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    Insight Guides Hungary (Travel Guide eBook)
    Insight Guides Hungary (Travel Guide eBook)
    Insight Guides Hungary (Travel Guide eBook)
    Ebook558 pages3 hours

    Insight Guides Hungary (Travel Guide eBook)

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    Insight Guides Hungary

    Travel made easy. Ask local experts. 
    Inspirational travel guide with fascinating historical insights and stunning imagery.

    From deciding when to go, to choosing what to see when you arrive, this guide to Hungary is all you need to plan your perfect trip, with insider information on must-see, top attractions like Budapest, the Danube Valley and Debrecen, and cultural gems like the opulent Fertod Palace, the outstanding Hortobagy National Park and the magnificent city of Pecs.

    Features of this travel guide to Hungary:
    - Inspirational colour photography: discover the best destinations, sights and excursions, and be inspired by stunning imagery
    - Historical and cultural insights: immerse yourself in Hungary's rich history and culture, and learn all about Ferenc Móra, Lajos Kossuth and Hungarian folk culture.
    - Practical full-colour maps: with every major sight and listing highlighted, the full-colour maps make on-the-ground navigation easy
    - Editor's Choice: uncover the best of Hungary with our pick of the region's top destinations
    - Key tips and essential information: packed full of important travel information, from transport and tipping to etiquette and hours of operation
    - Covers: Budapest; Around Budapest; The Danube; Gates to the West; Around Lake Balaton; Northeast Hungary; The Great Plain; East Hungary; The Puszta; Southwest Hungary

    Looking for a specific guide to Budapest? Check out Insight Guides Explore Budapest for a detailed and entertaining look at all the city has to offer.

    About Insight Guides: Insight Guides is a pioneer of full-colour guide books, with almost 50 years' experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides with user-friendly, modern design. We produce around 400 full-colour print guide books and maps, as well as phrase books, picture-packed eBooks and apps to meet different travellers' needs. Insight Guides' unique combination of beautiful travel photography and focus on history and culture create a unique visual reference and planning tool to inspire your next adventure.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherInsight Guides
    Release dateJan 1, 2020
    ISBN9781839052163
    Insight Guides Hungary (Travel Guide eBook)
    Author

    Insight Guides

    Pictorial travel guide to Arizona & the Grand Canyon with a free eBook provides all you need for every step of your journey. With in-depth features on culture and history, stunning colour photography and handy maps, it’s perfect for inspiration and finding out when to go to Arizona & the Grand Canyon and what to see in Arizona & the Grand Canyon. 

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      Hungary’s Top 10 Attractions

      Top Attraction 1

      Budapest. Straddling the Danube and essentially two cities in one, Budapest has something for everyone, including Turkish baths, Art Nouveau architecture, river islands, top-drawer restaurants and exciting nightlife. For more information, click here.

      iStock

      Top Attraction 2

      Danube Bend. One of the most enchanting stretches of the River Danube sweeps its way up from Budapest before dramatically twisting through a forested valley towards Slovakia.

      For more information, click here.

      iStock

      Top Attraction 3

      Fertod Palace. Once one of the most opulent palaces in Europe, and one-time home of the Estherházy family, this 18th-century Baroque and Rococo masterpiece remains the most impressive in the country. For more information, click here.

      Shutterstock

      Top Attraction 4

      Hortobágy National Park. Hungary’s largest national park and Unesco World Heritage Site, this outstanding natural landscape offers the quintessential puszta experience – don’t miss the rodeo shows. For more information, click here.

      Shutterstock

      Top Attraction 5

      Hollókö. Nestling in the heart of the Cserhát Hills, a visit to this delightfully preserved village is a must for its vernacular architecture and long-standing folk customs. For more information, click here.

      iStock

      Top Attraction 6

      Folk and gypsy music. Don’t pass up the chance to experience the wild, irrepressible sounds of Hungarian folk and gypsy music, whether that’s at a concert in Budapest or a local restaurant. For more information, click here.

      iStock

      Top Attraction 7

      Lake Balaton. Escape the heat of the city and head to the ‘Hungarian Sea’, where you can chill on the beach, swim in shallow waters, or try your hand at windsurfing or sailing. For more information, click here.

      iStock

      Top Attraction 8

      Pécs. After Budapest, this is Hungary’s most appealing city, featuring a magnificent cathedral and packed with one of the most important collections of Turkish buildings in this part of Europe. For more information, click here.

      iStock

      Top Attraction 9

      Wine cellars. Don’t leave Hungary without visiting one of its famous wine cellars, the best of which are located along the Villány-Siklós wine road and in the Tokaj region. For more information, click here.

      iStock

      Top Attraction 10

      Pannonhalma Monastery. Designed in an unusual blend of architectural forms, this grand-looking Benedictine Abbey is Hungary’s most impressive monastery; the Empire-style library is a real highlight. For more information, click here.

      iStock

      Editor’s Choice

      Széchenyi Thermal Bath.

      iStock

      Best baths

      Gellért, Budapest. One of the oldest, and still the most traditional, of the city’s bathhouses, the Gellért is the one to head to if time is limited. For more information, click here.

      Héviz. Bob on the water in rented rubber tubes in Europe’s largest outdoor thermal baths, where temperatures never drop below 30°C. For more information, click here.

      Széchenyi, Budapest. The city’s largest open-air baths is a maze of hot and cold pools – 16 in fact. For more information, click here.

      Hajdúszoboszló. This vast complex of pools and steam rooms also incorporates Hungary’s largest water park – which make this a great place for kids. For more information, click here.

      Király, Budapest. An atmospheric Ottoman bathhouse is distinguished by four copper cupolas and centred on a magnificent octagonal pool. For more information, click here.

      Budapest’s New York Café.

      iStock

      Best wine regions

      Tokaj. Hungary’s most celebrated wine region is known above all else for its sweet Aszù dessert wines, such as the utterly lovely Furmint. For more information, click here.

      Villány-Siklós. Hungary’s first wine road consistently yields both fine-quality reds and whites, with the Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet France particularly treasured. For more information, click here.

      Balaton. Lake Balaton boasts five different wine regions around its lakeshore, where white varieties dominate; look out for Légli and Szeremley. For more information, click here.

      Eger. One of the biggest wine regions in the north, Eger is famous for its red Egri Bikavér, otherwise known as Bull’s Blood. For more information, click here.

      Szkeszard. It may be one of the country’s less heralded wine areas, but the reds are fantastic, especially the Kadarka. For more information, click here.

      Winery in Balaton.

      Shutterstock

      Best Budapest Food and drink treats

      Great Market Hall. You’ll find plenty of cheap, filling and tasty Hungarian food in Budapest’s grandest market place – as well as loads of great produce for a picnic. For more information, click here.

      Ruszwurm Pâtisserie. Head to this family-run spot for a traditional sweet treat, served over a 200-year-old cherry wood counter and enjoyed in a 19th-century dining room. For more information, click here or here.

      New York Café. Majestic Art Nouveau coffee house dating back to 1894 that still doles out some of the city’s best coffee and cake today. For more information, click here or click here.

      Goulash. This distinctively coloured, famous Hungarian dish is available in different forms from establishments all over the city. For more information, click here.

      The Great Synagogue.

      iStock

      Best buildings

      Cifra Palace, Kecskemét. A wonderful Secessionist building with a gingerbread-house like façade now houses the town’s excellent art gallery. For more information, click here.

      Holy Spirit Church, Paks. One of several typically exuberant wooden structures scattered around Hungary designed by the controversial architect Imre Makovecz. For more information, click here.

      Great Synagogue, Budapest. Europe’s largest synagogue is an extravagant Byzantine-Moorish designed edifice topped by two gilded onion-domed towers. For more information, click here.

      Matthias Church, Budapest. A Neo-Gothic masterpiece manifesting a dazzling diamond-patterned roof and toothy spires and, inside, richly carved coats-of-arms and colourful frescoes. For more information, click here.

      Festetics Palace, Keszthely. Erstwhile home of the eponymous family, the highlights of this imposing Neo-Baroque pile are the gilt, mirrored ballroom and the beautifully carved Helikon library. For more information, click here.

      Windsurfing, Lake Balaton.

      iStock

      Best activities

      Windsurfing, Lake Balaton. Balaton’s breezy shores are perfect for a spot of windsurfing, and there are dozens of places dotted all around the lake where you can hire equipment. For more information, click here.

      Horse-riding. Hungarians have a deep attachment to all things equine, and there’s nowhere better to have a go yourself than on the puszta. For more information, click here.

      Hiking, Bükk Hills. These lovely, beech-covered hills in the Northern Uplands offer some of Hungary’s best and most varied hiking opportunities with trails to suit walkers of all abilities. For more information, click here.

      Birdwatching. For something a little more sedate, check out some of the country’s many fantastic birding spots such as the Hortobágy, the Kiskunság and Lake Tisza. For more information, click here or click here.

      A Romani woman outside her house.

      iStock

      The Rajko Gypsy Ensemble prepare to perform in Budapest.

      Getty Images

      Locals in Budapest.

      Alamy

      Introduction: A nation of nomads

      At the crossroads of Europe, Hungary has finally found peace and independence after centuries of foreign domination.

      Hungary and the Hungarians as we know them today were at one time two quite different entities. The land, a large and fertile plain defended in the east and north by the Carpathians and in the west by natural obstacles – swamps, rivers and the foothills of the Alps – served as a haven to tribes before the Magyars came sweeping through in AD 896 and made it their home.

      Celebrating Easter wearing traditional folk costumes.

      Getty Images

      Musician in Budapest.

      iStock

      Hungary’s subsequent history is relatively short but complex. Survival as an independent nation at the intersection of Western and Eastern Europe and the Balkans demanded a cunning foreign policy not all Hungarian leaders could provide. After becoming a kingdom sanctioned by the Pope in 1001, Hungary acted as a bastion for Western Europe, only to be left to its own devices when the going got rough. Internecine struggles between powerful magnates, nobles, tyrants, monarchs and a galaxy of fine political leaders also sundered the nation from within.

      A shepherd’s hands.

      iStock

      Hungary’s fortunes have waxed and waned with the tides of history. At times it exhibited boundless wealth, which was then coveted by others. Under the Angevin King Lajos I, the realm stretched from the Adriatic to the Black Sea and almost to the Baltic in the north. Domination by the Turks, Habsburgs, Nazis and communists was to follow; all hopes of independence were mercilessly crushed. In the aftermath of World War I, two-thirds of Hungarian territory was carved up and handed out to Romania, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, and one-fifth of its population went with the land. All these events forced Hungarians from their homes, and they continue to be nomads: today, some 30 percent of the Magyar nation lives outside Hungary.

      Thanks perhaps to their turbulent and often painful history, Hungarians tend to have a melancholy streak, but they can also be a friendly and hospitable people. The visitor travelling the country will also notice the ubiquity of the Hungarian colours, red, white and green (piros, fehér, zőld). Patriotism here often takes the form of venerating, celebrating or commemorating one of the country’s many tragedies. The Magyar people were (and remain) incurable romantics, confronting their enemies when the odds seem hopeless and earning acclaim for their many gallant defeats.

      Depiction of a 19th-century market in Budapest.

      iStock

      Decisive Dates

      Early Times

      350,000 bc

      Earliest remains of peoples living in Danube and Carpathian basins

      1st–4th century ad

      The Romans conquer the Danube and create the state of Pannonia in western Hungary.

      896

      Legendary chieftan Árpád leads the Magyars into the Carpathian Basin, and takes control of Pannonia.

      955

      The Magyar riders, after terrorising Western Europe for decades, are defeated at the Battle of Lechfeld. Prince Géza, the Magyar leader, subsequently allies himself with the West.

      The coronation of King Stephen I on Christmas Day, 1000.

      iStock

      The Árpád Dynasty

      1000

      István (Stephen) I, the founder of the Árpád dynasty, becomes the first Christian king of Hungary on Christmas Day 1000. He centralises royal authority, establishes Christianity as the official religion, and divides the country into counties, whose boundaries remain intact today.

      1172–96

      The reign of Béla III is an orderly, prosperous period in Hungary’s history. His scribe, known as Anonymous, writes Gesta Ungarorum, the earliest surviving chronicle of Hungary.

      1222

      Under the rule of Andrés II, favouritism flourishes and the dispossessed nobles rebel. He is forced to sign the ‘Golden Bull’, a charter guaranteeing the rights of nobles and fixing the relationship between aristocracy and king.

      1241

      Mongols invade and defeat the Hungarians at Muhi. King Béla IV evades capture and the Mongols leave in 1242. Most of the great Hungarian fortresses are built at this time in anticipation of another attack.

      1301

      András III, the last of the Árpád kings, dies.

      The Turkish Threat

      1308

      The barons elect Charles-Robert of Anjou king of Hungary. A shrewd leader, Charles-Robert (Carobert) restores order and consolidates the realm.

      1342–82

      His successor, Lajos, adopts a policy of conquest, acquiring enough territory to form one of the largest realms in Europe. By the time of his death, the Turks are advancing into the Balkans.

      1456

      János Hunyadi, the national hero of Hungary, defeats the Turks at the siege of Nándorfehérvár (Belgrade), keeping them out of Hungary for 70 years.

      1458

      His son Mátyás (Corvinus) is crowned king, ushering in a Golden Age. His Neapolitan wife, Beatrix, introduces the Italian Renaissance to Hungary, creating the greatest Renaissance palace in Europe. Mátyás conquers Moravia, Bohemia and parts of Austria, transforming Hungary into the strongest kingdom in central Europe.

      1514

      A peasant revolt is brutally crushed and feudal servitude in perpetuity is written into law.

      1526

      The Hungarian army under Lajos II is crushed by the Turks at the battle of Mohács.

      1541

      Buda is taken by the Turks. Hungary is divided into three: Royal Hungary, Turkish Hungary and Transylvania. For the next 150 years there is almost continual conflict between Turks, Habsburgs and Hungarians.

      1571

      István Báthory becomes voivode (governor) of Transylvania, giving the region the status of a European power.

      1686–99

      Hungary is freed from the Turks by the Habsburg commander Eugene of Savoy.

      1703–11

      Ferenc Rákóczi II leads the Hungarians in an unsuccessful eight-year war against Habsburg domination. Hungary continues to be little more than a province of the Habsburg Empire.

      The Habsburgs

      1740–80

      Maria Theresa ascends the throne, winning the hearts of the Hungarians by establishing peace.

      1780–90

      Joseph II, a child of the Enlightenment, attempts to modernise Hungary, abolishing serfdom and dissolving all-powerful religious orders. German is made the official language of the Empire.

      1789

      The French Revolution. Despite revolutionary fervour throughout Europe, the majority of Hungarians remain loyal to Austria.

      1815

      Resurgence of Hungarian nationalism.

      1823

      Sándor Petőfi, née Petrovics, Hungary’s national poet, is born in Kiskórös.

      1830

      Count Széchenyi begins modernising Hungary’s infrastructure, forming the Danube Steamship Company and the Merchant (Kereskedelmi) Bank (1841).

      1848–49

      The revolution against Austrian supremacy headed by the lawyer Lajos Kossuth ends in failure.

      6 October 1849

      Revolutionary leaders executed. It remains a day of national mourning in Hungary.

      1867

      The Great Compromise with Austria creates the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy.

      1873

      Pest, Buda and Obuda are united, and Budapest is declared the capital.

      The Austro-Hungarian military, c.1887.

      iStock

      1890

      Hungarian Social Democratic Party is created.

      War, Peace and Communism

      1914–18

      World War I marks the end of the Dual Monarchy.

      1919

      In March, Count Károlyi’s Hungarian Democratic Republic fails in the wake of neighbouring states’ seizure of Hungarian territory. Béla Kun heads the communist Hungarian Soviet. Then in August, Béla Kun flees to Austria, unable to cope with foreign intervention and peasant unrest.

      1920

      Hungary’s first free elections are held; Admiral Horthy is appointed regent.

      1921

      The Treaty of Trianon reduces Hungary’s territory by two-thirds.

      1938 and 1940

      Hitler offers to hand back Slovakia and Transylvania in return for Hungarian cooperation.

      1944

      The Nazis are given a free hand in Hungary. On 15 October the Hungarian pro-Nazi Arrow Cross Party takes power under Ferenc Szálasi. Several hundred thousand Jews are sent to concentration camps.

      1945

      The Red Army occupies the country.

      1946

      The monarchy is abolished and Hungary is declared a republic by the new communist government. The pengö sets a world record for devaluation.

      Pro-Nazi former Hungarian leader Ferenc Szálasi (centre), moments before his public execution in 1946.

      Getty Images

      1949

      The Soviets take power; the Party is purged of Western influence in show trials. Opponents of the communist regime are sent to labour camps. The head of the Catholic Church in Hungary, József Cardinal Mindszenty, is arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment.

      1956

      Revolution against the Soviet Union and communist rule is crushed. Hundreds of Hungarians are executed and thousands more flee the country. János Kádár becomes premier of a new communist state.

      1968

      The New Economic Mechanism allows a limited free market to develop.

      1970s

      Hungary attempts to increase its contact with non-communist countries. Relations with the Catholic Church improve.

      1982

      Hungary is admitted to the International Monetary Fund, and receives loans from the World Bank.

      1989

      Hungary opens the Iron Curtain and allows thousands of East European refugees to leave.

      1990

      Free elections are won by the Conservative Democratic Forum.

      1990–94

      The transition to a market economy sees inflation soar and unemployment increase sharply.

      Viktor Orbán, the current Hungarian prime minister.

      Shutterstock

      1995

      Government reaches agreement with Jewish groups on the restoration of assets seized during World War II.

      1996

      The World Fair is held in Budapest.

      1998

      Federation of Young Democrats-Hungarian Civic Party (FIDESZ-MPP), Independent Smallholders’ Party (FKGP) and the Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF) form a coalition government.

      1999

      Hungary, along with the Czech Republic and Poland, joins NATO.

      2001

      Ferenc Mádl is elected president.

      2004

      Hungary joins the European Union. The Hungarian Socialist Party ousts Péter Medgyessy as prime minister, replacing him with Ferenc Gyurcsány.

      2005

      Lászlo Sólyom becomes president.

      2006

      Widespread riots follow Gyurcsány’s admission that his government had lied during the election campaign.

      2010

      Conservative opposition party Fidesz, led by Victor Orbán, wins landslide parliamentary victory.

      2012

      Malév, Hungary’s state airline, goes bankrupt.

      2014

      Fidesz returned to power in another sweeping victory.

      2016

      Orbán’s successful anti-refugee campaign results in a fence being built along the country’s southern border.

      2018

      Orbán wins a straight third term as prime minister as concerns are raised within EU circles regarding his increasingly authoritarian measures.

      The making of a state

      The Carpathian Basin has been occupied and invaded by countless tribes. In the 9th century the Magyars finally made the land their own.

      An old map of Buda.

      iStock

      Archaeological evidence in the form of bone and pottery fragments shows that the Danube and Carpathian basins have been populated by humans since about 350,000 BC. It is thought that the earliest Stone Age inhabitants were hunter-gatherers, living off indigenous fruits and wildlife, mostly reindeer and mammoths. During the Neolithic era (5000 BC), as a result of the climate changes that followed the Ice Age, people began to settle along riverbanks and in valleys, herding animals and cultivating the land.

      Árpád, head of the Hungarian tribes from c.895–c.907.

      Getty Images

      Around 2000 BC, marauding tribes from the Balkans and the steppes migrated to the area, bringing cattle, horses and copper tools with them. They were followed by a wave of invading tribes. The Scythians from the east introduced iron while the Celts, who arrived in the 3rd century BC, were fine craftsmen who produced glassware and jewellery.

      Roman outpost

      When the Romans arrived in Transdanubia (the area west of the Danube) around 35 BC, it was inhabited by the Illyrians and the Eravisks, who were descendants of the Celts. In 14 BC this region, known as Pannonia, was officially incorporated into the Roman Empire.

      In AD 6, angered by Rome’s heavy-handed recruitment policies and excessive taxation, the Pannonians joined the Dalmatians in a rebellion that took three years to crush. Emperor Tiberius reacted by setting up various garrison towns and municipae (independent cities) – among them Scarbantia (Sopron), Soponiae (Pécs), Arrabona (Győr) and Aquincum (Budapest) where extensive remains can still be seen. Communities grew up around these strongholds: vines were planted, stone houses and thermal baths were constructed, and roads were laid to connect this eastern outpost to the heart of the Roman Empire.

      Stretched beyond its own human and financial reserves, and pummelled by the continuous onslaught of various tribes of barbarians, the Roman Empire withered away without making further progress east of the Danube. That is where the Huns found them when they came galloping through in the 4th century.

      Following the death of Attila the Hun in 453, and the fall of his brief empire, Transdanubia and the Nagyalföld (Hungarian for the Great Plain, the region east of the Danube) were occupied by another succession of invading tribes – Avars, Ostrogoths, Slavs, Bulgars and various Eastern Franks. The Magyars, however, were still on their way.

      Tribal Origins

      The exact origin of the Hungarian people is still hotly debated among historians. The chronicles, usually written centuries after the facts, tend to be unreliable. Some refer to Avars, others to Turkic tribes.

      In the 19th century the distinguished Hungarian linguist Antal Reguly researched the languages spoken by the tribes living near the Ural Mountains in central Russia. More linguists followed him and their studies suggest that the Hungarians are descended from a Finno-Ugric-speaking people living near the Ural Mountains.

      The Khazars

      At some point during the third millennium BC this community dispersed, with one group of tribes migrating westwards. By AD 600 the group consisted of seven tribes living between the Danube, the Don (in the present-day Russian Federation) and the Black Sea, as part of the Kaganate (or kingdom) of the Khazars, a Turkic people commanding a vast empire in Eastern Europe. They led a semi-nomadic existence, moving to rivers in winter and back on to the plains in summer. The Magyars represented the single most powerful tribe in the group, and their name eventually became the eponym for the whole group.

      Old Roman murals in the village of Tác.

      Alamy

      The Magyars rendered important military services to the Khazars and, in return for these, they enjoyed a special status. The Kagan either chose or sanctioned a religious leader (kende), while the tribes elected an executive leader (gyula) of their own.

      The relationship became understandably strained, however, when the Magyars not only declined to aid the Kagan in quashing a rebellion that had risen in the empire, but also granted asylum to refugee rebels. Since the Kagan was sure to exact revenge, the Magyars began to look westwards for new homelands.

      Traditional Hungarian powder horn.

      Getty Images

      Riding as mercenaries for various European monarchs took them often into the Nagyalföld (Great Plain), which they soon coveted for its fertile ground and the protective Carpathian Mountains. In addition, a fierce and powerful Turkic tribe, the Pechenegs, had cut a swathe through the dwindling Khazar empire from the east and were threatening the weakly defended Magyar rear. The gyula Árpád had begun to move the tribes under his command westward over the Carpathians. He crossed the Verecke Pass (in today’s Ukraine) in the spring of 895 and the rest of the tribes had reached the Nagyalföld by 896, completing the conquest of the Carpathian

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