It has come to my attention that I arrived in my new host country in a state of complete and utter naivety. I had been so focused on the whole "returning to Spain" part of my program that I totally sidestepped the whole "moving to Hungary" part... oops... But better late than never, right? And what better day to reflect on the history of Hungary than on today, October 23, 2016: the 60th anniversary of Hungarian independence from Russia! Fast FactsLanguage: Hungarian (known as "Maygar" in Hungarian) This language does NOT belong to the Indo-European family. Within Europe, it is most closely related to Finnish and Estonian but it is believed to have been derived from Asian languages. Capital: Budapest Currency: Florint (HUF) At the time of writing this blog post, 1USD = 272.38 HUF -- that makes for a very confusing exchange right when trying to decide if that extra flavor shot in your coffee is worth it! Bordering Countries: Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia Total Population: 9,855,571 (according to 2015 population census) Style of Government: Parliamentary Republic More In-Depth Historical Background The history of Hungary is long and complicated and the Wikipedia page is quite expansive, but I will do my best to summarize the key events. The recognition of a political entity known by the name of Hungary has existed since the early Middle Ages when the area that is presently recognized as Hungary was conquered by the Magyars, a semi-nomadic tribespeople originally from Central Asia. As an ethic group, the Magyars received quite a bad reputation from their new European neighbors for their Hun-esque pillaging ways, which earned them the unflattering nickname, "On-Ogur" or "ten ogres". Records as far back as the late 9th century show the use of this name by the Europeans to refer to the Magyars and it is believed that this unfortunate nickname is the origin of the contemporary name "Hungary". In 1000 CE, Saint Stephen I became the first King of Hungary. He was integral in the spread of Christianity throughout the country and in furthering the unification amongst the seven different Magyar tribes that made up the Hungarian population. In the 13th century, Mongols invaded the kingdom and wreaked serious havoc. A serious of stone castles (including the one in Pest) were commissioned at this time as an attempt to prevent future attacks. In the 16th century, a Turkish army defeated the Hungarian Royal Army and split the country into three parts: the Hungarian Kingdom, the Habsburg dominion, and the Turkish dominion. The Turks continued their reign over the area for 150 years before the country became a part of the Habsburg Empire. Hungarians slowly made progress in reclaiming partial independence and reestablished Hungarian as an official language of the country in the 19th century. The 19th century was a time of independence revolutions throwout Europe and Hungary is no exception. In 1848 there was a failed attempt to overthrow Habsburg domination. Resistance persisted until 1867 when the Austro-Hungarian Compromise was achieved, in which both kingdoms were members of a dual monarchy known as the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This Empire became a world superpower, being the second largest country in Europe (following Russia) and the fourth largest machine building industry in the world (following the U.S., Germany, and the U.K.). In Word War I, Hungary was allied with Germany and Austria (as it was still part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the time). The Empire split up following the end of the war and Hungary became an independent country, under the name Hungarian' Democratic Republic. As a result of the 1920 Treaty of Trianon and as a form of penance for its role in the war, Hungary was forced to give up over two-thirds of it's pre-war territories. These new boundaries are the same ones that are currently used today in modern Hungary. Hungary entered World War II on June 28, 1941 as an Axis Power (joining Germany, Italy, Japan, Romania, Slovakia, and Bulgaria). This time, the motivation for allying with Germany was the promise of regaining the territory that had been lost in the previous world war. Initially this seemed to have been a good strategy, as Hungary was able to successfully reacquire much of its lost land with the help of its Axis allies, effectively doubling its size between 1938 and 1941. However, in early 1943, following catastrophic losses in the battlefield, Hungary sought a secret peace pact with the Allies. Learning of the betrayal, German troops stormed Hungary and German occupation officially began in March 1944. In early May 1944, as a direct consequence of the German occupation, the deportation of Hungarian Jews to Auschwitz began. Within only a few months span, nearly 44,000 Hungarian Jews were sent to Auschwitz; almost none survived. In October 1944, Soviet troops pushed into Hungary, by December they had besieged Budapest, and by February 1945 they had successfully occupied the city. Hungary remained under Soviet occupation for 40 years, even changing the official name of the country to the People's Republic of Hungary. In 1947, due to the Peace Treaty of Paris, Hungary was forced to relinquish all territories gained between 1938 and 1941, effectively returning to its pre - World War II size. Tragedy again befell Hungary when the 1956 Revolution started out as a peaceful student protest, in which they were petitioning the government for greater political freedom and the end of the Soviet rule in Hungary. The protestors were met with violent force by the police and a full blown revolution broke out. What ensued was a long and difficult struggle to break away from Soviet influence and communism. Despite the fact that the revolution was termed a failure, it spurred a number of concessions and reforms within the government, which eventually led to the independence of Hungary in 1989. In 1989 Hungary entered the age of the Third Republic following the signing of an agreement in April of 1989 which ensured the removal of Soviet forces by June 1991. Since then, it has a been a relatively easy transition into democracy (especially when compared to other former Soviet countries). However, it has faced a serious economic recession since 1991 with the removal of state subsidies and rapid privatization. In 1999 Hungary joined the North Atlantic Trade Organization (NATO) and then in May 2004 Hungary officially joined the European Union. Today, Hungary continues to face a harsh economic climate as well as serious repercussions of the refugee crisis following the conflict in Syria, as all countries in Europe are. The political climate is quite tense and big changes may be on the horizon.
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Meet the Author:Graduate student of GEMMA Eramus Mundus Master's Degree in Women's and Gender Studies. Currently living in Budapest, Hungary. Originally from the American midwest. Archives
October 2016
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