Facts at a Glance
Full country name: Republic of Hungary
Area: 93,000 sq km
Population: 10.4 million
Capital city: Budapest (pop 2 million)
People: 90% Hungarian, 5% Gypsy, 2% German & 1% Slovak
Language: Hungarian
Religion: 68% Roman Catholic, 21% Reformed (Calvinist), 6% Evangelical (Lutheran), 5% Other
Government: Parliamentary democracy
Prime Minister: Viktor Orbán
Hungary is a kidney-shaped country lying in the centre of Europe sharing borders with seven neighbours: Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Yugoslavia, Croatia and Slovenia. There are three basic topographies: the low-lying regions of the Great Plain in the east, centre and south-east, and the Little Plain in the north-west; the northern mountain ranges, which include Hungary's highest peak (the 1015-metre-high Kékesteto); and the hilly regions of Transdanubia in the west and south-west. The biggest rivers are the Danube and the Tisza, which divide the country into thirds, and the Dráva which forms the south-western border with Croatia. The country has over 1000 lakes - the largest, Balaton, is strewn with thermal springs.
Almost 70% of Hungary is under cultivation and only 14% remains forested. Most of the forests are beech and oak, and there's a small percentage of fir. Common animals include deer, wild hare, boar and otter, and there's also rare species such as wild cat, lake bat and Pannonian lizard. However, the majority of the country's vertebrates are birds, especially waterfowl attracted by the numerous rivers, lakes and wetlands. There are five national parks and almost 1000 protected areas.
Hungary's climate is temperate, and the country can be divided into three climatic zones: Mediterranean in the south, Continental in the east, and Atlantic in the west. In Southern Transdanubia, summers are long and winters mild and wet. The Great Plain has the most extreme seasonal differences with cold, windy winters and hot, usually dry summers. Summers can be very hot in Budapest and Western Transdanubia, with winters relatively short, often cloudy but sometimes brilliantly sunny. The mean average temperature in Hungary is 11 degrees centigrade. January is the coldest month (minus two degrees Celsius) and July the hottest (28 degrees Celsius).
The Carpathian Basin, in which Hungary lies, has been populated by successive peoples for hundreds of thousands of years. One such tribe was the nomadic Magyars, who reached the area as early as the mid-8th century. Known for their equestrian skills, the Magyars raided far and wide, until they were stopped by the Germans in 955. The defeat left the Magyar tribes in disarray, and later forced them into an alliance with the Holy Roman Empire. In the year 1000, the Magyar prince Stephen was crowned `Christian King' Stephen I, with a crown sent from Rome by the pope, and Hungary, the kingdom and the nation, was officially born.
Stephen ruthlessly set about consolidating royal authority by expropriating land, establishing a system of counties, and evangelising the countryside. By the time of his death in 1038, Hungary was a nascent Christian culture, increasingly westward-looking and multi-ethnic.
The next two and a half centuries - during the reign of the House of Árpád - tested the new kingdom to the limit. The period was marked by constant struggles between rival claimants to the throne, and land grabs by powerful neighbours. Hungary's descent into anarchy was arrested only after Andrew III, the Árpád's last in line, died in 1301.
After the death of Andrew III, Hungary flourished. A succession of able rulers, beginning with Charles Robert and culminating in the golden reign of Matthias Corvinus, made the country one of Europe's leading powers. However, the death of Matthias in 1490 resulted in another setback. His successor Vladislav was unable to maintain royal authority, funds were squandered, and retrograde laws reduced the peasantry to serfdom.
In 1526, Hungary's motley army was crushed by the Ottoman Turks at the Battle of Mohács. The defeat marked the end of a relatively prosperous and independent Hungary, and sent the nation into a tailspin of partition, foreign domination and despair. Turkish occupation did little to improve the country, and resistance to their rule forced the Turks out in 1699.
The expulsion hardly created a free and independent Hungary. Instead, the country became a province of the Austrian Habsburg Empire. Thus began a period of enlightened absolutism. Hungary blossomed economically and culturally under the Habsburgs, but so did thoughts of nationalism.
In 1849, under the rebel leadership of Lajos Kossuth, Hungary declared full independence and the dethronement of the Habsburgs. The Habsburgs replied by quickly crushing the revolution and instigating a series of brutal reprisals. Hungary was again merged into the empire as a conquered province, and absolutism was reinstated. However, passive resistance among Hungarians and a couple of disastrous military defeats for the Habsburgs prompted negotiations between the two sides. The outcome was the Compromise of 1867, which created the Dual Monarchy of Austria the empire and Hungary the kingdom. This `Age of Dualism' set off an economic, cultural and intellectual rebirth in Hungary, but there were worrying signs that all was not well in the kingdom.
The Dual Monarchy entered WW I as an ally of Germany - with disastrous results - and was replaced by a republic immediately after the war. Hungarian Communists then seized power, but were overthrown five months later by troops from Romania. In 1920, the Allies drew up a postwar settlement under the Treaty of Trianon which drastically reduced Hungary's size. Hungary sought help from the fascist governments of Germany and Italy to get its land back, but found itself again on the losing side in WW II.
In 1947, rigged elections brought the Communists to power. Bitter feuding within the party started, and purges and Stalinesque show trials became the norm. The nation was further rocked by the 1956 uprising, an anti-Soviet revolution which left thousands dead. After reprisals - the worst in the country's history - and the consolidation of the regime, János Kádár began a programme of `goulash' (consumer-orientated) Communism. His reforms worked, and by the mid-1970s, Hungary was the most developed, most liberal and the richest nation in the region. However, the continuing spectre of unemployment, a soaring inflation rate and mounting debt meant Kádár was ousted in 1988.
After accelerating the collapse of Communism by dismantling the fence along its border with Austria, the nation became the Republic of Hungary in 1989. Hungary has since held free elections - the first in more than four decades. Despite initial success in curbing inflation and lowering interest rates, a host of economic problems has slowed the pace of development.
GDP: US$31 billion
World GDP ranking: 52nd
GDP per head: US$3,000
Annual growth: 2%
Inflation: 19%
Major industries: Mining, metallurgy & agriculture
Major trading partners: Germany & other EC countries
Hungarian art and architecture is laced with Romanesque, Gothic, Baroque and Art Nouveau influences. The country has one of the finest folk traditions in Europe, producing excellent examples of embroidery, pottery, ceiling and wall painting, and objects carved from wood or bone. Its musical contributions are just as rich, and range from the rhapsodies of Franz Liszt and the operas of Ferenc Erkel to Gypsy and folk music. Literature has been shaped by the monumental events of the nation's history, which have given rise to swashbuckling odes, stirring poems of independence, gritty tales of realism, and strident polemic. Soccer is far and away the favourite spectator sport, while chess is also popular.
Architectural montage: name a style and Hungary has it (21K)
Hungarians tend to have a sceptical view of faith (some suggest this is why they have a high success rate in science and mathematics), but of those declaring religious affiliation, most would say they're either Roman Catholic, Calvinist or Lutheran. The country also has a small Greek Catholic and Orthodox population, and a thriving Jewish community in Budapest.
Gypsy horse market, Debrecen (19K)
You'll have to dig a little to unearth the wonders of Hungarian cuisine. The natural abundance of fruits and vegetables should make eating here a delight, but unfortunately this is often not the case. Generally, basic dishes consist of fatty meat (pork is generally preferred) or overcooked fish, some sort of starch, and a teensy-weensy garnish of pickles. These include: pörkölt (stew, and what everyone calls `goulash' abroad); gulyás (a thickish beef soup); and halászlé (spicy fish soup cooked with paprika). If you keep your eyes open for jokai bableves (bean soup), hideg gyumolcsleves (cold fruit soup made from sour cherry) or palacsinta (stuffed crepes) your tastebuds will thank you for it. Decent wine isn't difficult to find (but you'll have to look hard for the very good stuff), while the beer is good, and the brandy (pálinka) strong.
Hungary's major celebration is the Budapest Spring Festival (March), a two-week cultural extravaganza of local and international performances, conferences and exhibitions. Other important events include: the Budapest Film Festival (February), which premieres new Hungarian films; Busójárás (Mohás; February also), the nation's top Mardi Gras; Sopron Festival Weeks (Sopron; June/July), showcasing ancient music and dance performances; the Folk Arts Festival (Nagykálló; August), one of the biggest and best events of the year; and Jazz Days (Debrecen; September), which is Hungary's top jazz festival.
Visas: Citizens of the USA, Canada and most European countries don't require visas; German and French citizens need only show their identity cards. Nationals of Australia, New Zealand and Asian countries require visas, which are valid for between 30 and 90 days.
Health risks: None
Time: GMT/UTC plus one hour (winter); plus two hours (summer)
Electricity: 220V, 50 Hz
Weights & measures: Metric (see the conversion table.)
Tourism: 20 million visitors per year
Money & Costs
Currency: Forint (Ft)
Exchange rate: US$1 = 182 Ft
Relative costs:
- cheap meal: US$3-5
- restaurant meal: US$8-10
- cheap room: US$5-8
- hotel room: US$10-15
Hungary remains a bargain destination for foreign travellers. If you stay in private rooms, eat at medium-priced restaurants and travel 2nd-class on trains, you should get away on about US$25 a day without scrimping. Those putting up in hostels, dormitories or camping grounds and eating at self-service restaurants or food stalls will cut costs substantially.
You can exchange cash and travellers' cheques up to 30,000 Ft at banks and travel agents, usually for a commission of 1% to 2%. Post offices almost always change cash, but rarely cheques. ATMs accepting credit and debit cards can be found throughout the country, but it's always useful to carry a little foreign cash, preferably US dollars or Deutschmarks in case your plastic doesn't work. Credit cards can be used in up-market restaurants, shops, hotels, car rental firms, travel agencies and petrol stations.
Hungary is a very tip-conscious society and virtually everyone routinely tips waiters, hairdressers, taxi drivers and even doctors, dentists and petrol-station attendants about 10%. Not leaving a tip, or leaving a very small tip, is a strong signal that you were less than impressed with the service. Never leave money on the table in a restaurant: tell the waiter how much money you want to leave as a tip as you are paying the bill. Bargaining is not the done thing in Hungary, but you can try a little gentle haggling in flea markets or with individuals selling folk crafts.
Though it can be pretty wet in May and June, spring is just glorious in Hungary. The Hungarian summer is warm, sunny and unusually long, but the resorts are very crowded in late July and August. Like Paris and Rome, Budapest comes to a halt in August (called 'the cucumber-growing season' here because that's about the only thing happening).
Autumn is beautiful, particularly in the hills around Budapest and in the Northern Uplands. November is one of the rainiest months of the year, however. Winter is cold, often bleak and museums and other tourist sights are often closed. Animal lovers will also want to skip this season: half the women are draped in furry dead things throughout the winter.
Budapest
Hungary's capital straddles a gentle curve in the Danube. It's the administrative as well as the business and cultural centre of Hungary, and virtually everything that happens in the country starts, finishes or is taking place here. But the beauty of Budapest is what really makes it stand apart. Its broad avenues, leafy parks and harmonious blend of architectural styles has earned it the nickname the `Paris of Eastern Europe'. Budapest also has a turn-of-the-century feel to it, for it was then - during the industrial boom and the capital's heyday - that most of the city was built. The city is well laid-out, rarely confusing, and ideal for walking.
Bird's-eye view of Matthias Church, Budapest (13K)
The walled Castle District is the premier destination for visitors, and contains some of Budapest's most important monuments and museums. It consists of two distinct parts: the Old Town, where commoners lived during medieval times; and the Royal Palace, the original site of a castle built in the 13th century. The Old Town is filled with attractively painted streets, decorative churches and the famous Fishermen's Bastion. The latter was built as a viewing platform in 1905, and named after the guild of fishermen responsible for defending this stretch of wall in the Middle Ages. It has commanding views over the city, and is dominated by seven gleaming turrets (representing the seven Magyar tribes who entered the Carpathian Basin in the 9th century), and a statue of St Stephen on horseback. Immediately south of the Old Town is the Royal Palace. Razed, rebuilt and redesigned over the past seven centuries, the palace houses a number of museums, including the National Gallery, which has an enormous collection devoted exclusively to Hungarian art.
Fisherman's Bastion, Budapest (14K)
The oldest and one of the most interesting parts of the city is Óbuda. The area is remarkable for its Roman ruins, and its small, quiet neighbourhoods which seem unchanged since the turn of the century. It also has its fair share of museums, including the Kiscelli Museum, which features an impressive art collection and rooms furnished with Empire, Biedermeier and Art-Nouveau furniture. North of Óbuda is the Roman civilian town of Aquincum, the most complete in Hungary. Established at the end of the 1st century, it was among the most developed towns on the continent with sumptuous single-storey houses, fountains and courtyards. Not much remains of that today, but you can still see their outlines as well as those of the big public baths, market and a temple devoted to the sun god Mithras. The Aquincum Museum tries to put it all in perspective - unfortunately only in Hungarian. However, you can check out the 3rd-century water organ, pottery moulds and floor mosaics, and the sculptures and stone sarcophagi outside.
Chain Bridge and Royal Palace at night, Budapest (20K)
Budapest's other highlights include a cruise along the Danube, strolling along the riverfront or across romantic bridges, browsing through antique bookshops and jewellery stores, or `taking the waters' at one of the city's many spas.
Budget accommodation can be found in Pest or the Buda Hills, respectively west and east of the city centre, while there's plenty of cheap places to eat in the Castle District. The Esceri flea market (in the XIX district, south of the city) is one of the best and biggest in Eastern Europe, and sells everything from Soviet army watches to Fred Astaire top hats. Budapest has an ample choice of things to do after dark - from opera, theatre, ballet and dance to rock, pop, jazz, and meat-market discos.
This oblong lake, about 100km from Budapest, is one of the largest in Europe, covering an area of almost 600 sq km. Often called `the nation's playground', Balaton is divided into two quite different shores: the south, which is essentially one long resort of high-rise hotels and minuscule beaches; and the north, where there are more historical towns and sights, mountain trails, better wine, and much less glitz.
Dominating the south is Siófok, the largest of Balaton's resorts. The dedicated pursuits here are eating, drinking, swimming and sunbathing - and whatever comes in between. If you get bored with the beach and the crowds, you can take a trip to nearby Szántódpuszta, a recreational centre of perfectly preserved 18th and 19th century farm buildings, barns, workshops, and a Baroque church. Further west is Keszthely, a pleasant town of grand houses, tree-lined streets and funky cafés, with unique views of both shores of the lake.
The north's oldest and most popular resort is Balantonfüred. During the 19th century it was the gathering place for politicians and cultural leaders, then a writers' colony and, by 1900, a summer retreat for the country's emerging middle class. It remains a sophisticated, yet peaceful place, and counts among its attractions a splendid promenade, a number of artist's museums and warm-water springs. South of here is the historical village of Tihany, while east is Badacsony, a region renowned for its scenery, excellent hiking trails and wine-producing towns.
Lying equidistant from the Danube and the Dráva rivers in Southern Transdanubia, Pécs is one of the most interesting cities in Hungary. Blessed with a mild climate, it has an illustrious past, superb museums and some of the finest Turkish monuments in the country. It is also renowned for its music, opera and ballet, and has some of Hungary's best leatherwork.
The symbol of the city is the Mosque Church, the largest building from the Turkish occupation still standing in Hungary. The square mosque, with an octagonal green copper dome, was built in the mid-16th century. After the expulsion of the Turks, the Catholic Church resumed possession. The Islamic elements are still in evidence today: prayer niches carved into the walls, distinctive S-shaped arches and geometric frescoes on the cupola. Nearby is the synagogue, another of Pécs extraordinary monuments. Built in the Romantic style in 1869, it has carved oak galleries and pews, ceiling paintings, and the ornate Ark of the Covenant in the sanctuary.
Mosque Church, Pécs (16K)
Among the city's best museums are the Victor Vasarely Museum and the Zsolnay Porcelain Exhibit. Vasarely was the father of Op Art - a style popular in the 1960s - and although some of the exhibited works by him and his acolytes are dated, most are evocative, tactile and very playful. The Zsolany porcelain factory, established in 1851, was at the forefront of art and design in Europe for more than half a century. Many of its tiles were used to decorate buildings throughout the country and helped establish a new pan-Hungarian style of architecture (the Communists later turned the factory into a plant for making ceramic insulators). The museum was the home of the Zsolany family and contains many of their personal effects; on the ground floor are exhibits of the popular sculptor Amerigo Tot.
Everyone loves Eger, and it's immediately apparent why: beautifully preserved Baroque architecture gives the town a relaxed, almost Mediterranean feel; it is the home of the celebrated Bull's Blood wine; and it is flanked by two of the Northern Uplands' most beautiful ranges. Hungarians like to visit Eger because it was here that their ancestors fended off the Turks for the first time during the 170 years of Turkish occupation. This is a perfect city for negotiating on foot because there is something interesting around every corner and the town centre - with its 175 protected buildings and monuments - is closed to traffic. The best overview of the town is from the 13-century Eger Castle. Other attractions include a number of interesting places of worship, especially Eger Cathedral, and a 40-metre-high Minaret with 100 narrow spiral stairs twisting claustrophobically to the top.
Pannonhalma
This tranquil village is the home of the Pannonhalma Abbey. Founded by Benedictine monks almost 1000 years ago, the monastery has been destroyed and rebuilt many times and is now a crazy quilt of Turkish, Romanesque and Gothic architectural styles. The interior is beautiful, despite the butchery, and includes a neoclassical library containing some 300,000 volumes (making it the largest private library in Hungary); historical archives holding some of the earliest surviving examples of written Hungarian; a gallery with works by Dutch, Italian and Austrian masters from the 16th to 18th centuries; and, above the red-marble arched doorway, a fresco depicting the patron, St Martin of Tours. Look down to the right near St Martin and you'll see, written in Latin, perhaps the oldest graffiti in Hungary: `Benedict Padary was here in 1578'. Pannonhalma is a working monastery, and must be visited with a guide. It is 18km south-east of Gyor, in Western Transdanubia.
The tiny town of Máriapócs is an important place of pilgrimage. Devotees are drawn to a gorgeous Greek Catholic church, which houses the Weeping Black Madonna, an enormous and unbelievably ornate iconostasis which now takes pride of place above the altar. Even Pope John Paul II hurried here in 1991 to pay homage to the miraculous image, which is why the church is in good condition today. What was surely known to him - and not to others - is that this icon is not the original, but a 19th-century copy. The real one is kept in St Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna.
This 520 sq km national park offers some of the best bird-watching in Europe: over 310 species have been spotted here in the past 20 years. Among the fragile wetlands, marshes and saline grasslands are many types of herons, egrets, spoonbills, storks, warblers and eagles. The park is also home to the great bustard, one of the world's largest birds, which stands a metre high and weighs in at 20 kg. A visit to the best parts of the park requires a guide, and travel must be done by horse, carriage or on foot. The wildlife preserve is about 40km west of Debrecen, in the Great Plain.
Riding stables at Máta in the Hortobágy region (16K)
Among the country's activities are bird-watching and horse riding in the Hortobágy region; hiking in the Mátra Hills and in the Zemplén Hills near Tokaj; canoeing on the Tisza River; and caving in Aggtelek. You can sightsee by ultra-light aircraft over Lake Balaton, as well as cycle around its shores, or windsurf on its waters.
Malév Hungarian Airlines, the national carrier, flies direct to Budapest from the USA and more than 30 European countries. It also has Mediterranean services to/from Cairo, Larnaca and Tel Aviv. Hungary is connected to all of its seven neighbouring countries by road and rail. Volánbusz (which means `steering wheel bus' - as opposed to those without steering wheels presumably) runs regular transport services to about 18 different European countries, while Magyar Államvasutak (MÁV) has express rail services that run as far as London, Stockholm, St Petersburg, Istanbul and Rome. Motorists can choose from 60 or so border crossings into the country, although 15 are restricted to citizens of Hungary and the neighbouring countries. You can also walk or cycle across the border (many border guards frown on this, particularly in Romania, Serbia and Croatia) or take the hydrofoil that plies between Budapest and Vienna from April to early-November.
Hungary's domestic transportation system is efficient, comprehensive and inexpensive. Volán run yellow buses between neighbouring cities and towns, and yellow-and-red long-distance buses to far-flung smaller communities. Rail services, run by MÁV, are less extensive, although they do have some delightful excursions, including a `nostalgia' steam-train trip around Lake Balaton in summer. There are also a number of narrow-gauge trains, operated by United Forest Railways, which run in wooded and hilly areas. Ferries operate on Lake Balaton, the Danube between Budapest and Esztergom, and the Tisza River, but these are generally warm-weather pleasure-trips rather than real means of transport.
Nyugati railway station, Budapest (20K)
There are no scheduled domestic flights in Hungary at present, although several routes are planned. Major international car-rental agencies have offices in Budapest, and there are scores of local companies throughout the country, but don't count on any bargains. Motorists can expect good roads, widely available fuel, and petrol stations that stay open all night.
Local transport in the cities and towns is well developed, and includes buses and trolley buses, as well as trams in Budapest, Debrecen, Szeged and Miskolc. Budapest also has an underground Metro and a suburban commuter railway called the HÉV. Taxis are plentiful and, if you're charged the right fare (not always the case in Budapest), very reasonably priced.
- There is no shortage of books on Hungary and things Hungarian. Historical accounts include the worthy but rather dull The Corvina History of Hungary, edited by Péter Hanák, and the lightweight Hungary: A Brief History by István Lázár.
- If your passion is politics, try Charles Gati's Hungary and the Soviet Bloc, a dry but definitive treatise on Hungarian foreign policy from 1944-86, or Sándor Kopácsi's In the Name of the Working Class, a thoroughly readable account of the events leading to the 1956 uprising. For clear, insightful interpretations of what led to the collapse of Communism in 1989, try We the People or The Uses of Adversity by Timothy Garton Ash, published in the Granta series.
- Two classic travelogues on the country are Patrick Leigh Fermor's Between the Woods and the Water, which traces his 1933 walk through Hungary en route to Constantinople, and Brian Hall's tempered love affair with the still-Communist Budapest of the 1980s described in Stealing from a Deep Place.
- There's a dearth of Hungarian fiction available in English, but the works of 19th-century writers such as Imre Madách (The Tragedy of Man) and János Arany (Toldi Trilogy) should be easy to find. Modern writers recently translated include Mílan Fü, whose The Story of My Wife is a complex tale of obsession, and the playwrights Gábor Csakó, Géza Bereményi and György Spiro, whose work features in Three Contemporary Hungarian Plays. British-based writer Tibor Fischer's Under the Frog is an immensely readable black comedy about basketball and the 1956 revolution.
- A cultural gem is Hungarian Ethnography and Folklore by Iván Balassa & Gyula Ortutay, a massive opus that leaves no question on traditional mores unanswered. Currently out of print, it can still be found in Budapest and some provincial bookshops.
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