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The Republic of Hungary (The Magyar Republic) is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. Its capital is Budapest.

Hungary is a member of OECD, NATO, EU and is a Schengen state. The official language is Hungarian (also known as “Magyar”), which forms part of the Finno-Ugric family. It is one of four official languages of the European Union which is not of European origin.

The foundation of Hungary was laid in the late ninth century. The kingdom existed with minor interruptions for more than 900 years and, at various points in its history, was regarded as one of the cultural centres of the western world. During the Communist period from 1947 to 1989, Hungary gained widespread international attention centred on the Uprising of 1956.

In June 1987 Károly Grósz took over as Premier. In January 1988 all restrictions were lifted on foreign travel. In March demonstrations for democracy and civil rights brought thousands onto the streets. In May, after Kádár’s forced retirement, Grósz was named Party Secretary General. Under Grósz, Hungary began moving towards full democracy and the pace of change accelerated under the influence of other reformers such as Imre Pozsgay and Rezső Nyers. In June 1988, 30,000 demonstrated against Romania’s plans to demolish Transylvanian villages.

In February, 1989 the Communist Party’s Central Committee, responding to public dissatisfaction, announced it would permit a multi-party system in Hungary and hold free elections. In March, for the first time in decades, the government declared the anniversary of the 1848 Revolution a national holiday. Opposition demonstrations filled the streets of Budapest with more than 75,000 marchers. Grósz met Mikhail Gorbachev in Moscow who condoned Hungary’s moves toward a multi-party system and promised that the USSR would not interfere in Hungary’s internal affairs.

In May of that year, Hungary began to take down its barbed wire fence along the Austrian border – the first break in the infamous Iron Curtain. The opening of its border with Austria in 1989 accelerated the collapse of the Eastern Bloc. Since then Hungary has been a parliamentary republic. In July of that year U.S. President George Bush visited Hungary. In September Foreign Minister Gyula Horn announced that East German refugees in Hungary would not be repatriated but would instead be allowed to go to the West. The resulting exodus shook East Germany and hastened the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The economic changes of the past few years have resulted in declining living standards for most people in Hungary. In 1991 most state subsidies were removed, leading to a severe economic recession exacerbated by the fiscal austerity necessary to reduce inflation and stimulate investment. This made life difficult for many Hungarians, and in the May 1994 elections the renamed Hungarian Socialist Party led by former Communists won an absolute majority in parliament. This did not mean a return to the past. All three main political parties advocate economic liberalisation and closer ties with the West. In March 1996, Horn was re-elected as the Socialist Party leader and confirmed that he would push ahead with the party’s economic stabilisation programme.

In 1997 in a national referendum 85% voted in favour of Hungary joining NATO. A year later the European Union began negotiations with Hungary on full membership. In 1999 Hungary joined NATO. Hungary joined the EU in 2004.
The President of the Republic is elected by the Parliament every five years.

The Prime Minister is elected by Parliament and can only be removed by a vote of no confidence. The Prime Minister selects Cabinet ministers and has the exclusive right to dismiss them. Each Cabinet nominee appears before one or more parliamentary committees in open hearings and must be formally approved by the President. A unicameral, 386-member National Assembly (the Országgyűlés) is the highest organ of state authority and initiates and approves legislation sponsored by the Prime Minister. National Parliamentary elections are held every four years. Administratively, Hungary is divided into 19 counties, and the capital city, Budapest, is independent of any county government. The counties are sub-divided into 173 sub-regions. There are also 23 towns with county rights. The local authorities of these towns have extended powers.

Hungary continues to demonstrate economic growth as one of the newest member countries of the European Union. The private sector accounts for over 80% of GDP. Hungary gets nearly one third of all foreign direct investment flowing into Central Europe, with cumulative foreign direct investment totalling more than US$23 billion. It enjoys strong trade, fiscal, monetary, investment, business, and labour law freedoms. The top income tax rate is fairly high, but corporate tax levels are low. Investment in Hungary is easy, although it is subject to government licensing in security-sensitive areas. Foreign capital enjoys virtually the same protections and privileges as domestic capital. The rule of law is strong, a professional judiciary protects property rights, and the level of corruption is low. Total government spending is high, and many state-owned enterprises have not been privatized. Business licensing is also a problem, as regulations are not applied consistently.

Hungary is one of the 15 most popular tourist destinations in the world (measured over the past decade) with Budapest being regarded as one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The country is home to numerous World Heritage Sites, UNESCO Biosphere reserves, the second largest thermal lake in the world (Lake Hévíz), the largest lake in Central Europe (Lake Balaton), and the largest natural grassland in Europe (Hortobágy).

The music of Hungary consists mainly of traditional Hungarian folk music and music by prominent composers such as Liszt, Dohnányi, Bartók, Kodály, and Rózsa. Hungarian traditional music tends to have a strong dactylic rhythm, as the language is invariably stressed on the first syllable of each word. Hungary also has a number of internationally renowned composers of contemporary classical music, György Ligeti, György Kurtág, Péter Eötvös and Zoltán Jeney among them.

Trans-danubia is a primarily hilly region with a terrain varied by low mountains. These include the very eastern stretch of the Alps, Alpokalja, in the west of the country, the Trans-danubian Medium Mountains, in the central region of Trans-danubia, and the Mecsek Mountains and Villány Mountains in the south. The highest point of the area is the Írott-kő in the Alps, at 880 metres.

The highest mountains of the country are located in the Carpathians: these lie in the northern parts, in a wide band along the Slovakian border.

Hungary is divided into two distinct parts by its main waterway, the Danube (Duna); other large rivers include the Tisza and Dráva, while Trans-danubia contains Lake Balaton, a major body of water.

Hungary has a Continental climate with hot summers with low overall humidity levels but frequent rain showers and frigid to cold snowy winters. Average annual temperature is 9.7 °C (49.5 °F). Temperature extremes are about 42 °C (110 °F) in the summer and −29 °C (−20 °F) in the winter. Average temperature in the summer is 27 to 35 °C (81 to 95 °F), and in the winter it is 0 to −15 °C (32 to 5 °F). The average yearly rainfall is approximately 600 millimetres (24 in).

For 95% of the population, the mother language is Hungarian, a Finno-Ugric language unrelated to any neighbouring language and distantly related to Finnish and Estonian. The main minority groups are the Roma, Germans, Slovaks, Croats, Romanians, Ukrainians and Serbs.

Hungary is home to the largest synagogue in Europe (The Great Synagogue), the largest medicinal bath in Europe (Széchenyi), the third largest church in Europe (Esztergom Basilica), the second largest abbey in the world in terms of land area, (Pannonhalma Arch abbey), the second largest Baroque castle in the world (Gödöllő), and the largest Early Christian Necropolis outside Italy (Pécs).

Hungarian cuisine is a prominent feature of Hungarian culture, with traditional dishes such as the world famous goulash being a key feature of the Hungarian diet. Dishes are often flavoured with paprika (pure powdered pepper). Goulash is, contrary to popular belief, not a stew but an artistically prepared thick soup. Sour cream is often used to soften its flavour. Fisherman’s soup (halászlé) is a rich mixture of several kinds of poached fish, tomatoes, green peppers and paprika. It is a meal in itself. Lake Balaton pike-perch (fogas) is generally served breaded and fried or grilled. Other distinctive dishes include, chicken paprika, homemade pörkölt (stew), "vadas" which is a cooked wild meat in carrot sauce and special dumplings, and trout with almond. Goose liver (libamáj) is also very popular, either fried or grilled, cold or hot. Desserts include the iconic Dobos Cake, strudels (rétes in Hungarian, they are layered pastries filled with apple, cherry, poppy seed, curd or cheese), Gundel pancakes (palacsinta), plum in pasta dumplings (szilvás gombóc), somlói dumplings and gesztenyepüré (cooked chestnuts mashed, topped with whipped cream). Specialities include salty and sweet pastas, of which túrós csusza (pasta with curd and sour cream) is the most famous healthy brown bread is made from four to six different grains and is sprinkled with sesame seeds, sunflower seeds and rolled oats. Kifli is a very popular crescent roll.

The csárda is the most distinctive type of Hungarian inn, an old-style tavern offering traditional cuisine, wine and pálinka. Borozó usually denotes a cozy old-fashioned wine bar, pince is a beer or wine cellar and a söröző is a pub offering draught beer (csapolt sör) and sometimes meals. The bisztró is an inexpensive restaurant that is often self-service (önkiszolgáló). The büfé is the cheapest place, although one may have to eat standing at a counter. Pastries, cakes and coffee are served at a cukrászda, while an eszpresszó is a cafeteria. Tokaji, "Wine of Kings, King of Wines" ("Vinum Regum, Rex Vinorum"): so said Louis XIV of France. Pálinka is distilled from fruit grown in the orchards situated on the Great Hungarian Plain. It is a spirit native to Hungary and comes in a variety of flavours including apricot (barack) and cherry (cseresznye). However plum (szilva) is considered the best of all. Beer goes well with many traditional Hungarian dishes and many Hungarians chose to drink it with their lunch. The four main Hungarian breweries are: Soproni, Arany Ászok, Kõbányai, and Dreher.

Hungary is ideal for wine-making. Since the fall of communism the country has fostered the renaissance of Hungarian wine-making. The choice of good wine increases from year to year. The country can be divided to six wine regions: North-Trans-danubia, Lake Balaton, South-Pannónia, Duna-region or Alföld, Upper-Hungary and Tokaj-Hegyalja. The Hungarian wine regions offer a great variety of style: the main products of the country are elegant and full-bodied dry whites with good acidity, also there are complex sweet whites (Tokaj), elegant (Eger) and full-bodied robust reds (Villány and Szekszárd). The main varieties are: Olaszrizling, Hárslevelű, Furmint, Pinot gris or Szürkebarát, Chardonnay (whites), Kékfrankos (or Blaufrankisch in German), Kadarka, Portugieser, Zweigelt, Cabernet sauvignon, Cabernet franc and Merlot. The most famous wines from Hungary are Tokaji Aszú and Egri Bikavér. Tokaji: Tokaji, meaning "of Tokaj", or "from Tokaj" in Hungarian, is used to label wines from the wine region of Tokaj-Hegyalja in Hungary. Tokaji wine has received accolades from numerous great writers and composers including Beethoven, Liszt, Schubert and Goethe; Joseph Haydn's favourite wine was a Tokaji. Zwack Unicum: For over 150 years, a blend of 40 Hungarian herbs has been used to create Unicum. This is a bitter, dark-coloured liqueur that can be drunk as an aperitif or after a meal, thus helping digestion. The recipe is held in secrecy by the Zwack family.

Hungary is famous for its excellent mathematics education which has trained numerous outstanding scientists. Famous Hungarian mathematicians include Paul Erdős, famed for publishing in over forty languages and whose Erdős numbers are still tracked; János (John) Bolyai, designer of non-Euclidean (or "absolute") geometry in 1831. John von Neumann, a pioneer of digital computing. Many Hungarian Jewish scientists, including Erdős, von Neumann, Edward Teller, and Eugene Wigner, fled rising anti-Semitism in Europe and made their most famous contributions in the United States.

Hungarian inventions include the noiseless match (János Irinyi), Rubik's cube (Ernő Rubik), and the krypton electric bulb (Imre Bródy). 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), the theory of the hydrogen bomb (Edward Teller), and the BASIC programming language (John Kemeny, with Thomas E. Kurtz).

Translation projects undertaken in Hungarian include web site content, sales and marketing material, documentation requirements for engineering and manufacturing.

Total Language Solutions are translation specialists in DTP, print ready and electronic forms of material, integrating text and diagrams and more besides into and out of Hungarian.

Total Language Solutions are translation experts in the relevance of text, drawings, colours and layout presentation and localisation to meet consumer expectations and norms, without causing offence.

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