Hungary

I

Introduction

Hungary (Hungarian Magyarország), landlocked republic in central Europe. Most of Hungary lies in a basin known as the Danube basin or the Hungarian Plain, which extends into neighboring countries. The Danube River flows across the basin. Budapest, Hungary’s capital and largest city, lies on both sides of the Danube. Budapest is a beautiful city and the cultural and commercial center of east central Europe. Hungary’s present borders are virtually the same as those established by the post-World War I Treaty of Trianon (1920).

The people of Hungary call themselves Magyars because they trace their history to the Magyar conquest of Hungary. The Magyars were originally nomadic tribes from Asia. In the late 9th century, led by Árpád, they conquered the plain between the Danube and Tisza rivers, the central part of the Hungarian Plain. By the early 11th century they had been unified politically and converted to Western Christianity. The first king of the Árpád dynasty, Stephen I, was crowned in 1000 or 1001. In 1083 he was declared a saint.

At the start of the 14th century foreign rulers took over. A series of European dynasties ruled Hungary in the 14th and 15th centuries. In the 16th and 17th centuries most of Hungary was in the Ottoman Empire. A strip in the west was in the empire ruled by the Habsburg family of Austria. By the end of the 17th century the Habsburgs had conquered almost all of Hungary. In 1848 the Hungarians rebelled against Habsburg rule, but the revolt was crushed. In 1867 a compromise was reached with the Habsburgs that created a dual monarchy, called Austria-Hungary. After World War I (1914-1918) the Austro-Hungarian Empire was dissolved, and Hungary became fully independent. Following World War II (1939-1945) a Communist government took power and Hungary joined the Soviet-bloc countries that were subservient to the USSR. A non-Communist government took office following elections in 1990.

II

Land and Resources

Hungary is somewhat oval in shape, with a maximum distance from east to west of about 500 km (about 310 mi) and a maximum distance from north to south of about 315 km (about 195 mi). It is bounded on the north by Slovakia; on the northeast by Ukraine; on the east by Romania; on the south by Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia; and on the west by Austria. The country has a total land area of 93,030 sq km (35,919 sq mi).

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A

Natural Regions

Hungary is predominantly flat. The Danube River forms part of Hungary’s northwestern border with Slovakia, and then flows south through Budapest, dividing Hungary into two general regions. To the east of the Danube is a low, rolling plain known as the Great Hungarian Plain, also called the Great Alföld. It extends east to Romania and south to Serbia. A smaller plain, the Little Alföld, lies in northwestern Hungary and runs into Slovakia. The Great Alföld covers about three-fourths of Hungary. Far from being completely flat, as its name suggests, the Great Plain becomes quite hilly in the west. It is Hungary’s chief agricultural area, supporting such crops as corn, wheat, sunflowers, sugar beets, paprika, and fodder crops, as well as grasslands for grazing sheep. The grazing areas of the Hungarian Plain are called the puszta, derived from a Slavic word meaning “wasteland.” The 19th-century life of cowboys and their herds on the puszta is commemorated in Hungarian folksongs, dances, and literature. The Little Plain is also fertile and intensively cultivated.

Mountains rim the plains on the west and on the north and east. Highlands along the northern border of Hungary extend eastward from the gorge of the Danube at Esztergom and include the Mátra Mountains, a part of the Carpathian system. Mount Kékes (1,014 m/ 3,327 ft), in the Mátra Mountains, is the highest peak in Hungary. The area west of the Danube, known as Transdanubia, presents a variety of land forms in addition to the Little Plain in the extreme northwest. In the south rise the isolated Mecsek Mountains. In the north are the Bakony Mountains, a forested range in the Transdanubian Highlands, which overlook Lake Balaton.

B

Rivers and Lakes

The Danube is Hungary’s most important river. The entire country lies within its drainage basin. The Danube enters Hungary from Austria to the west and marks Hungary’s northwest border with Slovakia. At Vác, north of Budapest, the river makes a sharp turn to the south. It continues south through Budapest and into Serbia. Other major rivers, all tributaries of the Danube, include the Tisza, the longest river in Hungary, and the Raab (Rába) and Drava (Drau) rivers.

Lake Balaton, Hungary’s principal lake, is also the largest lake in central Europe. It has been the country’s main vacation resort and health spa and is noted for the sandy beaches on its southern shore. Vineyards along its northern shore yield some of Hungary’s finest wines. Lake Balaton is noted for its game, rare water birds, and fish. In the northwest, Hungary shares the Neusiedler Lake with Austria.