Official language: Hungarian
Currency: Forint (HUF)
Calling Code: 36
Time Zone: UTC +1
Emergency numbers:
Ambulance: 104
Mobile: 112
Police: 107
Fire: 105
Hungary (Hungarian. Magyarország literally -
“Hungarian country, Country of Hungarians (magyarok)”) - a state in
Central Europe. The population is 9,772,756 (2019), the area is
93,036 km². It occupies 89th place in the world in terms of
population and 108th in territory.
The capital is Budapest.
The official language is Hungarian.
According to the state
system - a unitary parliamentary republic.
Since May 2010,
Viktor Orban has been Prime Minister.
It is subdivided into
20 administrative-territorial units, 19 of which are copper, and 1
is a city of republican subordination, equated to copper.
Continental state in the center of Europe, landlocked. It has land
borders with Ukraine, Romania, Slovakia, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia
and Austria.
Most believers (about 54.5% of the population)
profess Catholicism.
An industrial country with a dynamically
developing economy. The volume of nominal GDP in 2015 amounted to
137 billion US dollars (about 13,910 US dollars per capita). The
currency is the Hungarian forint (the exchange rate as of May 8,
2016 is 275 forints for 1 US dollar).
Member of the UN since
1955, joined the GATT in 1973, joined the IMF and IBRD in 1982, the
Council of Europe in 1991. Since 1999, a member of NATO, since 2004
- the European Union. Since January 1, 2011, Hungary has been
chairing the European Union for six months.
Central Hungary
Esztergom
Gödöllő
Budaörs
Cegléd
Dunakeszi
Érd
Szentendre
Szigetszentmiklós
Vác
Lake Balaton
Siófok
Keszthely
Tapolca
Balatonfüred
Marcali
Balatonalmádi
Fonyód
Hévíz
Gyenesdiás
Vonyarcvashegy
Zalakaros
Western Transdanubia
Győr
Körmend
Kőszeg
Mosonmagyaróvár
Nagykanizsa
Sárvár
Sopron
Szombathely
Zalaegerszeg
Festetics
Palace
Pannonhalma
Abbey
Northern Hungary
Balassagyarmat
Eger
Gyöngyös
Hatvan
Kazincbarcika
Mezőkövesd
Miskolc
Ózd
Salgótarján
Aggtelek National Park
Bükk National Park
Boldogkő Castle
Diósgyőr
Castle
Hollókő
Northern Great Plain
Balmazújváros
Debrecen
Hajdúböszörmény
Hajdúszoboszló
Jászberény
Karcag
Nyíregyháza
Szolnok
Törökszentmiklós
Southern Great Plain
Baja
Békéscsaba
Gyula
Hódmezővásárhely
Kecskemét
Kiskunfélegyháza
Kiskunhalas
Orosháza
Szeged
Central Transdanubia
Székesfehérvár
Tata
Tatabánya
Várpalota
Veszprém
Bory Castle
Csesznek
Castle
Kinizsi
Castle
Sümeg Castle
Southern Transdanubia
Mohács
Paks
Pécs
Szekszárd
Szigetvár
Siklos
Castle
Simontornya
Castle
The territory of Hungary has a predominantly flat relief. Most of it
is located on the Middle Danube Plain. The western part of the Dunántúl
plain (Dunantul, literally - "Transdanube") is dissected by numerous
hills, up to 300 m high; eastern Alföld (Alföld, literally - "Low
Earth") has a flat, low-lying relief. The north-west of the country is
occupied by the Kisalföld lowland (Kisalföld, literally - “Little Low
Earth”), bounded in the west by the Alpokalya upland, which is the
foothills of the Alps, 500–800 m high (Irott-kö: 883 m). To the north of
Lake Balaton stretch the Middle Hungarian Mountains with plateau-like
massifs 400-700 m high (Bakon, Vertes, Dunazug). In the southern part of
Dunantul, blocky mountains of Mechek rise up to 681 m high (Zengyo
mountain). In the north of Hungary, there are spurs of the Western
Carpathians up to 1000 m high. They are dissected by wide river valleys
and represent isolated volcanic massifs and limestone plateaus (Berzhen,
Cerhat, Matra, Bukk, Cherehat, Zempleni-Hedsheg ...). Here (in Matra) is
the highest point of Hungary - Mount Kekes (1014 m). In the mountains on
the border with Slovakia is one of the largest karst caves in Europe
Aggtelek with underground rivers and lakes.
Bauxites, brown coal,
oil, gas, iron, manganese, copper, lead-zinc ores, mineral and thermal
waters are mined from minerals in Hungary.
The position of
Hungary, surrounded by mountains, has led to a continental type of
climate with mild winters and hot summers. Precipitation per year is
from 450 mm in the east to 900 mm in the mountains.
All rivers of
Hungary belong to the Danube basin. The Danube itself crosses the
country from north to south for 410 km. The largest lake - Balaton - is
an important international tourist center. Near its western tip is
Europe's largest lake of thermal origin - Lake Heviz, which has a
balneo-mud resort.
The vegetation cover of Hungary has been
significantly altered by man over time. Most of the territory is
dominated by cultivated vegetation - arable land, orchards, vineyards.
Forests are preserved in the mountains (mainly in the north-east of the
country near the border with Slovakia) and occupy about 20% of the
territory (broad-leaved forests grow up to a height of 800-1000 m,
spruce-fir forests are found higher). The soil cover of the plains is
represented by chernozem, solonchaks are found in Alföld, and brown
soils and rendzyas are found in the mountains.
In the first time of its existence, Hungary did
not have any signs of statehood. The lands of Hungary were part of
the Roman Empire. Later, the empire collapsed into two parts: the
Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire. Further the
territory of the present country was captured by Avars. After the
Avar Kaganate was defeated, helping Byzantium in the struggle
against the Sassanid state, a new state appeared - the Kingdom of
Hungary.
early years
Around 900-1000 Hungarian tribes
populate the Central Danube plain. In 1001, the ruler of Hungary,
Istvan the Holy, took the title of king, and the Kingdom of Hungary
was proclaimed. Until 1301, the Arpad dynasty ruled in Hungary, and
at that time the Hungarian kingdom had relations with Byzantium, and
was torn by conflicts between representatives of its dynasty, and
fought with the Russian princes, and survived the Mongol invasion.
Then the throne of Hungary was initially in the hands of the rulers
of the Kingdom of Bohemia from the Przemyslovich dynasty, and then
fell into the hands of the Bavarian Wittelsbachs and representatives
of Anjou - Sicilian and Luxembourg houses. In 1438, the Duke of
Austria, Albrecht II of the Habsburg Dynasty, became King of
Hungary, but soon the Kingdom of Hungary fell into the hands of King
of Poland Vladislav III Varnenchik of the Jagiellonian Dynasty. The
latter dies during the war with the Ottoman Turks, and Ladislav
Postum from the Albertine line of the Habsburg dynasty becomes the
Hungarian king. However, in 1458, the Transylvanian tycoon Matthias
Hunyadi stood at the head of the Hungarian kingdom, and the time of
his reign is considered to be the time of the last exaltation of the
independent Hungarian kingdom. In 1490, the Jagiellons were finally
established on the Hungarian throne, but their power in Hungary ends
during the European campaigns of the Turkish Sultan Suleiman Kanuni.
Confrontation to the Turks
On August 29, 1526, at the battle
of Mohach, 50,000 the army of the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman I, led by
the great Vizier Ibrahim Pasha, inflicted 25 thousand the Hungarian
army was severely defeated: the main reason was the ensuing feudal
anarchy; many Hungarian nobles did not appear at the call of the
king, the feudal lords did not dare to arm the peasants. Lajosh II
drowned in a swamp while fleeing; 12 days later, Suleiman entered
the capital, which surrendered to the Turks without a fight. The
Turks robbed all the land to Pest and Balaton, only in the first
year they captured up to 200 thousand people. The Dowager Queen Mary
fled to Pozhony (Bratislava); in September 1526, Ferdinand I of
Habsburg was elected king of the Czech Republic, but Janos Zapolyai
was proclaimed on November 11 at the Diet in Székesfehervár.
However, Ferdinand, having bribed many nobles, was elected king of
Hungary on December 17, 1526. On the territory of Hungary, which had
not yet come under Turkish rule, a long-standing war broke out
between supporters of Ferdinand and Janos Zapolyai, while Hungarian
feudal lords constantly moved from one camp to another, pursuing
only their own benefits. Meanwhile, in 1527-1528. the Turks took all
the Hungarian fortresses on the Danube, captured the whole of
Bosnia, Croatia and Slavonia. After the looting of Rome in 1527, the
Habsburg troops were transferred to Hungary and inflicted a series
of defeats on Janos Zapolyai. Then, in January 1528, Zapolyai,
according to the treaty in Istanbul, surrendered under the
protection of Suleiman. In March 1528, the Habsburg troops won a new
victory over Zapolyai, who had to flee to Poland. In response,
Suleiman I again went on a campaign in 1529, in August 1529 the
Turks and Hungarian adherents of Zapolyai occupied Buda and restored
King Janos on the throne. Against Ferdinand, Suleiman moved on to
Austria; in September - October 1529 the Turks besieged Vienna and
could not take the city, but continued to support Janos Zapolyai.
Negotiations between Austria and Turkey were unsuccessful, in
1532-1533. a new war between Turks and Austrians on the territory of
Hungary; Ferdinand’s brother, Emperor Charles V, deftly defended
himself in Austria and did not let the Turks go deeper into Germany.
On July 23, 1533, the first Austro-Turkish peace treaty was
concluded in Istanbul, according to which most of Hungary was ruled
by Janos Zapolyai and vassally dependent on the Turks, and the lands
in the west and north-west of Hungary were transferred to Austria,
which pledged annually for this pay the sultan 30 thousand ducats.
In the years 1530-1534. The actual regent of
Hungary was Alvise Luigi Gritti (the illegitimate son of Doge Andrea
Gritti), a friend of Ibrahim Pasha and a confidant of Suleiman.
Gritti played the role of mediator between Suleiman and Zapolyaye,
but got involved in adventures, tried to undermine Zapolyaye’s
power, and in July 1534 killed one of his main supporters in
Transylvania - Bishop Imre Tsibak of Nadvarad. However, the
Transylvanian magnates with the help of the Moldavian ruler Peter
Raresh attacked the Gritti camp in September 1534, he was captured
and brutally executed. The positions of Janos Zapolye gradually
weakened, the pope excommunicated him from the church; for a long
time Zapolyaya did not have direct heirs, and little by little he
began to incline towards the idea of recognizing Ferdinand of
Habsburg as his heir in Hungary.
On February 24, 1538, peace
was concluded in Nagyvarad between supporters of Ferdinand and
Zapolyaya, according to which Ferdinand was recognized as the only
contender for the throne, and the possible heirs of Zapolyaya
received a generous reward. In 1539, Janos Zapolyai married
Isabella, daughter of the Polish king Sigismund I; On July 7, 1540,
the new queen gave birth to a son, Janos Zigmond, and on July 22,
1540, Janos Zapolyai died, taking an oath from his barons that they
would refuse to fulfill the conditions of the Nagyvarad peace. The
almighty counselor and last treasurer of the deceased king György
Martinutstsi ("brother György", Barad Varada) ensured that the baby
Janos игygmond was elected king under the name of Janos II and
recognized by Istanbul. Ferdinand I decided to seize the possessions
of Janos Gigmond, sending troops to Buda; the Austro-Turkish war of
1540-1547 began. Suleiman set out on a campaign under the slogan of
protecting the rights of Janos Gigmond and in August 1541 he again
captured Buda; in 1543 he captured Esztergom, Szekesfehervar, Tatu,
Pecs and Siklosh, then another series of fortresses between the
Danube and Tisza. Thus, during this war, Hungary was divided into
three parts: the central and southern regions came under the direct
control of the Turkish Sultan, the western ones became part of the
Habsburg possessions (the truncated Hungarian kingdom under the
control of the Austrians and with the capital in Požoni), the
eastern made up the possessions of Janos игigmond , gradually turned
into a new state - the principality of Transylvania.
Not all
Hungarians resisted the conquerors: the peasants of the southeast
perceived the Turks as liberators from the dominance of local feudal
lords, who overlaid them with excessive exactions. The Turks,
however, sought to secure support from the Hungarian peasants and
treated them very gently, especially trying to provide patronage to
the cities. Buda became the center of the Vilayet Hungary,
subdivided into Sanjak. Beylerbey Buda had the title of pasha and
was the military, administrative and judicial ruler of the vilayet.
He had the right to call for help from the neighboring neighboring
Bosnia vilayet, as well as another air force, with a center in
Temesvar, established a little later. Tribute to the Ottomans from
Transylvania was small, on the lands of the Sultan, the Hungarian
peasants were also not overly burdened with taxes. No persecution of
the Christian faith was observed in the Hungarian possessions of the
Ottomans, although conversion to Islam was strongly encouraged.
Transylvania generally turned into a unique “island” of tolerance in
the middle of Europe covered by religious wars: Catholicism,
Orthodoxy, Protestantism and the Uniate Church peacefully coexisted
here, which was confirmed by the Transylvanian Sejm of 1571 in Tirgu
Mures. The period of the Ottoman protectorate was the period of
cultural prosperity of Transylvania, which began shortly after the
battle of Mojac; then the cult of King Matthias was born, whose
authoritarianism now seemed a blessing.
In 1566, Hungary
again became a rivalry between the Ottoman Empire and the Habsburgs,
as a result of which the elderly Sultan Suleiman Kanuni made a
campaign against Hungary. Although the Sigetvar fortress fell, the
victory of the Turks was overshadowed by the death of the Sultan
Suleiman. In 1570, Janos игigmond and Maximilian II signed an
agreement in Speyer, according to which Janos игigmond renounced the
Hungarian crown, for which he was recognized by the Hapsburg prince
of Transylvania (as a vassal princedom within Hungary) and received
the long title “princeps Transsylvaniae et partium regni Hungariae
domaria "(" Prince of Transylvania and ruler of part of Hungary ").
This structure was preserved after the death of Janos Жigmond,
although the Zapolyai dynasty was cut short on it. Janos II wanted
to leave the princedom to his treasurer Caspar Bekes, but the
Transylvanian nobility proclaimed Prince Istvan Batori (1571-1576),
after which the practice of electing Transylvanian princes, who only
occasionally transferred the throne from father to son, was
established.
Part of the Austrian state
Finally, Royal
Hungary, which remained under the rule of the Habsburgs, existed as
an integral part of the Austrian state with its capital in Presburg
(Požoni). Immediately after being elected Hungarian king, Ferdinand
I created his own government (province), whose head was the
Palatine; if this post was vacant, one of the Hungarian archbishops
or bishops received control. The families of Battiani, Batori,
Erdedy, Nadashdi, Zrinyi and other Hungarian clans held high posts
in Po Пожoni or, heading the committee, had under their command
numerous groups of the middle nobility. They contained significant
private armies and magnificent courtyards. The estates of Royal
Hungary zealously defended their rights to the Habsburgs, and the
autonomy of the Hungarians as part of Austria was far from nominal.
In the sixteenth century, in Hungary, especially in
Transylvania, Calvinism quickly spread, which made the Catholic
Church very crowded, although the Reformation did not triumph there
completely. The extraordinary popularity of Protestantism among the
people was explained by the fact that it gave satisfactory answers
to questions that worried Hungarian society. According to the
Catholic interpretation, the Turks were a heavenly punishment sent
down to the Hungarians for sins; according to the Protestant
concept, the Hungarians were God's chosen people, subjected to
severe trials: proving the firmness of their faith, the Hungarians
will be freed from the power of strangers. Protestant dogma paid
particular attention to the system of educational institutions at
all levels; even in the poorest parish schools of the smallest
Transylvanian villages, you could find excellent school teachers;
under Matthias, an illustrated manuscript collection was considered
an ordinary book, which cost a fortune, and just a century later, a
print edition of Homer could be bought on the market at a price
equal to the cost of a kilogram of meat or a gallon of wine.
Three more Austro-Turkish wars (1551-1562, 1566-1568, 1592-1606) led
to a slight expansion of the Ottoman possessions in Hungary.
Successful offensive of the Austrians in the 1590s. It was nullified
by Catholic fanatics, who in a short time aroused indignation of the
population on lands conquered from the Turks. In 1604, Emperor
Rudolph II restored the former laws against heretics here; the
answer was a powerful uprising in Transylvania, led by the Calvinist
tycoon Istvan Bochkai; the guides who had previously fought against
the Ottomans took his side. In 1605, Bochkai invaded the Kingdom of
Hungary, his troops reached Styria. Rudolph II’s brother, Matthias,
governor of the emperor in Hungary, actually opposed the emperor,
seized power in Hungary and hastened to reconcile with Hungarian
Protestants. On June 23, 1606, under a treaty in Vienna, Matthias
recognized freedom of religion for Hungarian nobles and cities and
ceded Bochkai seven Hungarian mountain committees.
According
to the Sitvatorok (Zhivatorok) peace treaty between Austria and
Turkey, the emperor was exempted from paying tribute for a one-time
compensation of 200 thousand forints. Then Istvan Bochkai died, and
in Transylvania, Zhigmond Rakoczy seized power. Matthias openly
opposed Rudolph, in 1608 became king of Hungary under the name
Matthias II (1608–1618), and in 1612 overthrew his brother from the
Austrian throne, again uniting the Hapsburg possessions. Matthias
paid for the Hungarian crown with the restoration of all the
privileges of the Hungarians of the Jagiellonian era: the Palatine
was authorized to replace the monarch in his absence, without the
consent of the Sejm, the king did not have the right to declare war;
he had to remove all officers from the fortress garrisons, except
for the Hungarians. In Transylvania that same year, Gabor Bathory,
an eccentric reveler and freethinker, who was inclined to adventures
in 1610-1611, seized power. temporarily conquered Wallachia. In
1613, Gabor Betlen (1613-1629) became the prince, whose personality
and achievements are often compared with the image of Matthias
Hunyadi.
Gabor Betlen, the “Hungarian Machiavelli”, an
assiduous Calvinist, supporter of the Ottomans, created a regular
army, brutally suppressed the tyranny of tycoons, put an end to
anarchy; he was ruthless in collecting taxes, filling the princely
treasury. He was distinguished by religious tolerance, financed the
translation of the Bible into Hungarian, carried out by the Jesuit
György Kaldi, allowed the Orthodox Romanians to have their own
bishop and harbored the Anabaptists. Intervening in the Thirty Years
War, in 1619 he captured Slovakia, and then Pozhon; in November -
December 1619, he even besieged Vienna in alliance with the rebelled
Czechs. In January 1620, Gabor Betlen was elected Prince of Hungary
at a state meeting in Požoni (1620–1622); the same assembly decided
on an equation in the rights of Lutherans, Calvinists and Catholics,
on the expulsion of the Jesuits. However, Betlen failed to maintain
power over both parts of Christian Hungary: the victories of the
Habsburgs forced him to conclude on January 6, 1622 the honorary
Mikulov (Nicholsburg) world, according to which he received seven
controversial committees and the title of Duke of the German Empire
for giving up the Hungarian crown; in this document, the Habsburg
claims for Transylvania were not mentioned at all. Betlen several
times entered the war with the Austrians, but his success was no
longer repeated. However, its weight in the political arena was very
great, and the cultural heyday of Transylvania impressed European
guests. “There is nothing barbaric here!” Exclaimed the envoy of one
of the western countries in 1621 when he visited the prince’s court
in Dyulafekhervar, failing to hide his amazement. The princely
palace was rebuilt in a magnificent manner by Italian architects and
sculptors; they abundantly decorated it with frescoes, stucco
ceilings, Flemish and Italian tapestries. Various exotic objects of
his decoration, balls, theatrical performances, musical concerts
held within its walls, as well as the courtesy of court manners,
corresponded to all the highest ideas of sophistication that
prevailed in those days.
In 1629, Gabor Betlen died, and his
widow, Catalina of Brandenburg, unpopular and inexperienced, did not
retain power. Seven committees after Betlen's death were returned to
the Habsburgs. In 1630, Transylvanian feudal lords elected Prince
György Rakoczy I (1630–1648); his reign is considered the last stage
of the “golden age” of Transylvania, where Hungarians still ruled
(Rakotsi relied more and more on Calvinists, narrowing the scope of
tolerance). György Rakoczy I also pursued an independent foreign
policy, intervened in the feuds in Moldova and Wallachia, and in
1643 entered into an alliance with Sweden and renewed the war
against Austria, with the support of the local population conquered
all of Slovakia again, and in 1645 Transylvanians along with the
Swedes together besieged Brno. However, under pressure from
Istanbul, György Rakoczi I went to the separate Linz world (December
1645) with Ferdinand III that same year, securing seven committees
and receiving the title of imperial prince.
The son and heir
of György Rakoczy I - György Rakoczy II (1648–1660) - continued the
anti-Habsburg policy, but hoped to free himself from the Turks'
power, subjugated Wallachia and Moldova; in the struggle for
influence in these principalities, he first encountered Bogdan
Khmelnitsky, in May 1653 he helped his ally Matei Basarab defeat his
son Timos Khmelnitsky in the battle of Finta. However, György
Rakoczi II soon decided to take advantage of the Swedish invasion of
the Commonwealth and achieve a Polish throne for himself, like
Stefan Batory. Transylvanians invaded Poland in alliance with the
Swedes and Cossacks, but the Poles brought Tatars to them, and the
Sultan Mehmed IV deprived Gyorgy Rakotsi II of princely power; in
1658-1662 Turks and Tatars cruelly devastated Transylvania. The
economic prosperity of the principality came to an end, in June
1660, György Rakoczi II was mortally wounded in a battle with the
Turks. His associate Janos Kemeni did not hold on to power, and in
1661 the Turks erected in Transylvania their obedient protege Mihai
Apafi (1661–1690).
In 1663, a new Austro-Turkish war began. In the
Bashvar world, on August 10, 1664 between Austria and Turkey, the
Ottoman forces were withdrawn from Transylvania, but it remained
under the supreme power of the Sultan, in several Transylvanian
fortresses - Nove Zamky (Ershekuyvar), Oradea (Nadjvarad), Zerinvar
(Uyzrinivar) - Turkish garrisons were stationed, and the size of the
tribute sent to Istanbul was sharply increased. The general crisis
in the Ottoman Empire led to a deterioration in the situation of the
population of its Hungarian provinces. However, the new Kuruc
uprisings that followed in the 1670s. in northern Hungary, were sent
against Austria. The rebels were supported by Louis XIV. The first
rebellion began in 1672, but the chickens were quickly defeated; in
1678 they were led by the nobleman Imre Tököli, who managed to
capture most of Royal Hungary. For some time he maneuvered between
Istanbul and Vienna, but in 1682 he entered into an alliance treaty
with Mehmed IV, which caused the Turks to march on Vienna and
ultimately ended in the fall of Ottoman domination in Hungary.
Austria-Hungary
Since 1687, Hungary became part of the
Habsburg possessions. In the Austrian state, the Hungarians played
the role of the gentry, the small military nobility. In 1848-1849 a
national revolution broke out in Hungary led by Lajos Kossuth, which
was suppressed only with the help of the Russian expeditionary force
under the command of General Paskevich. In 1860, the constitution
proclaimed by Emperor Franz Joseph fixed the decision to convene the
first Hungarian parliament. In 1861, the Austrian emperor Franz
Joseph granted Hungary the right to discuss internal affairs in the
Hungarian National Assembly and participate in resolving general
imperial issues in the Reichsrat, the supreme legislative body of
the Habsburg empire, which was not adopted by Hungary. However, in
1867, the Emperor of Austria, Franz Joseph I, was forced to
compromise with the Hungarian elite, as a result of which the
Austrian Empire was turned into a two-state state - Austria-Hungary;
in Hungary, its own legislature was created - the State Assembly
(Országgyűlés), which consisted of two chambers - the Chamber of
Peers (Főrendiház) and the Chamber of Deputies (Képviselőház); thus.
in Hungary, instead of an absolute monarchy, a constitutional
dualistic censored monarchy was established. December 30, 1916 in
Budapest, under the name of Charles IV, the last Hungarian king
Charles of Austria ascended the throne. In 1918, he stepped back
from government and died in exile in 1922. In 2004, he was beatified
by the Catholic Church.
Independent Hungary
After the
First World War, as a result of democratic (communist, nationalist)
revolts, the Austrian monarchy ceased to exist, and on its territory
separate states Austria, Hungary, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and
Slovenes, Czechoslovakia were formed. On November 16, 1918, the
Hungarian People's Republic was proclaimed - the first democratic
state in Hungary; The Hungarian National Council (Magyar Nemzeti
Tanács) was formed as a legislative body.
March 21, 1919
"SDPV" and "CPV" united in the "Socialist Party of Hungary" (SPV);
the Hungarian Soviet Republic was proclaimed on the same day, the
Hungarian National Council was abolished, its functions were
transferred to the Executive Committee of the Workers 'and Soldiers'
Councils; the persecution of some of the Social Democrats and
supporters of the bourgeois parties began, the democratic state was
liquidated. On August 6, 1919, the SPV government was ousted from
power by the Romanian army invading Hungary (the SPV itself broke up
- the SDPV and KPV were reinstated).
On November 16, after
the Romanian troops were evacuated from Budapest, the Hungarian
monarchists occupied the capital and the monarchy with its previous
pre-revolutionary powers was restored, but the king was not
determined, the regent Miklos Horthy was at the head of the kingdom;
there was also a representative body - the National Assembly
(Nemzetgyűlés), which in 1927 became again called the National
Assembly and again became bicameral, consisting of the Upper House
(Felsőházra) and the Lower House. In 1938, Hungary entered into an
alliance with Nazi Germany, for which it received parts of
Czechoslovakia, including Transcarpathia (Carpathian Ukraine). In
the wake of historical revanchism in 1940, Hungary succeeded in
tearing Transylvania away from Romania on the basis of Vienna
arbitration.
In 1941, Hungary took part in the aggression
against Yugoslavia and participated in the war against the Soviet
Union. On March 19, 1944, Germany launched Operation Margaret.
German troops occupied Hungary, and the Germans began sending Jews
to death camps in Poland. In September 1944, Soviet troops crossed
the Hungarian border. October 15, Horthy announced a truce with the
Soviet Union, but the Hungarian troops did not stop the fighting.
Germany conducted Operation Panzerfaust, during which the son of
Miklos Horthy was kidnapped and taken hostage by the SS detachment.
This forced him to annul the truce and transfer power to Ferenc
Salashi and his Crossed Arrows organization. On December 2, 1944, on
the part of Hungary occupied by the Red Army, the Provisional
National Assembly was formed as the legislative body and the
Provisional National Government as the executive body. On February
13, 1945, the Red Army took Budapest, the Salashists lost power over
most of the country. March 6-15, 1945, the Salashists and the
Wehrmacht made an unsuccessful attempt to counter-attack the Red
Army in the area of Lake Balaton. March 28, 1945 under the control
of the Red Army was the whole of Hungary, Salashi fled to Austria.
In the parliamentary elections this year, the majority received
the Independent Party of Small Masters. In the fall of 1945, the
National Assembly met, which in 1946 adopted a law on state form,
according to which Hungary was proclaimed a republic; the
legislature became the State Assembly, elected by the people, the
head of state - the president, elected by the State Assembly, the
executive body - the government appointed by the president and
responsible to the State assembly.
In the 1947 parliamentary
elections, a relative majority (22.25%) received the “Communist
Party of Hungary”. In 1949, a constitution was adopted, the
Hungarian People's Republic was proclaimed, and the Legislative
Assembly remained the formal legislative body, elected in
multi-member (since 1966 - single-member) constituencies; the
government was renamed the Council of Ministers, the post of
president was abolished, and the functions of the president were
transferred to the Presidential Council (Elnöki Tanács), elected by
the National Assembly. Soon all parties were banned, except for the
Hungarian Workers' Party ("VLT"); it arose as a result of the forced
accession of the "Social Democratic Party of Hungary" to the
"Communist Party of Hungary", in 1955 it was renamed the "Hungarian
Socialist Workers Party" ("PSWP"), democracy in Hungary was replaced
by the dictatorship of the "VPT". The Hungarian uprising of 1956 was
crushed by the invasion of the USSR army.
In 1989, the
leadership changed in the HSWP and the party’s ideology became
social democracy; the one-party system was abolished and the
constitution amended; Hungary was again proclaimed the Republic of
Hungary. After the transition to democracy in 1989, Hungary headed
for joining pan-European structures. In 2004, the country joined the
European Union. Since December 2007, Hungary became part of the
Schengen countries.
On August 25, 2004, the government crisis
was resolved, as a result of which the former Prime Minister Peter
Mediesi resigned, and in his place the Hungarian Socialist Party
elected the Minister for Youth and Sports, multimillionaire Ferenc
Gyurcsany. The crisis in the ruling coalition of socialists and free
democrats is connected, first of all, with accumulated financial and
economic problems, which include a huge budget deficit (almost 6% in
2003), an overvalued national currency, an unprecedented increase in
the country's internal and external debt (over $ 50 million).
Reflecting on the social sphere, these problems cause discontent
among the population.
In April 2006, new parliamentary
elections were held in Hungary. The Hungarian Socialist Party
received 186 of the 386 seats, its ally in the government coalition,
the Alliance of Free Democrats, received 18 seats. Their rivals -
the Hungarian Civil Party (FIDES) - stood on the list with the
Christian Democratic People's Party in the elections, they received
164 seats. September 19, 2006 in Budapest there was a riot in
connection with the publication of the Prime Minister's statements
about the deplorable state of the economy.
In the 2009 European Parliament elections, the
Fides-PPCD coalition won a decisive victory, gaining 56.4% of the
vote and receiving 14 of the 22 mandates reserved for Hungary.
Parliamentary elections in April 2010 dramatically changed the
political landscape of Hungary. The victory was won by the
right-wing coalition Fides — PPCD, gaining 262 seats in parliament
(more than two-thirds of the seats). The Hungarian Socialist Party
won 59 seats, the nationalist party "Movement for a Better Hungary"
- 47 seats. The party “Politics may be different” also passed into
parliament - 16 seats. On June 29, 2010, the country's parliament
elected Fides' representative Pal Schmitt, the gold fencing medalist
at the 1968 and 1972 Olympics, as the new president of Hungary;
Schmitt took office on August 6, 2010.
In 2012, the new
Hungarian Constitution came into force. The new basic law changed
the name of the country from “Hungarian Republic” to “Hungary”. The
new constitution states that the Hungarian people are united by “God
and Christianity”. The state has an obligation to protect life, and
it is agreed that life begins at conception. In fact, this
constitutional article prohibits abortion. Marriage is defined in
the constitution as the “union of man and woman.” On May 2, 2012,
the representative of Fides Janos Ader was elected President of
Hungary.
The country has diplomatic relations with the
Russian Federation (established with the USSR since 1934, restored
on September 25, 1945, the Treaty on Friendly Relations and
Cooperation between Russia and Hungary was signed on December 6,
1991).
Most of the inhabitants of modern Hungary are
Hungarians (92.3%).
The most significant national minorities are
Germans (1.2%), Gypsies (1.1%-5%), Romanians (0.8%), Jews (0.5%),
Slovaks (0.4%), Croats ( 0.2%) and Serbs (0.2%).
The majority of
believers are Catholics (51.9%). There are also communities of
Calvinists (15.9%), Lutherans (3%), Greek Catholics (2.6%), other
Christians (1%). Atheists - 25.6%.
Numerous Hungarian communities
live in neighboring countries - especially in Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania
(Transylvania), Serbia (Vojvodina), Croatia.
The only state language of Hungary - Hungarian - is
part of the Finno-Ugric branch (Ugric languages) of the Uralic language
family. Today it is the native language for almost 95% of the country's
inhabitants. During its long history, the Hungarian language has been
strongly influenced by other languages, so today many Turkic, Slavic and
other borrowings are found in its lexical composition. The language
closest to Hungarian is Mansi, despite the fact that mutual
understanding between them is completely absent today.
Religion
In the 11th century, the Hungarians were converted to Christianity. In
the 16th century, most Hungarians converted to Protestantism, but in the
17th century, during the Counter-Reformation, Catholicism became the
dominant religion. Now 64% of believers are Catholics, and 23% are
Protestants. Most Protestants are Calvinists, the largest Calvinist
denomination in Hungary is the Hungarian Reformed Church; in addition to
them, there are Lutherans, supporters of the Evangelical Pentecostal
community (part of the Assemblies of God), Baptists.
Hungary is a parliamentary republic. The legislature
is the National Assembly, elected by the people for a term of 4 years.
The highest representation is carried out by the president (elnök), who
is elected by the National Assembly for a term of 5 years and performs
representative functions. The executive body - the Government of
Hungary, consisting of the Prime Minister (Miniszterelnök) and
ministers, is appointed by the National Assembly and is responsible to
it. The constitutional oversight body is the Hungarian Constitutional
Court.
Political parties
far right
"For a better Hungary"
("Jobbik", Jobbik Magyarországért Mozgalom) - nationalist;
The Party
of Hungarian Truth and Life (Magyar Igazság és Élet Pártja) is a
nationalist party.
Rights
"Fidesz - Hungarian Civil Union"
(Fidesz - Magyar Polgári Szövetség) - conservative;
"Christian
Democratic People's Party" ("CDPP", Kereszténydemokrata Néppárt) -
conservative, junior partner of Fidesz;
"Independent Party of
Smallholders"
centrists
"Hungarian Liberal Party" (Magyar
Liberalis Párt).
centre-left
"Hungarian Socialist Party" (VSP,
Magyar Szocialista Párt) - social liberal;
“Politics can be
different” (LMP, Lehet Más a Politika!) - environmentalist;
"Democratic Coalition" (Demokratikus Koalíció) - a split from the "GSP";
"Dialogue for Hungary" (Párbeszéd Magyarországért) - a split from the
"LMP";
"Together".
Left
"Hungarian Workers' Party" (Magyar
Munkáspárt) - communist;
"Workers' Party of Hungary 2006"
(Magyarországi Munkáspárt 2006) - Eurocommunist.
Unions
The
“largest trade union center” is the “National Federation of Hungarian
Trade Unions” (Magyar Szakszervezetek Országos Szövetsége).
The highest court is the Supreme Court (Legfelsőbb Bíróság); court of appeal - benches (Ítélőtábla); courts of first instance - tribunals (Törvényszék); the lowest level of the judicial system - local courts (helyi bíróság); labor justice courts - labor courts (Munkaügyi bíróság); citizens participating in the consideration of court cases - assessors (Ülnök); body for the selection of candidates for judges - the State Judicial Council (Országos Bírói Tanács); bodies of prosecutorial supervision - the Supreme Prosecutor's Office (Legfőbb Ügyészség); Chief Prosecutor's Offices of Appeal (fellebbviteli főügyészségek) - at the regional level, Chief Prosecutor's Offices (főügyészségek) - at the county and capital level, Local Prosecutor's Offices (helyi ügyészségek) - at the level of districts and urban areas.
Hungary is divided into 19 counties (regions) and the capital Budapest, which is equal to the county (NUTS-3 units). The county is divided into yarash, yarash - into cities and communities, the capital is divided into districts. Representative bodies of cities and communities - local representations (képviselő testület), elected by the population; the executive body is the mayor (polgármester, polgármester); representative bodies of the districts - representative offices (képviselő, capeviselo); executive bodies of districts - mayors; representative bodies of the county - vecha (közgyűlés, közdyulesh); executive bodies - chairmen of the vech.
Hungary is a moderately developed industrial-agrarian
state, the market reforms in which are almost completed.
Hungary
mainly exports engineering products and other manufactured goods.
The main partner in foreign trade is Germany (more than a quarter of
Hungary's trade turnover in 2006).
The largest bank in Hungary is
OTP Bank, which has its own subsidiary bank in Russia.
Currency -
Hungarian forint (forint), small change - filler (fillér); The forint is
issued by the Hungarian National Bank (Magyar Nemzeti Bank). The Keitz
index (the ratio between the minimum and average wages in the country)
in Hungary as of December 2019 (average 406,400 HUF and minimum 149,000
HUF) is about 36.7%. From February 1, 2021, the minimum wage is 167,400
HUF (111,321 HUF net), and 219,000 HUF (145,635 HUF net) for qualified
professionals. From January 1, 2022, the minimum wage is 200,000 HUF
(133,000 HUF net), and 260,000 HUF (172,900 HUF net) for qualified
professionals.
Benefits: The country has successfully
transitioned to a stable market economy. Low inflation (3.2%). The
country is a member of the EU single market. Relatively high economic
growth (above the EU average) and low public debt (below the EU
average). There is also a relatively cheap and well-educated workforce
compared to the EU countries. With the unemployment rate plummeting and
the labor shortage increasing, wage growth, as of 2019, is not
constrained by the economic slowdown.
Weaknesses: poor resource
base. The biggest problem (as in other countries of the new EU members)
is the growing shortage of able-bodied labor force every year and the
increase in the number of pensioners due to low birth rates and high
emigration of the population to other, richer EU countries, which, in
turn, forces employers to pay more to their employees, thereby
artificially raising wages, which leads to an imbalance between
productivity and wages.
processing industry
The largest oil
and gas company in Hungary is MOL.
Automotive industry:
Suzuki
(manufactured in Esztergom);
"Audi" (production in Gyor) - engines,
"Audi TT", "A3 sedan";
"Raba" - a plant for the production of
automotive components (Gyor);
"Mercedes-Benz" - a plant in the city
of Kecskemét;
Knorr-Bremse - plant in Budapest and Kecskemét.
Chemical industry:
BorsodChem (Borsodchem);
TVK.
Pharmaceutical
industry:
Gedeon Richter;
Egis.
Hungary's foreign trade is focused on the EU
countries, the volume of exports in 2017 amounted to $98.72 billion,
imports - $93.28 billion. The main foreign trade partners were:
export: Germany - 27.7%, Romania - 5.4%, Italy - 5.1%, Austria - 5%,
Slovakia - 4.8%, France - 4.4%, Czech Republic - 4.4%, Poland - 4.3%;
imports - Germany - 26.2%, Austria - 6.3%, China - 5.9%, Poland - 5.5%,
Slovakia - 5.3%, the Netherlands - 5%, Czech Republic - 4.8%, Italy -
4.7%, France - 4%.
The structure of foreign trade goods is dominated
by finished industrial goods - in particular, vehicles and spare parts,
electrical and electronic components and products, medicines and other
chemical products, as well as processed food products and textile
products are exported. Imports are mainly of various semi-finished
products, spare parts, as well as oil, gas, rolled metal products and
foodstuffs.
The Hungarian Armed Forces have undergone significant
reform and downsizing since the end of the Cold War. Currently, they
consist of two branches: the ground forces and the air force. In
Hungary, the Land Forces are also known as the "Hungary Defenders of the
Fatherland" (Hung. Honvédség). This term was used in 1848, when the
revolutionary army of Lajos Kossuth was called. Now it refers to the
Hungarian soldiers in general.
After joining NATO, the country
moved to new standards in the field of weapons and army organization.
Since 2004, compulsory military service has been abolished, and a
transition to a professional army has taken place.
The main state radio company is Hungarian Radio
(Hungarian Magyar Rádió), the main state television company is Hungarian
Television (Hungarian Magyar Televízió), the management of Hungarian
Radio and Hungarian Television is supervised by the Media Council
(Hungarian Médiatanács ).
Major radio channels:
"Radio
Kossuth" (Hung. Kossuth Rádió);
"Radio Petőfi" (Hungarian Petőfi
Rádió);
"Radio Bartok" (Hungarian Bartók Rádió);
"Radio Danko"
(Hungarian Dankó Rádió);
"World Radio Danube" (Hung. Duna World
Rádió) - radio broadcasting for Hungarians abroad.
Major TV
channels:
"M1";
"M2";
"M3";
"M4";
"World Danube" (Hung.
Duna World) - television broadcasting for Hungarians abroad.
The
most popular periodicals:
"Metropolis";
"Blick";
"Nypsobodshag"
(Hungarian Népszabadság);
Nemzeti Sport (Hungarian Nemzeti Sport);
"Magyar nemzet (English) Russian." (Hungarian Magyar Nemzet);
"Nyipsava" (Hungarian Népszava);
Magyar Hírlap (Hungarian Magyar
Hírlap).
see Journalism in Hungary after 1945.
Hungarian cuisine (Hung. magyar konyhaművészet) is
distinguished by great variety and imagination in cooking, their satiety
and the use of various seasonings. It features a wide variety of meat
dishes, using seasonal vegetables, fruits, fresh bread, dairy products
and cheeses.
Hungarian cuisine is rich in meat dishes. They are
dominated by pork and lard. The motto of Hungarian culinary specialists
is still the lines from Imre Kalman's operetta "Maritza": "If meat, then
pork, if lard - spicy bacon."
The taste of dishes is provided in
one form or another by onions and paprika.
Classical dishes for
Hungarian cuisine are those that combine the first and second courses.
Such, for example, is lecho (lecsó) - a dish of onions, tomatoes,
paprika and lightly smoked pork sausage - kolbász, as well as goulash
and bograch, its variety cooked in a pot. Numerous dishes called pörkölt
have a rich tradition. This is meat cooked in a special way (beef, veal,
chicken, rabbit, pork, lamb or wild boar meat). There are also fish and
crab pörkölt, as well as vegetable and mushroom ones. Pörkölt is
generally understood to mean everything that is fried in finely chopped
form with onions, then sprinkled with paprika and stewed. The same dish,
but stewed in sour cream, is called paprikash: for example, chicken
paprikash. Paprikash is made from fish, chicken, veal or lamb, but never
from beef, goose, lamb, duck or game, because the main requirement for
making real paprikash is: "No fatty, no black meat." The main seasonings
for it are usually pork fat, onion, ground pepper, sometimes paprika
pods and tomatoes. Another dish - token - differs from perkelt only in
that the meat for it is cut into thin strips, and onions and paprika are
put in smaller quantities, while adding sour cream, mushrooms, green
peas and herbs for taste.
A traditional delicacy is all kinds of
roasts typical of the Hungarian national cuisine. For example, a roast
made from suckling pig stuffed with minced pork ham without fat is
called "virgin roast" (szüzpecsenye). Hungarian roast beef (rostélyos)
is a beef roast that comes in a variety of variations but always
contains a piece of meat from the thigh or back of the animal. The most
famous are the Hortobady roast beef, which is served with flour
dumplings and all kinds of herbs, and the Esterhazy roast beef with
mayonnaise-mustard sauce. Grilled meat platter is called fatanerosh and
is served on special flat wooden dishes.
Game in Hungary is most
often served fried or stewed with a dark thick sauce.
Since the
days of Austria-Hungary, Viennese schnitzel has been popular. It should
be very thin, generously sprinkled with breadcrumbs and, of course,
prepared with veal and pork fat. Schnitzel stuffed with brains is
considered a delicacy.
In Europe, the Hungarian raw smoked
sausage salami (szalami), as well as Debrecen sausages with paprika, are
widely known.
Fogas, pike perch from Balaton, is famous among
fish dishes, but khalasle is the most famous. This is more than just
fish soup. According to tradition, it is prepared from different
varieties of fish with the addition of onions, paprika and tomatoes. But
there are many other options that do not ignore, in fact, any of the
freshwater fish. According to tradition, this dish is eaten as the
first, and the second is turoshchusa - vermicelli with sour cream and
cracklings (well-fried, crispy pieces of bacon).
Hungarian fast
food - langos.
For dessert in Hungary, they serve thin puff
pancakes (palacsinta) stuffed with something sweet. One of the notable
dishes is Gundel pancakes, named after the Budapest gastronome Karoly
Gundel. Gundel pancakes stuffed with nuts are served in the iconic
Gundel restaurant in Budapest. Classical desserts are "golden dumplings"
and vargabelesh. Traditional Hungarian cakes are "Dobos" and "Shomla
Dumplings", "Esterházy" and "Rigo Janci". The Hungarian version of
strudel is called "retesh". Kurteshkalach is often served as a sweet
treat at mass festivities.
For each dish of Hungarian cuisine
there is always a corresponding wine as an aperitif: Hungarian
"vermouth", dry Tokaj "native", Hungarian apricot vodka, Hungarian beer
from the Köbanya factories; One of the cultural symbols of Hungarian
cuisine is the bitter herbal balm-liqueur Unikum, even nicknamed
Ungarikum. Balaton wine from the Somlo vineyards, and the picturesque
area of Badacsony located near Somlo is known for its Badacsony wines.
The volcanic soil of the area's vineyards explains the flavor profile of
these Auvergna and Quekniel (blue stem) wines. Highly valued white wines
from the city of Kecskemét are Kecskeméti leanka (Kecskemét girl) and
Wilds harshlevelu (linden leaf from Debre). Of the red wines, one can
note Seksardi Veresh (Seksard red), Egri Bikaver (Eger bull's blood).
One of the most famous is "Tokay" wine, due to its bouquet of flavors
and aroma.
The Hungarian football team took 2nd place twice in the Third World Cup (1938) and the Fifth World Cup (1954). Since 1986, the Formula 1 World Championship has traditionally been held at the Hungaroring circuit (near Budapest).
Main article: Education in Hungary
Higher education
institutions - universities that have three academic degrees - bachelor
(alap), master (mester) and doctor (doktori); secondary specialized
educational institutions - vocational schools (szakközépiskola);
secondary general educational institutions - gymnasiums (gimnázium);
educational institutions of primary education - primary schools
(általános iskola)
Farshang is a Hungarian Maslenitsa that came to
Hungary from Germany.
Easter.
Christmas.
Stephen's Day is the
main public holiday in Hungary, celebrated on August 20. It is believed
that on this day the first king of Hungary, Istvan, was crowned, who is
credited with the introduction of Christianity in the country. It has
been celebrated since 1083 after the canonization of Stephen.
The day
of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 is celebrated on March 15th. On this
day, the "Hungarian Spring" began - the national liberation movement of
the Hungarians for independence from the Habsburgs, which grew into a
war against Austria.
Labor Day is May 1st.
Day of the proclamation
of the Republic in Hungary is celebrated on February 1. It is not a
public holiday, but remains an important memorable date for the
inhabitants of the country. This day marks the anniversary of the
formation of the Second Hungarian Republic (1946-1949). Zoltan Tildi was
elected its president.
The national holiday in memory of the
Hungarian uprising is celebrated on October 23 in memory of the events
of 1956. It is also the Day of the Proclamation of the Republic of
Hungary in 1989.
The asteroid (434) Hungary, discovered in 1898, is named after Hungary.