History Hungary
Yellow trams rattling down grand boulevards, faded neo-Baroque interiors, facades marked with signs of revolution, streets of cobblestone, grand turn of the century apartment blocks. Like the bathers lingering in the steam of Budapest’s famous baths, this is a country infused with memories and history..
Hungary celebrated the 1000th anniversary of the Hungarian State at the
end of the last century. During the tumultuous thousand year history of
Hungary and the Central European Region, rulers came and went and empires
rose and fell, but Hungary’s distinctive charms have never waned nor its
welcome ever been less than genuine.
The foundation was laid in the ninth century by the great Magyar chief,
rp d, who after having settled in the Carpathian basin lead the people from
paganism toward Christianity. On Christmas Day, 1000, rp d’s great
grandson, Stephen ascended to the throne with a crown sent from Rome by Pope
Sylvester II. The kingdom and nation of Hungary was born.
The three hundred year reign of the House of rp d saw the country become
increasingly westward-looking and the succeeding House of Anjou brought
expansion - into Poland, towards Dalmatia - and a great flowering of art and
architecture. The first Golden Age had begun. Under King Matthias, lauded
for his fairness and justice, Hungary flourished, but his passing eventually
led to decimation under the Ottomans for 150 years during the 16th and
l7th-century. However, the Habsburgs helped oust the Turkish, heralding a
more stable time of reconstruction.
As the Habsburg Empire floundered, a revolt in 1848 resulted in the dual
monarchy of “Austria the empire, Hungary the kingdom”. In 1867 there were
two capitals, two parliaments. This “age of dualism” sparked an economic,
cultural and intellectual rebirth in Hungary. The second golden age had
begun.
Turn of the century Budapest was rightly considered the birthplace of the
modern world. World War I proved disastrous, however. Partitioned into
almost one-third its original size, millions of ethnic Hungarians found
themselves living outside the country. Russian intervention followed after
World War II as Stalinism lowered its iron curtain across Central Eastern
Europe.
But at the turn of this new century, Hungary is now a free country for a
decade and combines a smiling, dynamic image with a reputation for
nostalgia. In this post-communist era of rapid change, the visitor will find
constant reminders of a largely vanished Europe - old-fashioned customs and
courtesies like kissing of hands and the presentation of flowers. Nowadays
Modern Hungary is experiencing a new Renaissance. With its colourful people
and the 21st century mix of ethnic influences this was almost eerily
predicted. St. Stephen, Hungary’s first king said: “Therefore I command you
my son, to extend a benevolent protection and respect towards newcomers, so
that they would rather stay with you instead of settling somewhere else.”.