Hungary

www.fsy.bme.hu - Hungarian official homepage

www.hungary.com - tourism in Hungary, hotels, culture informations, maps, online booking

www.countryreports.org - Hungarian country informations.

www.001.hu - Car rent, currency rates, dictionary, time tables etc.

www.lcweb2.loc.gov - Complete history of Hungary

www.omniglot.com

Virtual tour:

Virtual tour of Hungary

Most wonderful places in Hungary

In general Hungary has embraced modern living (the same as in Czech Republic), although the older generation still preserves their traditions and culture, particularly in small villages. When meeting a Hungarian, handshaking is customary and both their Christian name and surname should be used. Normal courtesies should be observed. At a meal, toasts are usually made and should be returned. A useful word is egészségünkre (pronounced ay-gash-ay-gun-gre), meaning ’your health’. A knowledge of German can prove useful.

Most famous Hungarians

Franz Liszt – composer

Drew Barrymore – actress

Rachel Weizs - actress, model

Abraham Ganz – scientist

Government

After many years as a one-party Marxist state, Hungary became a multiparty parliamentary democracy in 1989. The unicameral legislature consists of the 386-seat national assembly, whose members are directly elected to four-year terms. The executive branch consists of a president, who is the chief of state and, along with the presidential council, is elected by the national assembly, and a prime minister, who is the head of government.

By 14 B.C., western Hungary was part of the Roman Empire’s province of Pannonia and Dacia. The area east of the Danube was never part of the Roman Empire and was largely occupied by various Germanic and Asiatic peoples. In 896 all of Hungary was invaded by the Magyars, who founded a kingdom. Christianity was accepted during the reign of Stephen I (St. Stephen), 977–1038. A devastating invasion by the Mongols killed half of Hungary’s population in 1241.

For centuries, Hungary has been an agricultural country, but since The Second World War it has become heavily industrialized. Through the 1970s and 1980s, industry was largely state-owned, and two thirds of agricultural output came from collective and state farms. Hungary’s economy underwent difficult readjustment in the 1990s, as it moved from producing goods chiefly for export to the USSR to developing a market-based economy and finding new trading partners.

Official name: Republic of Hungary

Location: East-Central Europe (borders with Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia)

Area: 93,030 square km

Population: 10,300,000 (21 percent under 14 and 60 percent between 15-59)

Density of population: 110 per sq. kilometer

Form of government: Republic

Capital city: Budapest