), officially the Republic of Austria (German: Republik Österreich), is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and, Slovakia The Slovak Republic /sloʊˈvɑːkiə/ (short form: Slovakia; Slovak: Slovensko (help·info), long form Slovenská republika (help·info)) is a landlocked country in Central Europe with a population of over five million and an area of about 49,000 square kilometres (almost 19,000 square miles). It borders the Czech Republic and Austria to the west,, Ukraine Ukraine /juːˈkreɪn/ (Ukrainian: Україна, transliterated: Ukrayina, [ukrɑˈjinɑ]) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south. The city of Kiev (Kyiv) is both the, Romania Romania /roʊˈmeɪniə/ (dated: Rumania, Roumania; Romanian: România, (help·info) pronounced [romɨˈni.a]) is a country located in Southeastern and Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its, Serbia Serbia /ˈsɜrbiə/ (Serbian: Србија, Srbija), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: Република Србија, Republika Srbija), is a country located in both Central and Southeastern Europe. Its territory covers southern part of the Pannonian Plain and central part of the Balkans. Serbia borders Hungary to the north; Romania, Croatia Croatia ( /kroʊˈeɪʃə/ ; Croatian: Hr̀vātskā pronounced [xř̩ʋaːtskaː]), officially the Republic of Croatia (Republika Hrvatska listen (help·info)), is a country in Southeastern Europe, at the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean Sea. Its capital (and largest city) is Zagreb. Croatia borders Slovenia, and Slovenia Slovenia /sloʊˈviːniə/ , officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: Republika Slovenija, listen (help·info)), is a country in Central Europe bordering Italy to the west, the Adriatic Sea to the southwest, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north. The capital of Slovenia is Ljubljana. Its capital is Budapest Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it serves as the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation center and is considered an important hub in Central Europe. In 2008, Budapest had 1,702,297 inhabitants, down from a mid-1980s peak of 2.1 million. The Budapest Commuter Area (or. Hungary is a member of OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (in French: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, OCDE) is an international organisation of 30 countries that accept the principles of representative democracy and free-market economy. Most OECD members are high-income economies with a high HDI and are regarded as, NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization ); French: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique Nord (OTAN)), also called "the (North) Atlantic Alliance", is a military alliance established by the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949. The NATO headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium, and the organization constitutes a system of, EU The EU has developed a single market through a standardised system of laws which apply in all member states, ensuring the freedom of movement of people, goods, services and capital. It maintains common policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries, and regional development. A common currency, the euro, has been adopted by sixteen member states, V4 The Visegrád Group, also called the Visegrád Four or V4, is an alliance of four Central European states – the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia – for the purposes of cooperation and furthering their European integration. The Group's name in the languages of the four countries is Visegrádská čtyřka or Visegrádská skupina ; and is a Schengen The Schengen Agreement is a treaty signed between five of the ten member states of the European Community in 1985. It was supplemented by the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement some five years later. It provided for the removal of systematic border controls between the participating countries state. The official language An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other territory. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration. However, official status can also be used to give a language a legal status, even if that language is not is Hungarian Hungarian (magyar nyelv listen ) is a Uralic language (more specifically a Ugric language) unrelated to most other languages in Europe. It is mainly spoken in Hungary and by the Hungarian minorities in the seven neighbouring countries. The Hungarian name for the language is magyar (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈmɒɟɒr̪]).

Following a Celtic Celts , is a modern term used to describe any of the European peoples who spoke, or speak, a Celtic language. The term is also used in a wider sense to describe the modern descendants of those peoples, notably those who participate in a Celtic culture (after c. 450 BC) and a Roman Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea, it became one of the largest empires in the ancient world (9 BC – c. 5th century) period, the foundation of Hungary was laid in the late Ninth Century by the Magyar Hungarians are an ethnic group primarily associated with Hungary. There are around 10 million Magyars in Hungary (as of 2001). Hungarians were the main inhabitants of the Kingdom of Hungary that existed through most of the second millennium. The territory of this country was dismembered at the Treaty of Trianon (1920), and as a result, 3,425,000 chieftain Árpád Árpád , the second Grand Prince of the Magyars (c. 895 – c. 907). Under his rule the Magyar people settled in the Carpathian basin. The dynasty descending from him ruled the Magyar tribes and later the Kingdom of Hungary until 1301, whose great grandson Stephen I Saint Stephen I (Hungarian: I. István) (Latin: Sanctus Stephanus) (Esztergom, 967/969/975 – August 15, 1038, Esztergom-Szentkirály or Székesfehérvár, Hungary) was Grand Prince of the Hungarians (997–1000) and the first King of Hungary (1000–1038). He greatly expanded Hungarian control over the Carpathian Basin during his lifetime, ascended to the throne with a crown The Holy Crown of Hungary , also known as the Crown of Saint Stephen, is the only crown known today with "holy" attribute sent from Rome Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populous city, with over 2.7 million residents in a municipality of some 1,285.3 km2 (496.3 sq mi), while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 3.46 million. The metropolitan area of Rome is estimated by OECD to have a population of 3.7 million. It is located in 1000. The Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary , emerged in 1000, when the Principality of Hungary, founded in 896 was recognized as a Kingdom. The form of government was changed from Monarchy to Republic briefly in 1918 and again in 1946 ending the Kingdom and creating the Republic of Hungary. During most of its history it was a considerable state in Central Europe, existed with interruptions for 946 years, and was at times regarded as one of the cultural Culture is a term that has different meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions. However, the word "culture" is most commonly used in three basic senses: centers of the Western world The term Western world, the West or the Occident can have multiple meanings dependent on its context (e.g., the time period, the region or social situation). Accordingly, the basic definition of what constitutes "the West" varies, expanding and contracting over time, in relation to various historical circumstances. Some historians[who?] (particularly during Stephen I Saint Stephen I (Hungarian: I. István) (Latin: Sanctus Stephanus) (Esztergom, 967/969/975 – August 15, 1038, Esztergom-Szentkirály or Székesfehérvár, Hungary) was Grand Prince of the Hungarians (997–1000) and the first King of Hungary (1000–1038). He greatly expanded Hungarian control over the Carpathian Basin during his lifetime,, Béla III Béla III , (c. 1148 – 23 April 1196), King of Hungary (1172–1196). He was educated in the court of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I who was planning to ensure his succession in the Byzantine Empire till the birth of his own son. Following the death of his elder brother, who had been fighting against the Byzantine Empire, Béla could only ascend, Louis I Louis I the Great (Hungarian: I. Lajos, Polish: Ludwik Węgierski, Croatian: Ludovik I.) (5 March 1326, Visegrád – 10 September 1382, Nagyszombat/Trnava) was King of Hungary from 1342 and of Poland from 1370, Matthias I, and Lajos Kossuth Lajos Kossuth was a Hungarian lawyer, politician and Governor-President of Hungary in 1849. He was widely honored during his lifetime, including in the United Kingdom and the United States, as a freedom fighter's regency). A significant power A great power is a nation or state that has the ability to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess economic, military, diplomatic, and cultural strength, which may cause other, smaller nations to consider the opinions of great powers before taking actions of their own until its defeat in World War I World War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict that embroiled most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Entente and the Central Powers. Over 70 million military personnel were mobilized in one of the largest wars in history. The main, Hungary lost over two-thirds of its territory (along with 3.3 million ethnic Hungarians)[3] in the Treaty of Trianon The Treaty of Trianon was the peace treaty concluded in 1920 at the end of World War I by the Allies of World War I, on one side, and Hungary, seen as a successor of Austria-Hungary, on the other. The treaty established the borders of Hungary and regulated its international situation. Hungary was shorn of over 72% of the territory it had in 1920,[4] the terms of which have been considered humiliating by Hungarians.[5][6] Following a short alliance Hungary during World War II was generally opportunistic and a reluctant member of the Axis powers. In the 1930s Hungary relied on increased trade with Germany to pull itself out of the Great Depression. By 1938 Hungarian politics had shifted to the right and its foreign policy had become increasingly pro-German and pro-Italian. After a negotiated with Nazi Germany Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the colloquial English names for Germany between 1933 and 1945, while it was led by Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Worker's Party . The name Third Reich (Drittes Reich, ‘Third Reich’) refers to the state as the successor to the Holy Roman Empire of the Middle Ages and the German Empire of 187 during World War II World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all of the great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. The war involved the mobilization of over 100 million military personnel, making it the most widespread war in history, the kingdom was occupied by the Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , occasionally called the United Soviet Socialist Republic, was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the Russian: Союз Советских Социалистических Республик​ (help·info), tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh which imposed a Communist In political science, a Communist state is a state with a form of government characterized by single-party rule[citation needed] of a Communist party and a professed allegiance to a communist ideology as the guiding principle of the state. Communist states may have several legal political parties, but the Communist party is usually granted a government from 1947 to 1989. During this era, Hungary gained widespread international recognition by mounting the Revolution of 1956 The revolt began as a student demonstration which attracted thousands as it marched through central Budapest to the Parliament building. A student delegation entering the radio building in an attempt to broadcast its demands was detained. When the delegation's release was demanded by the demonstrators outside, they were fired upon by the State and the seminal move of opening its border with Austria in 1989, thus accelerating the collapse The largely bloodless political upheaval began in Poland, continued in Hungary, and then led to a surge of mostly peaceful revolutions in East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria. Romania was the only Eastern-bloc country to overthrow its communist regime violently and execute its head of state of the Eastern Bloc Communist governments were initially installed in a Bloc politics process that included extensive political and media controls, along with a Soviet approach to restricting emigration. Events such as the Tito-Stalin split and Berlin Blockade prompted stricter control. While the Bloc persisted through revolts, such as the Hungarian Revolution and. The present form of government is parliamentary republic A parliamentary republic or parliamentary constitutional republic is a type of republic which operates under a parliamentary system of government (since 1989). Today, Hungary is a high-income economy A high-income economy is defined by the World Bank as a country with a Gross National Income per capita of $11,906 or more in 2008. While the term "high income" may be used interchangeably with "First World" and "developed country", the technical definitions of these terms differ. The term "first world",[7] and a regional leader regarding certain markers.[8][9]

In the past decade, Hungary was listed as the 10th most economically dynamic area[10] and one of the 15 most popular tourist destinations A tourist destination is a city, town or other area that is dependent to a significant extent on the revenues accruing from tourism. It may contain one or more tourist attractions or visitor attractions and possibly some "tourist traps" in the world,[11][12] with a capital Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it serves as the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation center and is considered an important hub in Central Europe. In 2008, Budapest had 1,702,297 inhabitants, down from a mid-1980s peak of 2.1 million. The Budapest Commuter Area (or regarded as "one of the most beautiful urban landscapes in the world".[13][14] The country is home to the second largest thermal lake in the world (Lake Hévíz), the largest lake in Central Europe (Lake Balaton Lake Balaton, located in Hungary, is the largest lake in Central Europe, and one of the foremost regional tourist destinations. Due to Hungary being landlocked, it is often affectionately called the "Hungarian Sea". The Zala River provides the largest inflow of water to the lake, and the canalized Sió is the only outflow. With a surface), and the largest natural grassland in Europe (Hortobágy Hortobágy is a village in Hajdú-Bihar county in Hungary. It is also a name of a part of Alföld (Great Plain) in eastern Hungary, near Debrecen. It was designated as a national park in 1973 (the first national park in Hungary), and elected among the World Heritage sites in 1999. The Hortobágy is Hungary's largest protected area, and the largest).

Contents

History

Main article: History of Hungary

The land before AD 895

Main articles: Pannonian basin before Hungary, Hungarian prehistory, and Pannonia The arrival of the Hungarians in the Carpathian Basin, 895.

From 9 BC. to the end of the 4th century Pannonia was a part of the Roman Empire. 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. Attila the Hun was erroneously regarded as an ancestral ruler of the Hungarians, an opinion rejected today by the majority of scholars. It is believed that the origin of the name "Hungary" does not come from the Central Asian nomadic invaders called the Huns, but rather originated from 7th century, when Magyar tribes were part of a Bulgar alliance called On-Ogour, which in Bulgar Turkic meant "(the) Ten Arrows".[15] After Hunnish rule faded, the Germanic Ostrogoths then the Lombards came to Pannonia, and the Gepids had a presence in the eastern part of the Carpathian Basin for about 100 years. In the 560s the Avars founded the Avar Khaganate, a state which maintained supremacy in the region for more than two centuries and had the military power to launch attacks against all its neighbours. The Avar Khaganate was weakened by constant wars and outside pressure. The Avars' 250 year rule ended when the Khaganate was conquered by the Franks under Charlemagne in the West and the Bulgarians under Krum in the East. Neither of these two nor others were able to create a lasting state in the region until the freshly unified Hungarians led by Árpád settled in the Carpathian Basin starting in 895.[16]

Medieval Hungary

Main article: Kingdom of Hungary in the Middle Ages Hungarian raids in the 10th century. Most European nations were praying for mercy: "Sagittis hungarorum libera nos Domine" - "Lord save us from the arrows of Hungarians"

Hungary is one of the oldest countries in Europe, settled in 896, before France and Germany became separate entities, and before the unification of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. Medieval Hungary, the third largest of any country in Europe, controlled more territory than medieval France. Árpád was the Magyar leader who, unifying the Magyar tribes via the Covenant of Blood (Hungarian: Vérszerződés), forged one nation, thereafter known as the Hungarian nation[17] and led the new nation to the Carpathian Basin in the 9th century.[17] After the Carpathian Basin was secured from the Bulgarians and Moravians, the threat from the western Christian nations still persisted. In order to prevent a united force from being mounted against them, the Hungarians quickly engaged in preemptive warfare, that lead them as far as the Iberian Peninsula. The Hungarian tactics of warfare, which relied heavily on light horsemen with mastery of the reflex bow, was something not seen since the days of Attila, and had just as devastating an effect. Finally, in 955, at the Battle of Lechfeld, the Hungarians suffered a significant defeat at the hands of a united German force, a part of which was equipped as then revolutionary heavy knight. Taking the events into carefull consideration, the ruling prince (fejedelem) Géza of the Árpád dynasty, the ruler of only some of the united territory, but the nominal overlord of all seven Magyar tribes, determined to integrate Hungary into Christian Western Europe, rebuilding the state according to the Western political and social model.[18] He named his son Vajk, later King Stephen I of Hungary, as his successor. This was contrary to the Magyar tradition of the succession of the eldest surviving member of the ruling family. (See:agnatic seniority) By ancestral right prince Koppány, -as the oldest member of the dynasty- should have claimed the throne, but Géza chose his eldest son as his successor. A fight in the chief prince's family started after Géza's death in 997. Duke Koppány took up arms, and many people in Transdanubia joined him. The rebels represented the old faith and order, ancient human rights, tribal independence and pagan unbelief, but Stephen won a decisive victory over his uncle Koppány, and had him executed.

Hungary in the 11th century The Holy Crown, The key symbol of Hungary A miniature of the king Saint Stephen I from the Chronicon Pictum. Romanesque church of Pécs Gothic Church of Our Lady in Buda Reliquary, Saint Ladislaus I of Hungary (c.1040–1095) King Béla's III tomb Golden Bull of 1222.

The Patrimonial Kingdom

In the year 1000, by the authority of the Pope, Hungary was established as a Catholic Apostolic Kingdom under Saint Stephen I of Hungary. Applying to Pope Sylvester II, Stephen received insignia of royalty (including the still existent Holy Crown of Hungary). He was crowned in December, 1000 AD in the capital, Esztergom. The papacy conferred on him the right to have the cross carried before him, with full administrative authority over bishoprics and churches. The son of Géza,[19] he was a descendant of Árpád, founder of Hungary. By 1006, Stephen had solidified his power, eliminating all rivals who either wanted to follow pagan traditions or wanted an alliance with the Eastern Christian Byzantine Empire. He instituted sweeping reforms to convert Hungary into a western feudal state, complete with forced Christianisation.[20] Stephen established a network of 10 episcopal and 2 archiepiscopal sees,and ordered the buildup of monasteries, churches, and cathedrals. Formerly, the Hungarian language was written in a runic-like script. The country switched to the Latin alphabet under Stephen. From 1000 to 1844, Latin was the official language of the country. He followed the Frankish administrative model: The whole of the land was divided into counties (megyék), each under a royal official called an ispán count (Latin: comes)—later főispán (Latin: supremus comes). This official represented the king’s authority, administered its population, and collected the taxes that formed the national revenue. Each ispán maintained at his fortified headquarters (castrum or vár) an armed force of freemen.

What emerged was a strong state[21] that withstood attacks from German kings and Emperors, as well as nomadic tribes following the Hungarians from the East, integrating some of the latter into the population (along with Germans invited to Transylvania and the northern part of the kingdom, especially after the Battle of Mohi). Following the disappearance of the major Croatian native dynasty by the end of the 11th century in the Battle of Gvozd Mountain, the Croats eventually recognized the Hungarian ruler Coloman as the common king for Croatia and Hungary in a treaty of 1102 (often referred to as the Pacta conventa).

After the Great Schism (The East-West Schism /formally in 1054/, between Western Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christianity.) Hungary determined itself as the Easternmost bastion of Western civilization.

Important members of the Árpád dynasty

Saint Ladislaus I (c. 1040 – 29 July 1095), King of Hungary (1077-1095). Before his ascension to the throne, he was the main advisor of his brother, Géza I of Hungary, who was fighting against their cousin, King Solomon of Hungary. When his brother died, his followers proclaimed Ladislaus king according to the Hungarian tradition that gave precedence to the eldest member of the royal family over the deceased king's sons. He also expanded his rule over Croatia. After his canonisation, Ladislaus became the model of the chivalrous king in Hungary.

King Coloman the "Book-lover" (King: 1095-1116):

One of his most famous laws was half a millennium ahead of its time: De strigis vero quae non sunt, nulla amplius quaestio fiat (As for the matter of witches, no such things exist, therefore no further investigations or trials are to be held).

Béla III (King: 1172-1192):

was the most powerful and wealthiest member of the dynasty, Béla disposed of annual equivalent of 23,000 kg of pure silver. It exceeded those of the French king (estimated at some 17,000 kilograms) and was double the receipts of the English Crown. [22] He rolled back the Byzantine potency in Balkan region. In 1195, Bela III had expanded the Hungarian Kingdom southward and westward to Bosnia and Dalmatia, helping to break up the Byzantine Empire, and extending suzerainty over Serbia. [23]

Andrew II of Hungary (King: 1205-1235) :

In 1211 Andrew II of Hungary (ruled from 1205 to 1235) granted the Burzenland (in Transylvania) to the Teutonic Knights. In 1225, Andrew II expelled the Teutonic Knights from Transylvania, hence Teutonic Order had to transfer to the Baltic sea. In 1224, Andrew issued the Diploma Andreanum which unified and ensured the special privileges of the Transylvanian Saxons. It is considered the first Autonomy law in the world.[24]

He led the Fifth Crusade to the Holy Land in 1217. He set up the largest royal army in the history of Crusades (20,000 knights and 12,000 castle-garrisons). The Golden Bull of 1222 was the first constitution in Continental Europe. It limited the king's power. The Golden Bull — the Hungarian equivalent of England’s Magna Carta — to which every Hungarian king thereafter had to swear, had a twofold purpose: to reaffirm the rights of the smaller nobles of the old and new classes of royal servants (servientes regis) against both the crown and the magnates and to defend those of the whole nation against the crown by restricting the powers of the latter in certain fields and legalizing refusal to obey its unlawful/unconstitutional commands (the ius resistendi). The lesser nobles also began to present Andrew with grievances, a practice that evolved into the institution of the parliament, or Diet. Hungary became the first country where the parliament had supremacy over the kingship. The most important legal ideology was the Doctrine of the Holy Crown.

Mongol attacks

In 1241–1242, the kingdom suffered a Mongol Invasion: After the defeat of the Hungarian army in the Battle of Mohi,[25] Béla IV of Hungary fled. Historians estimate that up to half of Hungary's population of two million was killed.[26][27]. The dramatic loss of population led to inviting settlers, largely from Germany, to locate in devastationed regions, the "'Tatárjárás."

During the Russian campaign, the Mongols drove some 200,000 Cumans, a nomadic tribe of pagan Kipchaks, west of the Carpathian Mountains. There, the Cumans appealed to King Béla IV of Hungary for protection.[28] The Iranian Jassic people came to the Hungary together with the Cumans after they were defeated by the Mongols. During the centuries they were assimilated by the Hungarian population, their language disappeared, but they preserved their identity and their regional autonomy until 1876.[29]

Only strongly fortified cities and abbeys could withstand the assault. As a consequence, after the Mongols retreated, King Béla IV. ordered the construction of hundreds of stone castles and fortifications to defend against a possible second Mongol invasion. Mongols returned to Hungary in 1286, but the newly built systems of castles and new tactics using a higher ratio of heavy knights stopped them. The invading Mongol force was defeated near Pest by the royal army of Ladislaus IV of Hungary. Castles proved to be very important later in the long struggle with the Ottoman Empire from the late 14th century onwards, but their cost indebted the King to the major feudal landlords, weakening the royal power reclaimed by Béla IV after his father Andrew II had diminished it by acceding to the Golden Bull of 1222.

King Charles' last battle against the oligarchy at Rozgony (1312) King Louis the Great (1342-1382) Sigismund, Non contemporary portrait by Albrecht Dürer. The Hungarian Cannon, named after the engineer Orban from Hungary who cast the gun for the Ottoman besiegers of Constantinople. It was the biggest canon until the end of the 19th century. (British Royal Armouries collection.) These types of enormous Ottoman cannons appeared in Siege of Nándorfehérvár (Belgrade) too (1456) John Hunyadi - One of the greatest generals and a later regent of Hungary

Age of elected Kings

Árpád's direct descendants in the male line ruled the country until 1301. During the reign of the Árpád dynasty, the Kingdom of Hungary reached its greatest extent, yet royal power was weakened as the nobility greatly increased its influence. The most powerful nobility usurped royal prerogatives: coinage, customs, own diplomacy and declaration of war against foreign monarchs. After the destructive period of interregnum (1301–1308), the first Angevin king, Charles I of Hungary (King: 1308–1342) -a descendant of the Árpád dynasty on the female line- successfully restored the royal power, defeating oligarch rivals, the so called "little kings". His new fiscal, customs and monetary policies proved successful. One of the primary sources of his power was the wealth derived from the gold mines of east and northern Hungary. Eventually production reached the remarkable figure of 3,000 lb. of gold annually - one third of the total production of the world as then known, and five times as much as that of any other European state.[30][31] Charles also sealed an alliance with the Polish king Casimir III. Hungary was the first non-Italian country, where the renaissance appeared in Europe.[32]

The second Hungarian king in the Angevin line, Louis I the Great (King: 1342–1382) extended his rule over territories adjacent to the Adriatic Sea, and occupied the Kingdom of Naples several times. Under his reign lived the most famous epic hero of Hungarian literature and warfare, the king's Champion: Nicolas Toldi. Louis had become popular in Poland due to his campaign against the Tatars and pagan Lithuanians. Two successful wars (1357–1358, 1378–1381) against Venice resulted in the annexation of Dalmatia, Ragusa and other territories on the coast of the Adriatic. Venice was required to raise the Angevin flag on St. Mark's Square on holy days. Louis I established a university in Pécs in 1367 (by papal accordance). The Ottoman Turks confronted the country ever more often. In 1366 and 1377, Louis led successful campaigns against the Ottomans, engaging the Turks for the first time at Nicapoli in 1366. Serbia, Walachia, Moldavia, and Bulgaria were made vassal states. From 1370, the death of uncle Casimir III of Poland, he was also king of Poland. Until his death, the political life of the Italian Peninsula remained within his sphere of influence.

King Louis died without a male successor, and the country was stabilized only after years of anarchy when Sigismund I (king: 1387–1437), a prince of the House of Luxembourg, succeeded to the throne by marrying Louis's daughter, Queen Mary of Hungary. It was not for entirely selfless reasons that one of the leagues of barons helped him to power: Sigismund had to pay for the support of the lords by transferring a sizeable part of the royal properties. (For some years, the baron's council governed the country in the name of the Holy Crown, the king was impirsoned for a short time ) The restoration of the authority of the central administration took decades of work. In 1404 Sigismund introduced the Placetum Regium. According to this decree, Papal bulls and messages could not be pronounced in Hungary without the consent of the king. Sigismund congregated Council of Constance (1414–1418) to abolish the Avignon Papacy and the Papal Schism of Catholic church, which was solved by the election of a new pope. In 1433 he was elected Holy Roman Emperor. During his long reign the Royal castle of Buda became probably the largest Gothic palace of the late Middle Ages. The first Hungarian Bible translation was completed in 1439, but the Hungarian Bible was illegal in its age.

In 1446, the parliament elected the great general János Hunyadi governor (1446–1453), then regent (1453–1456). He was a successful crusader against the Ottoman Turks, one of his greatest victories being the Siege of Belgrade in 1456. Hunyadi defended the city against the onslaught of the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II. During the siege, Pope Callixtus III ordered the bells of every European church to be rung every day at noon, as a call for believers to pray for the defenders of the city. However, in many countries (like England and Spanish kingdoms), news of the victory arrived before the order, and the ringing of the church bells at noon were transformed into a commemoration of the victory. The Popes didn't withdraw the order, and Catholic (and the older Protestant) churches still ring the noon bell in the Christian world to this day.

Matthias Corvinus, the Renaissance king Western conquests of Matthias Corvinus

Age of early absolutism

The last strong king was the Renaissance king Matthias Corvinus (1458–1490). Matthias was the son of John Hunyadi. During his reign András Hess set up a printing press in Buda in 1472. This was the first time in the medieval Hungarian kingdom that a member of the nobility, without dynastic ancestry and relationship, was elected. Matthias Corvinus was a true Renaissance prince, a successful military leader and administrator, an outstanding linguist, a learned astrologer, and an enlightened patron of the arts and learning.[33] Although Matthias regularly convened the Diet and expanded the lesser nobles' powers in the counties, he exercised absolute rule over Hungary by means of huge secular bureaucracy. Matthias set out to build a great empire, expanding southward and northwest, while he also implemented internal reforms. The serfs, and other common people considered Matthias a just ruler because he protected them from excessive demands and other abuses by the magnates.[34] Like his father, Matthias desired to strengthen the Kingdom of Hungary to the point where it became the foremost regional power, strong enough to push back the Ottoman Empire; toward that end he deemed necessary the conquering of large parts of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1479, under the leadership of general Pál Kinizsi, the Hungarian army destroyed the Ottoman and Wallachian troops at the Battle of Breadfield. The army of Hungary was extremely effective during the reign of Matthias. His mercenary standing army called the Black Army of Hungary (Hungarian: Fekete Sereg) was an unusually big army for its age, accomplishing a series of victories including capturing parts of Austria, Vienna (1485) and parts of Bohemia. The king died without a legal successor. His library, the Bibliotheca Corviniana, was Europe's greatest collection of historical chronicles, philosophic and scientific works in the 15th century, and second only in size to the Vatican Library which mainly contained religious material. His renaissance library is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[35]

Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia, the young king, who died at the Battle of Mohács.

Decline (1490–1526)

By the early 16th century, the Ottoman Empire became the second most populous state in the world, which opened the door to creation of the largest armies of the era.

The magnates, who did not want another heavy-handed king, procured the accession of Vladislaus II (King: 1490-1516), king of Bohemia (Ulászló II in Hungarian), precisely because of his notorious weakness: he was known as King Dobže, or Dobzse (meaning “Good” or, loosely, “OK”), from his habit of accepting with that word every paper laid before him[33]. Under his reign the central power began to experience severe financial difficulties, largely due to the enlargement of feudal lands at his expense. The magnates also dismantled administration and institute systems of the country. The country's defenses sagged as border guards and castle garrisons went unpaid, fortresses fell into disrepair, and initiatives to increase taxes to reinforce defenses were stifled.[36]

In 1514, the weakened old King Vladislaus II faced a major peasant rebellion led by György Dózsa, which was ruthlessly crushed by the nobles, led by János Szapolyai. The resulting degradation of order paved the way for Ottoman preeminence. In 1521, the strongest Hungarian fortress in the South, Nándorfehérvár (modern Belgrade) fell to the Turks, and in 1526, the Hungarian army was crushed at the Battle of Mohács. The young king Louis II, and the leader of the Hungarian army, Pál Tomori died in the battle. The early appearance of protestantism further worsened internal relations in the anarchical country.

Through the centuries Hungary kept its old constitution, which granted special freedoms or rights to the nobility, the free royal towns such as Buda, Kassa (Košice), Pozsony (Bratislava), and Kolozsvár (Cluj-Napoca) and groups like the Jassic people or Transylvanian Saxons.

Ottoman Wars

Main article: Ottoman Hungary Hungary around 1550 Siege of Eger

After some 150 years of wars with the Hungarians and other states, the Ottomans conquered parts of Hungary, and continued their expansion until 1556. 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, János Szapolyai (1526–1540) and Ferdinand Habsburg (1527–1540), whose feud for the throne further weakened the kingdom. With the conquest of Buda in 1541 by the Turks, Hungary was divided into three parts.

The north-western part (see map) termed as Royal Hungary was annexed by the Habsburgs who ruled as Kings of Hungary. Pozsony (Bratislava) became the new capital (1536–1784), coronation town (1563–1830) and seat of the Diet (1536–1848) of Habsburg Hungary. Nagyszombat (Trnava) in turn became the religious center in 1541. Turks were unable to counquer Northern and Western parts of Hungary. The eastern part of the country (Partium and Transylvania), in turn, became independent as the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom (became the Principality of Transylvaniain 1571), under Ottoman suzerainty. The remaining central area, including the capital of Buda was known as the Ottoman Hungary. A large part of the area became devastated by permanent warfare. The Turks were indifferent to the Christian religion of their subjects and the Habsburg counter-reformation measures could not reach this area.

Even with a decisive 1552 victory over the Ottomans at the Siege of Eger, which raised the hopes of the Hungarians, the country remained divided until the end of the 17th century. The heroes live more in a famous poet, what was wrote by Sebestyén Tinódi Lantos called: Summáját írom Eger várának, I am writing history of Eger's castle".

In 1558 the Diet of Torda declared free practice of both the Catholic and Lutheran religions, but prohibited Calvinism. Ten years later, in 1568, the Diet extended this freedom, declaring four denominations as accepted (recepta) churches.

During the Thirty Years' War, Royal (Habsburg) Hungary joined the Catholic side, until Transylvania joined the Protestant side.

In 1686, two years after the unsuccessful siege of Buda, a renewed European campaign was started to enter the Hungarian capital. This time, the Holy League's army was twice as large, containing over 74,000 men, and Christian forces reconquered Buda, and in the next few years, all of the Hungarian lands, except areas near Timişoara (Temesvár), were taken from the Turks. In the 1699 Treaty of Karlowitz these territorial changes were officially recognized, and in 1718 all of Hungary was removed from Ottoman rule.

Ethnic consequences of the Ottoman wars

As a consequence of the constant warfare between Hungarians and Ottoman Turks, population growth was stunted and the network of medieval settlements with their urbanized bourgeois inhabitants perished. The 150 years of Turkish rule fundamentally changed the ethnic composition of Hungary. As a result of demographic losses including deportations and masscares, the number of ethnic Hungarians in existence at the end of the Turkish period was substantially diminished. [37]

History of Hungary 1700–1919

Main article: History of Hungary 1700-1919

Baroque Palace of the Esterházy family in Fertőd Ferenc Rákóczi BME, The oldest University of Technology in the World, founded in 1782 Széchenyi Chain Bridge in Buda and Pest, suspension bridge (1839–1849)

There were a series of anti-Habsburg and anti-Catholic (removal of historical Roman Catholic hierarchy and priesthood) uprisings between 1604 and 1711, which – with the exception of the last one – took place in Royal Hungary. The uprisings were usually organized from Transylvania. The last one was an uprising led by Francis II Rákóczi, who after the dethronement of the Habsburgs in 1707 at the Diet of Ónód took power as the "Ruling Prince" of Hungary. The Hungarian Kuruc army lost the main clash at the Battle of Trencsén; however, there were also successful actions, for example when Ádám Balogh almost captured the Austrian Emperor with Kuruc troops. When the Austrians defeated the uprising in 1711, Rákóczi was in Poland. He later fled to France and finally Turkey, and lived to the end of his life (1735) in nearby Rodosto. Ladislas Ignace de Bercheny, the son of Miklós Bercsényi, immigrated to France and created the first French hussar regiment. Afterwards, to make further armed resistance impossible, the Austrians blew up a lot of castles and fortress (most of the castles on the border between the now-reclaimed territories occupied earlier by the Ottomans and Royal Hungary), and allowed peasants to use the stones from most of the others as building material (the végvárs among them).

Period of Reforms (1825-1848)

Statue of Lajos Kossuth in the United States Capitol Artist Mihály Zichy's rendition of poet Sándor Petőfi reciting the Nemzeti dal to a crowd on March 15, 1848

During the Napoleonic Wars and afterwards, the Hungarian Diet had not convened for decades. In the 1820s, the Emperor was forced to convene the Diet, and thus a Reform Period began. Nevertheless, progress was slow, because the nobles who had the most seats insisted on retaining their privileges such as exemption from taxation. The main achievements were mostly of national character (e.g. introduction of Hungarian as the official language of the country).

Count István Széchenyi,the most prominent statesmen of the country recognized the urgent need of modernization and their message got through. The Hungarian Parliament was reconvened in 1825 to handle financial needs. A liberal party emerged in the Diet. The party focused on providing for the peasantry in mostly symbolic ways because of their ability to understand the needs of the laborers. Lajos Kossuth emerged as leader of the lower gentry in the Parliament. Habsburg monarchs tried to preclude the industrialisation of the country. A remarkable upswing started as the nation concentrated its forces on modernisation even though the Habsburg monarchs obstructed all important liberal laws about the human civil and political rights and economic reforms. Many reformers (like Lajos Kossuth, Mihály Táncsics ) were imprisoned by the authorities.

Map of the counties in the Kingdom of Hungary 19th century

Revolution and war of independence (1848-1849)

Main article: Hungarian Revolution of 1848

See: April laws

On March 15, 1848, mass demonstrations in Pest and Buda enabled Hungarian reformists to push through a list of 12 demands. The Hungarian Diet took the opportunity presented by the revolution to enact a comprehensive legislative program of dozens of civil and human rights reforms, referred to as the April laws. Faced with revolution both at home and in Vienna, Austrian Emperor Ferdinand I first had to accept Hungarian demands. After the Austrian revolution was suppressed,emperor Franz Joseph(ruling: 1849-1916) replaced his epileptic uncle Ferdinand I as Emperor. Franz Joseph refused all reforms and started to arm against Hungary. Later, under governor and president Lajos Kossuth and the first Prime minister, Lajos Batthyány, the House of Habsburg was dethroned and the form of government was changed to create the first Republic of Hungary. The Habsburg Ruler and his advisors skillfully manipulated the Croatian, Serbian and Romanian peasantry, led by priests and officers firmly loyal to the Habsburgs, and induced them to rebel against the Hungarian government. The Hungarians were supported by the vast majority of the Slovak, German and Rusyn nationalities and by all the Jews of the kingdom, as well as by a large number of Polish, Austrian and Italian volunteers.[38] Many members of the nationalities gained coveted highest positions within the Hungarian Army, like General János Damjanich, an ethnic Serb who became a Hungarian national hero through his command of the 3rd Hungarian Army Corps. In July 1849, Hungarian Parliament proclaimed and enacted foremost the ethnic and minority rights in the world.

Initially, the Hungarian forces (Honvédség) defeated Austrian armies. To counter the successes of the Hungarian revolutionary army, Franz Joseph asked for help from the "Gendarme of Europe," Czar Nicholas I, whose Russian armies invaded Hungary. The huge army of the Russian Empire and the remaining Austrian forces proved too powerful for the Hungarian army, and General Artúr Görgey surrendered in August 1849. Julius Freiherr von Haynau, the leader of the Austrian army, then became governor of Hungary for a few months and on October 6, ordered the execution of 13 leaders of the Hungarian army as well as Prime Minister Batthyány. Lajos Kossuth escaped into exile.

Cutaway Drawing of Millennium Underground in Budapest (1894-1896) which was the first underground in Continental Europe

Following the war of 1848–1849, the whole country was in "passive resistance". Archduke Albrecht von Habsburg was appointed military governor of Hungary, and this time was remembered for Germanization and oppression pursued with the help of Czech officers.

A Csonka automobile from 1904 (produced in Hungary). Between 1900 and 1918, there were ten automotive factories in Hungary.

Austria-Hungary (1867–1918)

Due to external and internal problems, reforms seemed inevitable to secure the integrity of the Habsburg Empire. Major Austrian military defeats, like the Battle of Königgrätz (1866), forced the Emperor to concede internal reforms. To appease Hungarian separatism, the Emperor made a deal with Hungary, negotiated by Ferenc Deák, called the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, by which the dual Monarchy of Austria–Hungary came into existence. The two realms were governed separately by two parliaments from two capitals, with a common monarch and common external and military policies. Economically, the empire was a customs union. The first prime minister of Hungary after the Compromise was Count Gyula Andrássy. The old Hungarian Constitution was restored, and Franz Joseph was crowned as King of Hungary.

Austria-Hungary was geographically the second largest country in Europe after the Russian Empire (239,977 sq. m in 1905 [39]), and the third most populous (after Russia and the German Empire).

The era witnessed an impressive economic development. The formerly backward Hungarian economy became relatively modern and industrialized by the turn of the century, although agriculture remained dominant until the 1890s. In 1873, the old capital Buda and Óbuda(Ancient Buda) were officially merged with the third city, Pest, thus creating the new metropolis of Budapest. The dynamic Pest grew into the country's administrative, political, economic, trade and cultural hub. Technological change accelerated industrialization and urbanization. The GNP per capita grew roughly 1.45% per year from 1870 to 1913. That level of growth compared very favorably to that of other European nations such as Britain (1.00%), France (1.06%), and Germany (1.51%). The key symbols of industrialization were (at the time) the famous Ganz concern, and Tungsram works. Many of the state institutions and the modern administrative system of Hungary were established during this period.

World War I

Main article: Hungary in World War I Hungarian built dreadnought class battleship SMS Szent Istvan

Austria–Hungary drafted 9 million (fighting forces: 7,8 million) soldiers in World War I (4 million from Kingdom of Hungary). The prime minister, István Tisza tried to avoid the breaking out and escalating of a war in Europe, but his diplomatic attempts remained unsuccessful. In the conflict Austria–Hungary was fighting on the side of Germany, Bulgaria and Turkey. The Central Powers conquered Serbia; then, with great difficulty, they were able to stop and repel the attacks of the Russian Empire. Romania proclaimed war. The Central Powers conquered Southern Romania and the Romanian capital Bucharest. On the Italian front, the Austro-Hungarian army could not make significant progress against Italy after January 1918. In places of Austria and Hungary where, Austrians and Hungarians were the majority (like Vienna and Budapest), the leftist liberal movements and politicians strengthened and supported the separatism of ethnic minorities. By that period, the economic situation had deteriorated (strikes in factories were organized by leftist and pacifist movements), and uprisings in the army had become commonplace. French Entente troops landed in Greece. In October 1918, the personal union with Austria was dissolved.

Between the two world wars (1918-1941)

Main article: Hungary between the two world wars

On October 31, 1918, smoldering unrest burst into revolution in Budapest, and roving soldiers assassinated István Tisza.[40] Due to pressure King Charles IV of Hungary appointed the leftist liberal Mihály Károlyi, a pro-Entente liberal to the post of prime minister.[40] After suing for a separate peace, the new government dissolved the parliament, pronounced Hungary an independent republic with Károlyi as provisional president, and proclaimed universal suffrage and freedom of the press and assembly.[40] The government launched preparations for land reform and promised elections, but neither goal was carried out.[40] On November 13, 1918, Charles IV surrendered his powers as King of Hungary; however, he did not abdicate, a technicality that made a return to the throne possible.[40]

In 1918, by a notion of Wilson's pacifism, Károlyi ordered the full disarmament of Hungarian Army. Hungary remained without national defense in the darkest hour of its history. Surrounding countries started to arm. The First Republic was proclaimed in November 16, 1918, with Károlyi being named as president. The Károlyi government pronounced illegal all armed associations and proposals which wanted to defend the integrity of the country.

The Károlyi government's measures failed to stem popular discontent, especially when the Entente powers began distributing slices of Hungary's traditional territory to Romania, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia.[40] French and Serbian forces occupied the southern parts of Hungary. The new government hoped for maintaining Hungary's territorial integrity on abandoning Austria and Germany and securing a separate peace.[40] The Entente, however, chose to consider Hungary a partner in the defeated Dual Monarchy and demanded surrender of more land.[40] On March 19, 1919, the French head of the Entente mission in Budapest handed Károlyi a note delineating final postwar boundaries, which were unacceptable to all Hungarians.[40] Károlyi resigned and turned power over to a coalition of Social Democrats and communists, who promised that Soviet Russia would help Hungary restore its original borders.[40] Despite the majority held by Social Democrats the communists under Béla Kun seized control.[40]

On March 1919 the Communist Party from Hungary, led by Béla Kun, came to power and proclaimed the Hungarian Soviet Republic. The Hungarian Red Army ousted Czech troops from the north and planned to march against the Romanian army in the east. Communists promised that Hungary would defend its territory without conscription(possibly with the help of the Soviet Red Army). Hence: the Red Army of Hungary was a very little voluntary army (53,000 men). In terms of domestic policy, the Communist government nationalized industrial and commercial enterprises, socialized housing, transport, banking, medicine, cultural institutions, and all landholdings of more than 400,000 square metres. In the aftermath of a coup attempt, the government took a series of actions called the Red Terror, murdering several hundred people (mostly intellectuals, scholars) , which alienated much of the population. In the face of domestic backlash and an advancing Romanian force, Béla Kun and most of his comrades fled to Austria, while Budapest was occupied on August 6. Kun and his followers took along numerous art treasures and the gold stocks of the National Bank.[41] All these events, and in particular the final military defeat, led to a deep feeling of dislike among the general population against the Soviet Union (which did not offer military assistance) and the Jews (since the majority of Kun's government were Jewish, making it easy to blame the Jews for the government's mistakes).

The Conservative Royalists counter-revolutionaries – the "Whites", assumed power, led by István Bethlen, a Transylvanian aristocrat, and Miklós Horthy, the former commander in chief of the Austro-Hungarian Navy. Starting in Western Hungary and spreading throughout the country: many Communists and other leftists were tortured and executed without trial. Radical Whites launched pogroms against the Jews, displayed as the cause of all the difficulties of Hungary. The leaving Romanian army pillaged the country: livestock, machinery and agricultural products were carried to Romania in hundreds of freight cars.[42][43]

Treaty of Trianon

The Treaty of Trianon: Hungary lost 72% of its land and lost its sea ports in Croatia, 3,425,000 Magyars found themselves separated from their motherland. The country lost 8 of its 10 biggest Hungarian cities [44][45]

Hungary's signing of the Treaty of Trianon on June 4, 1920, ratified the country's dismemberment. The territorial provisions of the treaty required Hungary to surrender more than two-thirds (72%) of its pre-war lands. Nearly one-third of the 10 million ethnic Hungarians found themselves outside the diminished homeland. The treaty even denied the affected populations the right to choose under whose sovereignty they would live. Only the little city of Sopron in western Hungary was allowed a plebiscite to decide its future, and it opted by a large margin to remain in Hungary.

New international borders separated Hungary's industrial base from its sources of raw materials and its former markets for agricultural and industrial products. Hungary lost 84% of its timber resources, 43% of its arable land, and 83% of its iron ore. Furthermore, post-Trianon Hungary possessed 90% of the engineering and printing industry of the Kingdom, while only 11% of timber and 16% iron was retained. In addition, 61% of arable land, 74% of public road, 65% of canals, 62% of railroads, 64% of hard surface roads, 83% of pig iron output, 55% of industrial plants, 100% of gold, silver, copper, mercury and salt mines, and most of all, 67% of credit and banking institutions of the former Kingdom of Hungary lay within the territory of Hungary's neighbors.[46][47][48]

István Bethlen, appointed prime minister by Horthy, restored order to the country by giving the radical counterrevolutionaries payoffs and government jobs in exchange for ceasing their campaign of terror against Jews and leftist extremists.[citation needed]

The revision of the Treaty of Trianon rose to the top of Hungary's political agenda and the strategy employed by Bethlen consisted by strengthening the economy and building relations with stronger nations. Revision of the treaty had such a broad backing in Hungary that Bethlen used it, at least in part, to deflect criticism of his economic, social, and political policies.

The Great Depression induced a drop in the standard of living and the political mood of the country shifted further toward the right. The government passed the First Jewish Law in 1938, establishing a quota system to limit Jewish involvement in the Hungarian economy.

As Hungary drifted further to the right, Prime Minister Béla Imrédy proposed that the government be reorganized along totalitarian lines and drafted a harsher Second Jewish Law, which greatly restricted Jewish involvement in the economy, culture, and society and, significantly, defined Jews by race instead of religion. This definition altered the status of those who had formerly converted from Judaism to Christianity.

Hungary in World War II (1941–1945)

Main article: Hungary during the Second World War A Turan I tank of the Hungarian 2nd Armoured Division in action near Debrecen, 1944. Map of Hungary in 1941

After being awarded by the Germans and Italians part of southern Czechoslovakia and Subcarpathia in the First Vienna Award of 1938, and then northern Transylvania in the Second Vienna Award of 1940, in 1941 Hungary participated in their first military maneuvers on the side of the Axis. Thus, Hungarian army was part of the invasion of Yugoslavia gaining some more territory and joining the Axis powers in the process (showing his disagreement, prime minister Pál Teleki committed suicide). On June 22, 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union under Operation Barbarossa. Hungary joined the German effort and declared war on the Soviet Union on June 26, and entered World War II on the side of the Axis. 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 March 19, 1944, as a result of this duplicity, German troops occupied Hungary in what was known as Operation Margarethe. On October 15, 1944, Horthy made a token effort to disengage Hungary from 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 the 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, nearly 440,000 Jews were deported mostly to Auschwitz.[49] The war left Hungary devastated destroying over 60% of the economy and causing huge loss of life. On February 13, 1945, the Hungarian capital city surrendered unconditionally. On May 8, 1945, World War II in Europe officially ended.

Communist era (1947–1989)

Main article: People's Republic of Hungary Main article: Hungarian Revolution of 1956 Communist Statue Park Vandalised fallen head of a statue of Joseph Stalin during the revolution

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. Many of the communist leaders of 1919 returned from Moscow. After 1948, Communist leader Mátyás Rákosi established Stalinist rule in the country complete with forced collectivization and planned economy. Mátyás Rákosi now attempted to impose authoritarian rule on Hungary. An estimated 2,000 people were executed and over 100,000 were imprisoned. Hungary experienced one of the harshest dictatorships in Europe. Approximately 350,000 officials and intellectuals were purged from 1948 to 1956 [50]

Rákosi had difficulty managing the economy and the people of Hungary saw living standards fall. His government became increasingly unpopular, and when Joseph Stalin died in 1953, Mátyás Rákosi was replaced as prime minister by Imre Nagy. However, he retained his position as general secretary of the Hungarian Workers Party and over the next three years the two men became involved in a bitter struggle for power.

Time's "Man of the Year" for 1956 was the Hungarian Freedom Fighter.[51]

As Hungary's new leader, Imre Nagy removed state control of the mass media and encouraged public discussion on political and economic reform. This included a promise to increase the production and distribution of consumer goods. Nagy also released anti-communists from prison and talked about holding free elections and withdrawing Hungary from the Warsaw Pact. Nagy was removed by Soviets. Rákosi did manage to secure the appointment of his puppet and close friend, Ernő Gerő, as his successor.

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. Heavy street fights started against the Soviet Army and the fearful secret police (State Protection Authority) in Budapest. The Soviets retaliated massively with military force, sending in over 150,000 troops and 2,500 tanks.[52] Nearly a quarter of a million people left the country during the brief time that the borders were open in 1956.

Kádár era (1956–1988) Once he was in power, János Kádár led an attack against revolutionaries. 21,600 mavericks (democrats, liberals, reformist communists alike) were imprisoned, 13,000 interned, and 400 killed. From the 1960s through the late 1980s, Hungary was often satirically referred to as "the happiest barrack" within the Eastern bloc. As a result of the relatively high standard of living, and more relaxed travel restrictions than that of other Eastern Bloc countries, Hungary was generally considered one of the better countries in which to live in Eastern Europe during the Cold War. (See also Goulash Communism for a discussion of the Hungarian variety of socialism.) This was under the autocratic rule of its controversial communist leader, János Kádár. It was the so called Kádár era (1956–1988). The last Soviet soldier left the country in 1991 thus ending Soviet military presence in Hungary. With the Soviet Union gone the transition to a market economy began.

The Third Hungarian Republic (1989–present)

See also: 2006 protests in Hungary Choose, please! - A 1990 political poster by Fidesz, depicting Leonid Brezhnev and Erich Honecker performing a traditional and widely known communist-style kiss-greeting (archive photo, above) and a kissing contemporary young couple (below). President George W. Bush speaks from Gellért Hill during the commemoration of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (Budapest, Hungary, Thursday, June 22, 2006)
"From this spot you could see tens of thousands of students and workers and other Hungarians marching through the streets. They called for an end to dictatorship, to censorship, and to the secret police. They called for free elections, a free press, and the release of political prisoners. These Hungarian patriots tore down the statue of Josef Stalin, and defied an empire to proclaim their liberty." —George W. Bush, Former President of the United States

In June 1987 Károly Grósz took over as premier. In January 1988 all restrictions were lifted on foreign travel. In March demonstrations for democracy and civil rights brought 15,000 onto the streets. In May, after Kádár's forced retirement, Grósz was named party secretary general. Under Grósz, Hungary began moving towards full democracy, change accelerated under the impetus of other party reformers such as Imre Pozsgay and Rezső Nyers. Also in June 1988, 30,000 demonstrated against Romania's communist Regime plans to demolish Transylvanian villages.

In February, 1989 the Communist Party's Central Committee, responding to 'public dissatisfaction', announced it would permit a multi-party system in Hungary and hold free elections. In March, for the first time in decades, the government declared the anniversary of the 1848 Revolution a national holiday. Opposition demonstrations filled the streets of Budapest with more than 75,000 marchers. Grósz met Mikhail Gorbachev in Moscow, who condoned Hungary's moves toward a multi-party system and promised that the USSR would not interfere in Hungary's internal affairs. In May, Hungary began taking down its barbed wire fence along the Austrian border – the first tear in the Iron Curtain. June brought the reburial of Prime Minister Nagy, executed after the 1956 Revolution, drawing a crowd of 250,000 at the Heroes' Square. The last speaker, 26-year-old Viktor Orbán publicly called for Soviet troops to leave Hungary. In July U.S. President George H. W. Bush visited Hungary. In September Foreign Minister Gyula Horn announced that East German refugees in Hungary would not be repatriated but would instead be allowed to go to the West. The resulting exodus shook East Germany and hastened the fall of the Berlin Wall. On October 23, Mátyás Szűrös declared Hungary a republic.

At a party congress in October 1989 the Communists agreed to give up their monopoly on power, paving the way for free elections in March 1990. The party's name was changed from the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party to simply the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) and a new programme advocating social democracy and a free-market economy was adopted. This was not enough to shake off the stigma of four decades of autocratic rule, however, and the 1990 election was won by the centre-right Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF), which advocated a gradual transition towards capitalism. The liberal Alliance of Free Democrats (SZDSZ), which had called for much faster change, came second and the Socialist Party trailed far behind. As Gorbachev looked on, Hungary changed political systems with scarcely a murmur and the last Soviet troops left Hungary in June 1991.

In coalition with two smaller parties, the MDF provided Hungary with sound government during its hard transition to a full market economy. József Antall, the first democratically-elected prime minister of Hungary, died in December 1993 and was replaced by the Interior Minister Péter Boross.

The economic changes of the early 1990s resulted in declining living standards for most people in Hungary. In 1991 most state subsidies were removed, leading to a severe recession exacerbated by the fiscal austerity necessary to reduce inflation and stimulate investment. This made life difficult for many Hungarians, and in the May 1994 elections the Hungarian Socialist Party led by former Communists won an absolute majority in parliament. This in no way implied a return to the past, and party leader Gyula Horn was quick to point out that it was his party that had initiated the whole reform process in the first place (as foreign minister in 1989 Horn played a key role in opening Hungary's border with Austria). All three main political parties advocate economic liberalisation and closer ties with the West. In March 1996, Horn was re-elected as Socialist Party leader and confirmed that he would push ahead with the party's economic stabilisation programme.

In 1997 in a national referendum 85% voted in favour of Hungary joining the NATO. A year later the European Union began negotiations with Hungary on full membership. In 1999 Hungary joined NATO. Hungary voted in favour of joining the EU, and joined in 2004.

Science

Rubik's cube

As of 2007, 13 native Hungarians had received a Nobel prize, more than Japan, China, India, Australia or Spain.[53]. A further eight scientists of Hungarian origin on both sides but born abroad had received the prize.

Hungary is famous for its excellent mathematics education which has trained numerous outstanding scientists. Famous Hungarian mathematicians include János (John) Bolyai (Bolyai János), designer of modern geometry ( non-Euclidean (or "absolute") geometry ) in 1831. Paul Erdős (Erdős Pál), famed for publishing in over forty languages and whose Erdős numbers are still tracked; ;[54] and John von Neumann (Neumann János),Quantum Theory, a pioneer of digital computing. Many Hungarian Jewish scientists, including Erdős, von Neumann, Leo Szilard (Szilárd Leó), Edward Teller (Teller Ede), and Eugene Wigner (Wigner Jenő), fled rising anti-Semitism in Europe and made their most famous contributions in the United States. Charles Simonyi (Hungarian: Simonyi Károly) is a Hungarian-American computer software executive who, as head of Microsoft's application software group, oversaw the creation of Microsoft's flagship office applications. Simonyi has been a space tourist twice.

Albert Szent-Györgyi, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1937 Charles Simonyi.

Hungarian inventions include the noiseless match (János Irinyi), Rubik's cube (Ernő Rubik), the first electric motor(1827) and first electrical generator (Ányos Jedlik), Ottó Bláthy, Miksa Déri and Károly Zipernowsky invented the transformer in 1885[55].[55] Ottó Bláthy invented the Turbogenerator and Wattmeter, Telephone exchange (Tivadar Puskás), Ford Model T and production line (therefore he is the inventor of industrial mass production) (József Galamb), Tungsten filament lamp (Sándor Just), krypton electric bulb (Imre Bródy), Electronic Television and camrera-tube and the transmitting and receiving system (1926) and Plasma TV (1936) (Kálmán Tihanyi), radar astronomy and Electroluminescent light (LED) technology Zoltán Bay, mathematical tools to study fluid flow and mathematical background of subsonic and supersonic flight and inventor of swept-back wings "father of Supersonic Flight" (Theodore Kármán), early ramjet propulsion (Albert Fonó), Turboprop jet-engine by (György Jendrassik). Several other inventions were made by Hungarians who fled the country prior to World War II, including the nuclear chain reaction and nuclear reactor as well as the first Particle accelerator (all by Leo Szilard), holography (Dennis Gabor), the ballpoint pen (László Bíró), the hydrogen bomb (Edward Teller (Teller Ede), and the BASIC programming language (John Kemeny, with Thomas E. Kurtz).[54]

Politics

Hungarian Parliament in Budapest Main article: Politics of Hungary

The President of the Republic, elected by the Parliament every five years, has a largely ceremonial role, for example choosing the dates of elections, and ratifying laws.

The Prime Minister is elected by Parliament and can only be removed by a constructive vote of no confidence. 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.

Regions, counties, and subregions

Counties of Hungary Main articles: Counties of Hungary, Regions of Hungary, and Subregions of Hungary
See also List of historic counties of Hungary

Administratively, Hungary is divided into 19 counties. In addition, the capital city (főváros), Budapest, is independent of any county government. The counties and the capital are the 20 NUTS third-level units of Hungary.

The counties are further subdivided into 173 subregions (kistérségek), and Budapest is its own subregion. Since 1996, the counties and City of Budapest have been grouped into 7 regions for statistical and development purposes. These seven regions constitute NUTS' second-level units of Hungary.

There are also 23 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.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Hungary Hungarian National Bank

Hungary held its first multi-party elections in 1990, following four decades of Communist rule, and has succeeded in transforming its centrally planned economy into a market economy. Both foreign ownership of and foreign investment in Hungarian firms are widespread. The governing coalition, comprising the Hungarian Socialist Party and the liberal Alliance of Free Democrats, prevailed in the April 2006 general election. Hungary needs to reduce government spending and further reform its economy in order to meet the 2012–2013 target date for accession to the euro zone.

Hungary has continued 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 into Central Europe, with cumulative foreign direct investment totaling more than US$185 billion since 1989. It enjoys strong trade, fiscal, monetary, investment, business, and labor freedoms. The top income tax rate is fairly high, but corporate taxes are low. Inflation is low, it was on the rise in the past few years, but it is now starting to regulate. Investment in Hungary is easy, although it is subject to government licensing in security-sensitive areas. Foreign capital enjoys virtually the same protections and privileges as domestic capital. The rule of law is strong, a professional judiciary protects property rights, and the level of corruption is low.

Audi TT sports car manufactured by Audi in Győr.

Total government spending is high. Many state-owned enterprises have not been privatized. Business licensing is a problem, as regulations are not applied consistently.[56] According to the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation, Hungary's economy was 67.2 percent "free" in 2008,[56] which makes it the world's 43rd-freest economy. Its overall score is 1 percent lower than last year, partially reflecting new methodological detail. Hungary is ranked 25th out of 41 countries in the European region, and its overall score is slightly lower than the regional average.[56] Economic reform measures such as health care reform, tax reform, and local government financing are being addressed by the present government.

According to Eurostat data, Hungarian PPS GDP per capita stood at 63 per cent of the EU average in 2008.[57]

Geography

Main article: Geography of Hungary See also: List of national parks of Hungary Topographic map of Hungary

Landscape

Lake Balaton A temple in the puszta (Great Hungarian Plain).

Slightly more than one half of Hungary's landscape consists of flat to rolling plains of the Pannonian 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 1,014 m (3327 ft)).

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 Pannonian Basin is the artificial Lake Tisza (Tisza-tó).

Phytogeographically, Hungary belongs to the Central European province of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, the territory of Hungary belongs to the ecoregion of Pannonian mixed forests.

Climate

Hungary has a Continental climate,[58] with hot summers with low overall humidity levels but frequent rainshowers and frigid to cold snowy winters. 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 millimeters (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.

Military

Main article: Military of Hungary Hungarian Ground Forces welcome the President of the United States. Mounted hussars can be seen along the top.

The Military of Hungary, or "Hungarian Armed Forces" currently has two branches, the "Hungarian Ground Force" and the "Hungarian Air Force." The Hungarian Ground Force (or Army) is known as the "Corps of Homeland Defenders" (Honvédség). This term was originally used to refer to the revolutionary army established by Lajos Kossuth and the National Defence Committee of the Revolutionary Hungarian Diet in September 1848 during the Hungarian Revolution.The term Honvédség is the name of the military of Hungary since 1848 referring to its purpose (véd in Honvéd) of defending the country. The Hungarian Army is called Magyar Honvédség. The rank equal to a Private is a Honvéd. The Hungarian Air Force is the air force branch of the Hungarian Army.

Hungary is a contributor of military troops to Eufor

Black Army of Hungary: The Black Army (Black Legion or Host) - named after their black armor panoply - is in historigraphy the common name given to the excellent quality of diverse and polyglot military forces serving under the reign of King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary. It is recognized as the first standing continental European fighting force not under conscription and with regular pay since the Roman Empire. Hungary's Black Army traditionally encompasses the years from 1458 to 1490.

Hussar: A type of irregular light horsemen was already well established by the 15th century in medieval Hungary. Hussar refers to a number of types of light cavalry created in Hungary[59] in the 15th century and used throughout Europe and even in America since the 18th century. Some modern military units retain the title 'hussar' for reasons of tradition.

Demographics

Main articles: Demographics of Hungary, Roma minority of Hungary, Germans of Hungary, and Jews of Hungary
Ethnic composition of Hungary (census 2001)
Hungarian   94.4%
Roma   2.02%
German   1.18%
Slovak   0.38%
Other   2.02%

For 95% of the population, the mother language is Hungarian, a Finno-Ugric language distantly related to Finnish and Estonian. The largest minority groups are are the Roma (2.1% to 10%) and the Germans (1.2%). Other groups include: Slovaks (0.4%), Croats and Bunjevcis (0.2%), Romanians (0.1%), Ukrainians (0.1%), and Serbs (0.1%).[60] Roma make up as much as 10% of the population in Hungary (unofficial estimation).[61] For historical reasons (see Treaty of Trianon), significant Hungarian minority populations can be found in the surrounding countries, most of them in Romania (in Transylvania), Slovakia, Serbia (in Vojvodina). Sizable minorities live also in Ukraine (in Transcarpathia), Croatia (mainly Slavonia) and Austria (in Burgenland). Slovenia is also host to a number of ethnic Hungarians, and Hungarian language has an official status in parts of the Prekmurje region. The largest wave of German-speaking immigrants into Hungary occurred after the Treaty of Karlowitz. Between 1700 and 1750, German-speaking settlers immigrated to the regions of Pannonia, Banat, and Bačka, which had been depopulated by the Ottoman wars. Prior to World War II, approximately 1.5 million Danube Swabians lived in Hungary, Romania and Yugoslavia.[62] In 2001, 62,105 people declared to be German in Hungary.[63]

Religion in Hungary

Religions in Hungary
Religious affiliation in Hungary (2001)[64]
Denominations Population % of total
Christianity 7,584,115 74.4
Catholicism 5,558,901 54.5
Roman Catholics 5,289,521 51.9
Greek Catholics 268,935 2.6
Protestantism 1,985,576 19.5
Calvinists 1,622,796 15.9
Lutherans 304,705 3.0
Baptists 17,705 0.2
Unitarians 6,541 0.1
Other Protestants 33,829 0.3
Orthodox Christianity 15,298 0.1
Other Christians 24,340 0.2
Judaism 12,871 0.1
Other religions 13,567 0.1
Total religions 7,610,553 74.6
No religion 1,483,369 14.5
Did not wish to answer 1,034,767 10.1
Unknown 69,566 0.7
total 10,198,315 100.00

Religious history

Basilica and the Dark gate in Esztergom Matthias Church in Budapest

The majority of Hungarian people became Christian in the 10th century. Hungary's first king, Saint Stephen I[65] embraced Roman Catholicism, although his mother, Sarolt, was baptized in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Hungary remained predominantly Catholic until the 16th century, when the Reformation took place and, as a result, first Lutheranism, then soon afterwards Calvinism tried to make inroads against the notably resistant Catholic faithful. In the second half of the 16th century, however, Jesuits led a successful campaign of counterreformation among the Hungarians. The Jesuits founded educational institutions, including Péter Pázmány, the oldest university that still exists in Hungary. Jesuits organized missions to promote popular piety. By the 17th century, Hungary had once again become predominantly Catholic. Some of the eastern parts of the country, however, especially around Debrecen ("the Calvinist Rome"), still have significant Protestant communities. Eastern Orthodox Church 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 belong to the Armenian Catholic Church which is in communion with the Catholic Church. According to the same pattern, a significant number of Greek Orthodox in the Eastern Orthodox Church became re-united with Rome as the (Hungarian Greek Catholic Church).

Jews in Hungary

Main article: History of the Jews in Hungary

Hungary has historically been home to a significant Jewish community, especially since the 19th century when many Jews, persecuted in Russia, found refuge in the Kingdom of Hungary. The largest synagogue in Europe is located in Budapest. The census of January 1941 found that 6.2% of the population, i.e. 846,000 people, were considered Jewish according to the racial laws of that time. From this number, 725,000 were Jewish by religion.[66] Some Jews from Hungary were able to escape the Holocaust with the help of Swedish Diplomat Raul Wallenberg. Many others fell victim to the deportations to Germany's concentration camps or were executed by the Arrow Cross. Many Hungarian Jews living in Southern Transylvania fell victim to Romanian fascists.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Hungary

Architecture

See also: List of Hungarian architects

Hungary is home to the largest synagogue in Europe (Great Synagogue), the largest medicinal bath in Europe (Széchenyi Medicinal Bath), the third largest church in Europe (Esztergom Basilica), the second largest territorial abbey in the world (Pannonhalma Archabbey), the second largest Baroque castle in the world (Gödöllő), and the largest Early Christian Necropolis outside Italy (Pécs).

The biggest old cathedrals and most important old Hungarian architecture located in the surrounding countries.

Music

Main article: Music of Hungary Hungarian State Opera House Ferenc Liszt

The music of Hungary consists mainly of traditional Hungarian folk music and music by prominent composers such as Liszt, Dohnányi, Bartók, Kodály, and Rózsa. Hungarian traditional music tends to have a strong dactylic rhythm, as the language is invariably stressed on the first syllable of each word. Hungary also has a number of internationally renowned composers of contemporary classical music, György Ligeti, György Kurtág, Péter Eötvös and Zoltán Jeney among them.

Béla Bartók, the second prominent Hungarian composer and contemporary of Ferenc Liszt.

Hungary has made many contributions to the fields of folk, popular and classical music. Hungarian folk music is a prominent part of the national identity and continues to play a major part in Hungarian music. Hungarian folk music has been influential in neighboring areas such as Romania, Slovakia, southern Poland and especially in southern Slovakia and the Romanian region of Transylvania, both home to significant numbers of Hungarians.

Broughton claims that Hungary's "infectious sound has been surprisingly influential on neighbouring countries (thanks perhaps to the common Austro-Hungarian history) and it's not uncommon to hear Hungarian-sounding tunes in Romania, Slovakia and southern Poland".</ref>[67] It is also strong in the Szabolcs-Szatmár area and in the southwest part of Transdanubia, near the border with Croatia. The Busójárás carnival in Mohács is a major Hungarian folk music event, formerly featuring the long-established and well-regarded Bogyiszló orchestra.[68]

Hungarian classical music has long been an "experiment, made from Hungarian antedecents and on Hungarian soil, to create a conscious musical culture [using the] musical world of the folk song".[69] Although the Hungarian upper class has long had cultural and political connections with the rest of Europe, leading to an influx of European musical ideas, the rural peasants maintained their own traditions such that by the end of the 19th century Hungarian composers could draw on rural peasant music to (re)create a Hungarian classical style.[70] For example, Béla Bartók and Zoltán Kodály, two of Hungary's most famous composers, are known for using folk themes in their music. Bartók collected folk songs from across Eastern Europe, including Romania and Slovakia, whilst Kodály was more interested in creating a distinctively Hungarian musical style.

During the era of Communist rule in Hungary (1944–1989) a Song Committee scoured and censored popular music for traces of subversion and ideological impurity. Since then, however, the Hungarian music industry has begun to recover, producing successful performers in the fields of jazz such as trumpeter Rudolf Tomsits, pianist-composer Károly Binder and, in a modernized form of Hungarian folk, Ferenc Sebő and Márta Sebestyén. The three giants of Hungarian rock, Illés, Metró and Omega, remain very popular, especially Omega, which has followings in Germany and beyond as well as in Hungary. Older veteran underground bands such as Beatrice from the 1980s also remain popular.

Literature

Main article: Hungarian literature Ferenc Kölcsey, author of the lyrics of the Hungarian national anthem The oldest survivng Hungarian (and Finno-Ugric) poem, Old Hungarian Laments of Mary

In the earliest times Hungarian language was written in a runic-like script (although it was not used for literature purposes in the modern interpretation). The country switched to the Latin alphabet after being Christianized under the reign of Stephen I of Hungary (1000–1038). There are no existing documents from the pre-11th century era. The oldest written record in Hungarian is a fragment in the founding document of the Abbey of Tihany (1055) which contains several Hungarian terms, among them the words feheruuaru rea meneh hodu utu rea, "up the military road to Fehérvár" The rest of the document was written in Latin. The oldest complete text is the Funeral Sermon and Prayer (Halotti beszéd és könyörgés) (1192–1195), a translation of a Latin sermon. The oldest poem is the Old Hungarian Laments of Mary (Ómagyar Mária-siralom), also a (not very strict) translation from Latin, from the 13th century. It is also the oldest surviving Finno-Ugric poem. Among the first chronicles about Hungarian history were Gesta Hungarorum ("Deeds of the Hungarians") by the unknown author usually called Anonymus, and Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum ("Deeds of the Huns and the Hungarians") by Simon Kézai. Both are in Latin. These chronicles mix history with legends, so historically they are not always authentic. Another chronicle is the Képes krónika (Illustrated Chronicle), which was written for Louis the Great.

Renaissance literature flourished under the reign of King Matthias (1458–1490). Janus Pannonius, although wrote in Latin, counts as one of the most important persons in Hungarian literature, being the only significant Hungarian Humanist poet of the period. The first printing house was also founded during Matthias' reign, by András Hess, in Buda. The first book printed in Hungary was the Chronica Hungarorum. Matthias Corvinus's library, the Bibliotheca Corviniana, was among Europe's greatest collections of secular historical chronicles and philosophic and scientific works in the fifteenth century. In 1489, Bartolomeo della Fonte of Florence wrote that Lorenzo de Medici founded his own Greek-Latin library encouraged by the example of the Hungarian king. Corvinus's library is part of UNESCO World Heritage. Other important figures of Hungarian Renaissance: Bálint Balassi (poet) , Sebestyén Tinódi Lantos (poet).

The most important poets of the period was Bálint Balassi (1554–1594) and Miklós Zrínyi (1620–1664). Balassi's poetry shows Mediaeval influences, his poems can be divided into three sections: love poems, war poems and religious poems. Zrínyi's most significant work, the epic Szigeti veszedelem ("Peril of Sziget", written in 1648/49) is written in a fashion similar to the Iliad, and recounts the heroic Battle of Szigetvár, where his great-grandfather died while defending the castle of Szigetvár. Among the religious literary works the most important is the Bible translation by Gáspár Károli (The second Hungarian translation in the history), the Protestant pastor of Gönc, in 1590. The translation is called the Bible of Vizsoly, after the town where it was first published. (See Hungarian Bible translations for more details.)

The Hungarian enlightenment was delayed about fifty years compared to the Western European enlightenment. The new thoughts arrived to Hungary across Vienna. The first enlightened writers were Maria Theresia's bodyguards (György Bessenyei, János Batsányi and so on). The greatest poets of the time were Mihály Csokonai Vitéz and Dániel Berzsenyi. The greatest figure of the language reform was Ferenc Kazinczy. The Hungarian language became feasible for scientific explanations from this time, and furthermore many new words were coined for describing new inventions.

Hungarian literature has recently gained some renown outside the borders of Hungary (mostly through translations into German, French and English). Some modern Hungarian authors have become 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 have 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 Ferenc Móra, Géza Gárdonyi, Zsigmond Móricz, Gyula Illyés, Albert Wass, Magda Szabó and Ladislas Farago.

Cuisine

Main article: Cuisine of Hungary A nicely prepared Hortobágyi palacsinta served in Sopron A slice from a Dobos Cake

The Hungarian cuisine is a prominent feature of the Hungarian culture, just as much like the art of hospitality. Traditional dishes such as the world famous Goulash (gulyás stew or gulyásleves soup). Dishes are often flavoured with paprika (ground red peppers), a Hungarian innovation.[71] Thick, heavy Hungarian sour cream called tejföl is often used to soften the dishes flavour. The famous Hungarian hot river fish soup called Fisherman's soup or halászlé is usually a rich mixture of several kinds of poached fish.

Other dishes are Chicken Paprikash, Foie gras made of goose liver, pörkölt stew, vadas, (game stew with vegetable gravy and dumplings), trout with almonds and salty and sweet dumplings, like túrós csusza, (dumplings with fresh quark cheese and thick sour cream). Desserts include the iconic Dobos Cake, Strudels (rétes), filled with apple, cherry, poppy seed or cheese, Gundel pancake, plum dumplings (szilvás gombóc), somlói dumplings, dessert soups like chilled Sour cherry soup and sweet chestnut puree, gesztenyepüré (cooked chestnuts mashed with sugar and rum and split into crumbs, topped with whipped cream). Perec and kifli are widly popular pastries.

The csárda is the most distinctive type of Hungarian inn, an old-style tavern offering traditional cuisine and beverages. Borozó usually denotes a cozy old-fashioned wine tavern, pince is a beer or wine cellar and a söröző is a pub offering draught beer and sometimes meals. The bisztró is an inexpensive restaurant often with self-service. The büfé is the cheapest place, although one may have to eat standing at a counter. Pastries, cakes and coffee are served at the confectionery called cukrászda, while an eszpresszó is a cafeteria.

Drinks

Main articles: Hungarian wine and Hungarian beer A cold bottle of Unicum Tokaji, "Wine of Kings, King of Wines" ("Vinum Regum, Rex Vinorum")—Louis XIV of France.

Pálinka: is a fruit brandy, distilled from basically any sort of fruits. It is a spirit native to Hungary and comes in a variety of flavours including apricot (barack), cherry (cseresznye), apple (alma), pear (körte), strawberry (eper), etc.

Beer: Beer goes well with many traditional Hungarian dishes. The five main Hungarian breweries are: Borsodi, Soproni, Arany Ászok, Kõbányai, and Dreher.

Wine: As Hugh Johnson says in The History of Wine, the territory of Hungary is ideal for wine-making. Since the fall of communism there is a renaissance of Hungarian wine-making. The choice of good wine is widening from year to year. The country can be divided to six wine regions: North-Transdanubia, Lake Balaton, South-Pannónia, Duna-region or Alföld, Upper-Hungary and Tokaj-Hegyalja. Hungarian wine regions offer a great variety of style: the main products of the country are elegant and full-bodied dry whites with good acidity, although complex sweet whites (Tokaj), elegant (Eger) and full-bodied robust reds (Villány and Szekszárd). The main varieties are: Olaszrizling, Hárslevelű, Furmint, Pinot gris or Szürkebarát, Chardonnay (whites), Kékfrankos (or Blaufrankisch in German), Kadarka, Portugieser, Zweigelt, Cabernet sauvignon, Cabernet franc and Merlot. The most famous wines from Hungary are Tokaji Aszú and Egri Bikavér.

Tokaji: Tokaji, meaning "of Tokaj", or "from Tokaj" in Hungarian, is used to label wines from the wine region of Tokaj-Hegyalja in Hungary. Tokaji wine has received accolades from numerous great writers and composers including Beethoven, Liszt, Schubert and Goethe; Joseph Haydn's favorite wine was a Tokaji. Louis XV and Frederick the Great tried to outdo one another in the excellence of the vintages they stocked when they treated guests like Voltaire to some Tokaji. Napoleon III, the last Emperor of the French, ordered 30–40 barrels of Tokaji for the Court every year. Gustav III, King of Sweden, never had any other wine to drink. In Russia, customers included Peter the Great and Empress Elizabeth of Russia.

Zwack Unicum: For over 150 years, a blend of 40 Hungarian herbs has been used to create the liqueur Unicum. Unicum is a bitter, dark-coloured liqueur that can be drunk as an apéritif or after a meal, thus helping the digestion. The recipe is held secret by the Zwack family.

Spa Culture

Rudas Bath is a thermal and medicinal bath that was first built in 1550.

Hungary is a land of thermal water. A passion for spa culture and Hungarian history have been connected from the very beginning. It has been shown that Hungarian spa culture is multicultural. The basis of this claim is architecture: Hungarian spas feature Roman, Greek, Turkish, and northern country architectural elements.[citation needed] Due to an advantageous geographical location thermal water can be found with good quality and in great quantities on over 80% of Hungary's territory.

The Romans heralded the first age of spa in Hungary, the remains of their bath complexes are still to be seen in Óbuda, to this day. The spa culture was revived during the Turkish Invasion who used the thermal springs of Buda for the construction of a number of bathhouses, some of which are still functioning (Király Baths, Rudas Baths). In the 19th century the advancement in deep drilling and medical science provided the springboard for a further leap in bathing culture. Grand spas such as Gellért Baths, Lukács Baths, Margaret Island, and Széchenyi Medicinal Bath are a reflection of this resurgence in popularity. Approximately 1,500 thermal springs can be found in Hungary. About half of these are used for bathing.

The spa culture has a nearly 2,000 year history in Budapest. Budapest has the richest supply of thermal water among the capitals of the world. The amount of thermal water used in Budapest is roughly equal to two million bath tubs per day.[citation needed] There are approximately 450 public baths in Hungary. Nowadays the trend shows that bath operators are modernizing their facilities and expanding the services offered. A total of 50 of the 160 public baths are qualified as spas throughout the country. Services are offered for healing purposes. These spas provide every type of balneal and physical therapy. Throughout history bathing and spa tourism has always played an important role in Hungary.[citation needed]

The thermal lake of Hévíz

Lake Hévíz

The thermal lake of Hévíz is the largest biologically active, natural thermal lake of the world.[citation needed] The oldest and most well-known bath of Hungary, in accordance with records from the Roman era, has a history of 2000 years. The Hévíz treatment, in its present sense, also dates back more than 200 years. The 4.4 ha lake is fed by its spring rushing up at a depth of 38 m, containing sulphur, radium and minerals. Due to the high water output of the spring, the water of the lake is completely changed within 48 hours. The water of the Hévíz Lake is equally rich in dissolved substances and gases, combining the favourable effects of naturally carbonated medicinal waters and those containing sulphur, calcium, magnesium, hydrogen-carbonate, as well as those with a slightly radioactive content. The medicinal mud, which covers the bed of the lake in a thick layer, deserves special attention. The Hévíz mud, which is unique of its kind, contains both organic and inorganic substances and the radium-salts and reduced sulphuric solutions in it represent special medicinal factors. The medicinal water and mud originating from the then several thousand year-old Pannonian Sea, together with the complex physiotherapeutic treatments, are suitable for treating all kinds of rheumatic and locomotory diseases.[citation needed] The temperature of the water is 23-25 C in winter and 33-36 C in summer.

Folk Art

Folk Dance

Romanesque Church in village Ócsa.

Ugrós (Jumping dances): Old style dances dating back to the Middle Ages. Solo or couple dances accompanied by old style music, shepherd and other solo man's dances from Transylvania, and marching dances along with remnants of medieval weapon dances belong in this group.

Karikázó: a circle dance performed by women only accompanied by singing of folksongs.

Csárdás: New style dances developed in the 18-19th centuries is the Hungarian name for the national dances, with Hungarian embroidered costumes and energetic music. From the men's intricate bootslapping dances to the ancient women's circle dances, Csárdás demonstrates the infectious exuberance of the Hungarian folk dancing still celebrated in the villages.

Verbunkos: a solo man's dance evolved from the recruiting performances of the Austro-Hungarian army.

The Legényes: is a men's solo dance done by the ethnic Hungarian people living in the Kalotaszeg region of Transylvania. Although usually danced by young men, it can be also danced by older men. The dance is performed freestyle usually by one dancer at a time in front of the band. Women participate in the dance by standing in lines to the side and sing/shout verses while the men dance. Each lad does a number of points (dance phrases) typically four to eight without repetition. Each point consists of four parts, each lasting four counts. The first part is usually the same for everyone (there are only a few variations).

Embroidery

Woman's folk Costume

It was in the beginning of the eighteenth century that the present style of Hungarian folk art took shape, incorporating both Renaissance and Baroque elements, depending on the area, as well as Persian Sassanide influences. Flowers and leaves, sometimes a bird or a spiral ornament, are the principal decorative themes. The most frequent ornament is a flower with a centerpiece resembling the eye of a peacock's feather. Nearly all the manifestations of folk art practiced elsewhere in Europe also flourished among the Magyar peasantry at one time or another, their ceramics and textile being the most highly developed of all. The finest achievements in their textile arts are the embroideries which vary from region to region. Those of Kalotaszeg in Transylvania are charming products of Oriental design, sewn chiefly in a single color - red, blue, or black. Soft in line, the embroideries are applied on altar cloths, pillow cases and sheets. In Hungary proper Sárköz in Transdanubia and the Matyóföld in the Great Hungarian Plain produce the finest embroideries. In the Sárköz region the women's caps show black and white designs as delicate as lace and give evidence of the people's wonderfully subtle artistic feeling. The embroidery motifs applied to women's wear have also been transposed to tablecloths and runners suitable for modern use as wall decorations.

Black pottery

These vessels, made of black clay, reflect more than three hundred years of traditional Transdanubian folk patterns and shapes. No two are precisely alike, since all work is done by hand, including both the shaping and the decorating. The imprints are made by the thumb or a finger of the ceramist who makes the piece.

Herend Porcelain

Main article: Herend Porcelain

Founded in 1826, Herend Porcelain is one of the world's largest ceramic factories, specializing in luxury hand painted and gilded porcelain. In the mid-19th century it was purveyor to the Habsburg Dynasty and aristocratic customers throughout Europe. Many of its classic patterns are still in production. After the fall of communism in Hungary the factory was privatised and is now 75% owned by its management and workers, exporting to over 60 countries of the world.[72]

Hungarian domestic animals

There are special Hungarian species of domestic animals which are seen as national symbols in Hungary. The long-horn Hungarian Grey Cattle is traditionally kept in the open full year. The Hungarian Vizsla, the Puli, the Komondor, the Kuvasz, the Pumi, the Hungarian Greyhound, the Transylvanian Bloodhound and the Mudi are all considered breeds originating in Hungary. Hungarian thoroughbred horses are a mid-19th century mixture of the best Arab and English race horse characteristics. The Mangalica, a breed of pigs, are characterised by their long curly hair and relatively fatty meat which makes them ideal for making sausages and salami.

Sport

See also: Golden Team Ferenc Puskás, football player

Only seven countries (USA, USSR, UK, France, Italy, China and Germany) have won more Summer Olympic gold medals than Hungary. Hungary has the most Olympic gold medals per capita. In the all-time Olympic Games medal table, Hungary ranks 9th out of 211 participating nations, with a total of 465 medals. The 2008 Chinese Olympics, however, were disappointing for Hungarian 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 where they have won multiple medals; this may be surprising, 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. Hungary has dominated men's water polo at the Summer Olympics.

Some of the world's best sabre fencing athletes have historically hailed from Hungary. The Hungarian national ice hockey team has also qualified for its first IIHF World Championship in more than seventy years.

See also

Hungary portal
Austria-Hungary portal
Main article: Outline of Hungary
Hungary topics
History Prehistory · Pannonia · Middle ages · Ottoman Hungary · 1700-1919 · World War I · Between the World Wars · World War II · The People's Republic · 2006 protests
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Geography Cities · Extreme points · Rivers
Economy Hungarian forint · Hungarian National Bank · Companies · Tourism · Transport · Communications
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Portal

Footnotes

  1. ^ Hungarian Central Statistical Office Retrieved 2008-03-16
  2. ^ a b c d "Hungary". International Monetary Fund. http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2009/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2006&ey=2009&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=944&s=NGDPD%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPGDP%2CPPPPC%2CLP&grp=0&a=&pr.x=67&pr.y=0. Retrieved on 2009-04-22.
  3. ^ "The plain facts - History". MTI. http://english.mti.hu/default.asp?cat=36&menu=6. Retrieved on 2008-11-11.
  4. ^ "East on the Danube: Hungary's Tragic Century". The New York Times. 2003-08-09. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B07E3D91531F93AA3575BC0A9659C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2. Retrieved on 2008-11-11.
  5. ^ "Kosovo’s Actions Hearten a Hungarian Enclave". The New York Times. 2008-04-07. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/07/world/europe/07hungarians.html?_r=1. Retrieved on 2008-11-12.
  6. ^ "Hungary". Encarta. http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761559741_11/Hungary.html#p68. Retrieved on 2008-11-12.
  7. ^ World Bank Country Classification, 2007
  8. ^ "PowerPoint bemutató" (PDF). http://www.amcham.hu/events/2008/20060326ICEG/Panel%201/Presentation_Retfalvi.pdf. Retrieved on 2008-11-21.
  9. ^ "Index - Világméretű influenzajárvány jöhet". Index.hu. http://index.hu/tudomany/bulvar081015/. Retrieved on 2008-11-21.
  10. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqbHk4Zhh6U
  11. ^ "Index - Miért menjünk Magyarországra? Miért menjünk Szlovákiába?". Index.hu. http://index.hu/gazdasag/vilag/szmturizm07/. Retrieved on 2008-11-21.
  12. ^ http://www.mth.gov.hu/download.php?ctag=download&docID=185
  13. ^ http://whc.unesco.org/archive/advisory_body_evaluation/400bis.pdf
  14. ^ "Budapest, including the Banks of the Danube, the Buda Castle Quarter and Andrássy Avenue - World Heritage Site - Pictures, info and travel reports". Worldheritagesite.org. http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/budapest.html. Retrieved on 2008-11-21.
  15. ^ Hungary, Encyclopædia Britannica.
  16. ^ Magyar (Hungarian) migration, 9th century
  17. ^ a b Stephen Sisa: The Spirit of Hungary - 1 Who Are the Magyars?
  18. ^ "http://www.babylon.com/definition/G%C3%A9za/English". Babylon. http://www.babylon.com/definition/Géza/English. Retrieved on 2008-11-20.
  19. ^ Asia Travel Europe. "Hungaria Travel Information | Asia Travel Europe". Asiatravel.com. http://www.asiatravel.com/europe/hungaria/travelinfo.html. Retrieved on 2008-11-21.
  20. ^ "Hunmagyar.Org - The Controversy On The Origins And Early History Of The Hungarians". Hunmagyar.org. http://www.hunmagyar.org/tor/controve.htm. Retrieved on 2008-11-21.
  21. ^ "Welcome to Cambridge Szeged website:: www.cambridge-szeged-society.org.uk". Cambridge-szeged-society.org.uk. http://www.cambridge-szeged-society.org.uk/history_library.html. Retrieved on 2008-11-21.
  22. ^ http://books.google.co.uk/books?ct=result&id=y0g4YEp7ZrsC&dq=%22B%C3%A9la+III%22+annual+revenue&pg=PA46&lpg=PA46&sig=ACfU3U2STdXJyC_RFJp9Ipb3Rw4SmsrWww&q=ladis#PPA28,M1
  23. ^ http://www.archive.org/stream/destinyofuniteds00smit/destinyofuniteds00smit_djvu.txt
  24. ^ http://www.hungarianhistory.com/lib/autonomy/komlossy.pdf
  25. ^ "The Daco-Roman Legend". Hungarianhistory.com. http://www.hungarianhistory.com/lib/kos/kos05.htm. Retrieved on 2008-11-21.
  26. ^ The Mongol invasion: the last Arpad kings, Encyclopaedia Britannica
  27. ^ http://www.kulugyminiszterium.hu/NR/rdonlyres/C9FDF041-86A7-4B20-8B73-94C568E448E5/0/Culture_en.pdf
  28. ^ Mongol Invasions: Battle of Liegnitz, HistoryNet
  29. ^ National and historical symbols of Hungary
  30. ^ "Hungary - History". Nationsencyclopedia.com. http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Europe/Hungary-HISTORY.html. Retrieved on 2008-11-21.
  31. ^ "C. A. Macartney: Hungary - A Short History". Mek.oszk.hu. http://mek.oszk.hu/02000/02086/02086.htm. Retrieved on 2008-11-21.
  32. ^ http://www.fondazione-delbianco.org/inglese/relaz00_01/mester.htm
  33. ^ a b "Hungary - Britannica Online Encyclopedia". Britannica.com. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/276730/Hungary#tab=active~checked%2Citems~checked&title=Hungary%20--%20Britannica%20Online%20Encyclopedia. Retrieved on 2008-11-21.
  34. ^ http://countrystudies.us/hungary/9.htm
  35. ^ "Hungary - The Bibliotheca Corviniana Collection: UNESCO-CI". Portal.unesco.org. http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=15976&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html. Retrieved on 2008-11-21.
  36. ^ http://geography.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/hutoc.html
  37. ^ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2267/is_n1_v63/ai_18501094/
  38. ^ Géza Jeszenszky: From "Eastern Switzerland" to Ethnic Cleansing ,Address at Duquesne History Forum, November 17, 2000, The author is former Ambassador of Hungary to the United States and was Foreign Minister in 1990–1994.
  39. ^ http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Austria-Hungary
  40. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Library of Congress country study on Hungary
  41. ^ http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9A05E4D91338EE32A25750C1A96E9C946896D6CF
  42. ^ "Magyar Tudomány 2000. január". Epa.niif.hu. http://epa.niif.hu/00700/00775/00014/109-113.html. Retrieved on 2008-11-21.
  43. ^ Ignác Romsics: Magyarország története a XX. században, 2004, p. 134
  44. ^ Molnár (2001) p. 262
  45. ^ Richard C. Frucht, Eastern Europe: An Introduction to the People, Lands, and Culture p. 359-360 online
  46. ^ Flood-light on Europe: a guide to the next war By Felix Wittmer Published by C. Scribner's sons, 1937 Item notes: pt. 443 Original from Indiana University Digitized Nov 13, 2008 p. 114
  47. ^ History of the Hungarian Nation By Domokos G. Kosáry, Steven Béla Várdy, Danubian Research Center Published by Danubian Press, 1969 Original from the University of California Digitized Jun 19, 2008 p. 222
  48. ^ The European powers in the First World War: an encyclopedia By Spencer Tucker, Laura Matysek Wood, Justin D. Murphy Edition: illustrated Published by Taylor & Francis, 1996 ISBN 0815303998, 9780815303992 p.697 [1]
  49. ^ United States Holocaust Memorial Museum; Holocaust Encyclopedia
  50. ^ Granville/ frm
  51. ^ "Man Of The Year, The Land and the People". Time magazine. 1957-01-07. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,808898-1,00.html. Retrieved on 2006-10-09.
  52. ^ Findley, Carter V., and John Rothney. Twentieth Century World. sixth ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2006. 278.
  53. ^ http://www.eupedia.com/hungary/trivia.shtml
  54. ^ a b The Contribution of Hungarians to Universal Culture (includes inventors), Embassy of the Republic of Hungary, Damascus, Syria, 2006.
  55. ^ a b International Electrical Congress
  56. ^ a b c Index of Economic Freedom
  57. ^ "GDP per capita in PPS". Eurostat. http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_PUBLIC/2-25062009-BP/EN/2-25062009-BP-EN.PDF. Retrieved on 2009-06-25.
  58. ^ Andrew Speedy. "Hungary". Fao.org. http://www.fao.org/ag/agp/agpc/doc/Counprof/Hungary/hungary.htm. Retrieved on 2008-11-21.
  59. ^ "Hussar". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.. 2008. http://britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/277525/hussar. Retrieved on 2008-08-15.
  60. ^ "Population Census 2001 – National and county data – Summary Data". Nepszamlalas.hu. http://www.nepszamlalas.hu/eng/volumes/06/00/tabeng/1/load01_10_0.html. Retrieved on 2008-11-21.
  61. ^ In Hungary, Roma get art show, not a hug, International Herald Tribune, February 7, 2008
  62. ^ "History of German Settlements in Southern Hungary" by Sue Clarkson
  63. ^ 18. Demographic data – Hungarian Central Statistical Office
  64. ^ "18. Demographic data – Hungarian Central Statistical Office". Nepszamlalas.hu. http://www.nepszamlalas.hu/eng/volumes/18/tables/load1_26.html. Retrieved on 2008-11-21.
  65. ^ The relic of Saint Stephen's hand can be seen in St. Istvan's Basilica
  66. ^ Volume 3, p.979, Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1982
  67. ^ Szalipszki, pg.12 Refers to the country as "widely considered" to be a "home of music".
  68. ^ Broughton, pg. 159-167
  69. ^ Szabolcsi, The Specific Conditions of Hungarian Musical Development "Every experiment, made from Hungarian antedecents and on Hungarian soil, to create a conscious musical culture (music written by composers, as different from folk music), had instinctively or consciously striven to develop widely and universally the musical world of the folk song. Folk poetry and folk music were deeply embedded in the collective Hungarian people’s culture, and this unity did not cease to be effective even when it was given from and expression by individual creative artists, performers and poets."
  70. ^ Szabolcsi
  71. ^ "Sulinet: Magyar növény-e a paprika?". Sulinet.hu. http://www.sulinet.hu/tart/fcikk/Kjc/0/23144/1. Retrieved on 2008-11-21.
  72. ^ Herend Porcelain Manufactory Ltd

References

External links

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Historical development of Hungary
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1 Has part of its territory outside Europe. 2 Entirely in West Asia but having socio-political connections with Europe. 3 Has dependencies or similar territories outside Europe. 4 Name disputed by Greece; see Macedonia naming dispute. 5 Declared independence from Serbia on February 17, 2008 and is recognised by 60 United Nations member states.
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Asked by Amanda - Sun May 3 17:20:17 2009 - - 2 Answers - 0 Comments

A. Current US Policy on Dual Citizenship explained as under: Current law and policy The current nationality laws of the United States do not specifically refer to dual nationality. The automatic acquisition or retention of a foreign nationality does not affect U.S. citizenship; however, under limited circumstances, the acquisition of a foreign nationality upon one's own application or the application of a duly authorized agent may cause loss of U.S. citizenship under Section 349 (a)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act [8 U.S.C. 1481 (a)(1)]. In order for loss of nationality to occur under Section 349 (a)(1), it must be established that the naturalization was obtained voluntarily by a person eighteen years of age or older with the… [cont.]
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