Interesting facts about Hungary

hungarian flag

Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe.

Hungary’s full official name changed from “Republic of Hungary” to just “Hungary” in 2012.

It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Romania to the east, Serbia to the south, Croatia to the southwest, Slovenia to the west, Austria to the northwest, and Ukraine to the northeast.

Official language is Hungarian.

As of 1 January 2016, the population of Hungary was estimated to be 9,853,470 people.

The Hungarian Forint is the currency of Hungary.

Budapest, Hungary’s capital, is bisected by the River Danube, and the 19th-century Chain Bridge connects its hilly Buda district with flat Pest.

budapest

Other major cities include: Debrecen, Miskolc, Szeged and Pécs.

Hungary is one of the oldest countries in Europe. It was founded in A.D. 896, before France, Germany, or England.

Geographically, Hungary is very flat and accessible by land and river.

The highest point in the country is Kekes at 1,014 meters (3326 feet) in the Mátra Mountains northeast of Budapest.

highest pointin hungary kekes

Hungary is home to deer and boars, plus smaller mammals, such as rabbits and small rodents, but few other mammals.

Almost 400 bird species are breeding and for many birds Hungary is an important stopover during spring or autumn migration. Hungary has one of the best Birding areas in Europe.

Hungary has 10 national parks, 145 minor nature reserves and 35 landscape protection areas.

hungary nature

The world’s largest geothermal cave system is in Hungary. It is located underground Budapest. Europe’s largest underground lake also was recently found under Budapest’s Gellért Hill.

The famous Lake Balaton is situated in Hungary, which is the largest one in entire Central Europe.

lake balaton

The Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst is a UNESCO World Heritage site consisting of 712 caves spread out over a total area of 138,000 acres (55,800 ha) along the border of Hungary and Slovakia.

caves of aggtelek karst and slovak karst

Hungary’s national dish is Goulash. It is a stew, a steaming bowl of slow-cooked beef, carrots, onions and loads of Hungary’s trademark paprika to give it a good kick.

hungarian national dish goulash

Hungary is the world’s second leading producer of foie gras (goose liver), after France.

The Benedictine Pannonhalma Archabbey or Territorial Abbey of Pannonhalma is a medieval building in Pannonhalma, one of the oldest historical monuments in Hungary. Founded in 996, it is located near the town, on top of a hill (282 meters (925 feet)).

pannonhalma archabbey

The Hungarian Grand Prix is a motor race held annually in Hungary. Since 1986, the race has been a round of the FIA Formula One World Championship.

The Budapest Metro is the oldest electrified underground railway system on the European continent, and the 3rd oldest underground railway in the world,

Hungary is a land of more than 1,000 hot springs and enough spa facilities to accommodate 300,000 people at the same time! Hungary also has 450 public baths.

The Szechenyi thermal bath is the largest thermal bath complex in Hungary and in Europe. Its water is supplied by two thermal springs, their temperature is 74 °C (165 °F) and 77 °C (171 °F), respectively.

Szechenyi thermal bath

Only five countries (USA, Russia, UK, France and Italy) have won more Summer Olympic gold medals won by Hungary in history.

13 Hungarians (who were born in Hungary) had received a Nobel prize.

Hungarian inventions include the noiseless match (János Irinyi), Rubik’s cube (Erno Rubik), and the krypton electric bulb (Imre Bródy).

rubiks cube

Several other inventions were made by Hungarians who fled the country prior to World War II, including holography (Dennis Gabor), the ballpoint pen (László Bíró) and the BASIC programming language (John Kemeny, with Thomas E. Kurtz).

hologram

Hungary, like Austria, has a long tradition of classical music, although often blended with folkloric elements.Composers Béla Bartók, Zoltán Kodály or Franz Liszt were all Hungarian.

Illusionist Harry Houdini was born Erich Weisz in Budapest in 1874.Spectacular escape acts made him one of the most famous magicians of all time.

The word ‘coach‘ derives from the name of the Hungarian town Kocs, where multi-passenger wheeled vehicles first appeared around 1500.

coach with horse

Hungarians never clink their glasses, or bottles, of beer. According to legend, when 13 Hungarians generals were executed in Austria, during the Revolution of 1848, Austrians clinked their beer glasses after each execution. Therefore, Hungarians refuse to clink glasses as a way to honor the generals’ memory.

Hungarian wine has a history dating back to at least Roman times. Outside of Hungary, the best-known wines are the white dessert wine Tokaji and the red wine Bull’s Blood of Eger.

Hungary receives over 10 million visitors or tourists per year.

Comments are closed.