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.