Title: Background Note: Hungary
PA
Source: Office of Public Communication, Bureau of Public
Affairs
Description: Historical, Political and Economic Overviews of the
Countries of the World
Date: Dec, 15 199212/15/92
Category: Country Data
Region: E/C Europe
Country: Hungary
Subject: Travel, History, International Organizations,
Trade/Economics, Military Affairs, Cultural Exchange,
State Department
[TEXT]
Official Name:
Republic of Hungary
PROFILE
Geography
Area:
93,000 sq. km. (36,000 sq. mi.); about the size of
Indiana.
Cities:
Capital--Budapest (est. pop. 2 million); Debrecen
(220,000); Miskolc (208,000); Szeged (189,000); Pecs (183,000).
Terrain:
Much of Hungary is flat, with low mountains in
the north and northeast and north of Lake Balaton.
Climate:
Temperate. January average temp. 00C (320F);
July 200C (700F).
People
Nationality:
Noun and adjective--Hungarian(s).
Population (1991 est.):
10 million.
Ethnic groups:
Magyar 92%, Gypsy 3% (est.), German 1%,
Slovak 1%, Jews 1%, Southern Slav 1%, others 1%.
Religions:
Roman Catholic 68%, Calvinist 20%, Lutheran
5%, others, including Jewish, Baptist, Adventist, Pentecostal,
Unitarian 5%.
Languages:
Magyar 98%, other 2%.
Education:
Compulsory to age 16. Attendance--96%.
Literacy--99%.
Health:
Infant mortality rate--15/1,000. Life
expectancy--67 yrs. men, 75 yrs. women.
Work force (5 million):
Agriculture--19%. Industry and
commerce--49%. Services--27%.Government--5%. Official
language:
Magyar (Hungarian).
Government
Type:
Parliamentary democracy.
Constitution:
August 20, 1949. Substantially revised in
1989, amended in 1990.
Branches:
Executive--Council of Ministers. Legislative--
Hungarian National Assembly (386 members, 4-yr. term). Judicial--
Supreme Court and Constitutional Court.
Administrative regions:
19 counties plus capital
region of Budapest.
Principal political parties:
Hungarian Democratic Forum
(MDF, center); Alliance of Free Democrats (SZSDZ, center left);
Independent Smallholders' Party (FKGP, center right); Socialists
(MSZP, reform communists); Federation of Young Democrats (FIDESZ,
center left); Christian Democratic People's Party (KDNP, center
right).
Flag:
Three horizontal stripes--red, white, and green.
Economy
GDP (1990):
$35 billion.
Annual growth rate (1990):
-3%.
Per capita income (1990):
$3,300.
Inflation rate (1991):
36%.
Natural resources:
Fertile land, bauxite, brown coal.
Agriculture/forestry (16% of 1990 GDP): Products--meat, corn,
wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, vegetables, fruits, sunflower seeds.
Arable land--51%, of which 71% is cultivated.
Industry/construction (40% of 1990 GDP):
Machinery, buses,
and other transportation equipment; precision and measuring
equipment; textiles; medical instruments; and pharmaceuticals.
Trade:
Exports--$7 billion: machinery, buses, and other
transportation equipment; medical instruments; pharmaceuticals;
textiles; other consumer manufactures; and agricultural products.
Major markets--Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Italy, US, France,
Commonwealth of Independent States. Imports--$6 billion: energy,
raw materials, machinery, and transportation equipment. Major
suppliers--Germany, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Commonwealth of
Independent States.
Official exchange rate (December 1992):
About
83 forints=US$1.
HISTORY
Since its conversion to Western Christianity before 1,000 AD,
Hungary has been an integral part of Europe. Although Hungary was a
monarchy for nearly 1,000 years, its constitutional system
preceded, by several centuries, the establishment of Western-style
governments in other European countries.
Sharing defeat of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy (1867-1918)
at the end of World War I, Hungary lost two-thirds of its territory
and nearly as much of its population. It experienced a brief but
bloody communist dictatorship and counter-revolution in 1919,
followed by a 25-year regency under Admiral Miklos Horthy.
Although Hungary fought in most of World War II as a German ally,
following an unsuccessful attempt to switch sides on October 15,
1944, it fell under German military occupation until the end of the
war. In January 1945, a provisional government concluded an
armistice with the Soviet Union. It also established the Allied
Control Commission, under which Soviet, American, and British
representatives held complete sovereignty over the country. The
Commission's chairman was a member of Stalin's inner circle and
exercised absolute control.
Communist Takeover
The provisional government,
dominated by the Hungarian Communist Party (HCP), was replaced in
November 1945 after elections which gave majority control of a
coalition government to the Independent Smallholders' Party. The
government instituted a radical land reform and gradually
nationalized mines, electric plants, four heavy industries, and some
large banks.
The communists ultimately undermined the coalition regime through
discrediting leaders of rival parties and by terror, blackmail, and
framed trials. In elections tainted by fraud in 1947, the leftist bloc
gained control of the government; post-war cooperation between the
USSR and the West collapsed as the Cold War began. With Soviet
support, Moscow-trained Matyas Rakosi began to establish a
communist dictatorship. By February 1949, all opposition parties
had been forced to merge with the HCP to form the Hungarian
Workers' Party. In 1949, the communists held a single-list election
and adopted a Soviet-style constitution which created the Hungarian
People's Republic. Rakosi became Prime Minister in 1952.
Between 1948 and 1953, the Hungarian economy was reorganized
according to the Soviet model. In 1949, the country joined the
Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CEMA)--a Soviet-bloc
economic organization. All private industrial firms with more than
10 employees were nationalized. Freedom of the press, religion, and
assembly were strictly curtailed; the head of the Roman Catholic
Church, Cardinal Jozsef Mindszenty, was sentenced to life
imprisonment.
But the forced industrialization and land collectivization soon led to
serious economic difficulties, which reached crisis proportions by
mid-1953, the year Stalin died. The new Soviet leaders blamed
Rakosi for Hungary's economic situation and began a more flexible
policy in Eastern Europe called the "New Course." Imre Nagy replaced
Rakosi as prime minister in 1953 and repudiated much of Rakosi's
economic program of forced collectivization and heavy industry. He
also ended political purges and freed thousands of political
prisoners.
However, the economic situation continued to deteriorate, and
Rakosi succeeded in disrupting the reforms and in forcing Nagy from
power in 1955 for "right-wing revisionism." Hungary joined the
Soviet-led Warsaw Pact Treaty Organization the same year. Rakosi's
attempt to restore Stalinist orthodoxy then foundered as increasing
opposition developed within the party and among students and other
organizations after Khrushchev's 1956 denunciation of Stalin.
Fearing revolution, Moscow replaced Rakosi with his deputy, Erno
Gero, in order to contain growing ideological and political ferment.
1956 Revolution
Pressure for change reached a climax on
October 23, 1956, when the security forces fired on Budapest
students marching in support of Poland's confrontation with the
Soviet Union. The ensuing battle quickly grew into a massive popular
uprising. Gero called on Soviet troops to restore order on October
24. Fighting did not abate until the Central Committee named Imre
Nagy as prime minister on October 25, and the next day Janos Kadar
replaced Gero as party first secretary. Nagy dissolved the state
security police, abolished the one-party system, promised free
elections, and negotiated with the USSR to withdraw its troops.
Faced with reports of new Soviet troops pouring into Hungary
despite Soviet Ambassador Andropov's assurances to the contrary,
on November 1, Nagy announced Hungary's neutrality and withdrawal
from the Warsaw Pact. He appealed to the United Nations and the
Western powers for protection of its neutrality. Preoccupied with
the Suez Crisis, the UN and the West failed to respond. The Soviet
Union launched a massive military attack on Hungary on November 3.
Some 200,000 Hungarians fled to the West. Nagy and his colleagues
took refuge in the Yugoslav Embassy. Janos Kadar, after delivering
an impassioned radio address on November 1 in support of "our
glorious revolution" and vowing to fight the Russians with his bare
hands if they attacked Hungary, defected from the Nagy cabinet; he
fled to the Soviet Union and on November 4 announced formation of a
new government. He returned to Budapest and, with Soviet support,
carried out severe reprisals; thousands of people were executed or
imprisoned. Despite a guarantee of safe conduct, Nagy was arrested
and deported to Romania. In June 1958, the government announced
that Nagy and other former officials had been executed.
Reform Under Kadar
In the early 1960s, Kadar announced a
new policy under the motto of "He who is not against us is with us."
He declared a general amnesty, gradually curbed some of the
excesses of the secret police, and introduced a relatively liberal
cultural and economic course aimed at overcoming the post-1956
hostility toward him and his regime. In 1966, the Central
Committee approved the "New Economic Mechanism," through which
it sought to overcome the inefficiencies of central planning, to
increase productivity, to make Hungary more competitive in world
markets, and to create prosperity to ensure political stability.
However, the reform was not as comprehensive as planned, and basic
flaws of central planning continued to stagnate economic growth.
Over the next two decades of relative domestic quiet, Kadar's
government responded to pressure for political and economic reform
and to counter-pressures from reform opponents. By the early
1980s, it had achieved some lasting economic reforms and limited
political liberalization and pursued a foreign policy which
encouraged more trade with the West. Nevertheless, the New
Economic Mechanism led to foreign debt in pursuit of economic
stimuli for unprofitable industries.
Transition to Democracy
Hungary's transition to a
Western-style parliamentary democracy was the first and the
smoothest among the former Soviet bloc, inspired by a nationalism
that long had encouraged Hungarians to control their own destiny. By
1987, young activists within the party and bureaucracy and
Budapest-based intellectuals were increasing pressure for change;
they launched an overt political movement called the Federation of
Young Democrats (FIDESZ). The neopopulist national opposition
established the Hungarian Democratic Forum. Civic activism
intensified to a level not seen since the 1956 revolution. In 1988,
Kadar was replaced as prime minister, and FIDESZ leader Imre
Pozsgay was admitted to the Politburo. That same year, the
parliament adopted a "democracy package," which included trade
union pluralism; freedom of press, association, and assembly; a new
electoral law; and a radical revision of the constitution, among
others.
A Central Committee plenum in February 1989 endorsed in principle
the multiparty political system and the characterization of the
October 1956 revolution as a "popular uprising," in the words of
Pozsgay, whose reform movement had been gathering strength as
communist party membership declined dramatically. Kadar's major
political rivals then cooperated to move the country gradually to
democracy. The Soviet Union reduced its involvement by signing an
agreement in April 1989 to withdraw Soviet forces by June 1991.
National unity culminated in June 1989 as the country reburied Imre
Nagy, his associates, and, symbolically, all other victims of the
1956 revolution. In October 1989, the communist party convened its
last congress, which ended with a substantial victory for the party's
reform faction and a change in name to the Hungarian Socialist
Party.
In a historic session on October 16-20, 1989, the parliament
adopted legislation providing for multiparty parliamentary elections
and a direct presidential election. The parliament aimed to
transform Hungary from a people's republic into the Republic of
Hungary, to protect human and civil rights, and to ensure separation
of powers among the judicial, executive, and legislative branches of
government. It asserted the "values of bourgeois democracy and
democratic socialism" and gave equal status to public and private
property as a prerequisite for moving toward a market economy.
Principal Government Officials
President--Arpad GonczPrime Minister--Jozsef Antall (HDF)
Minister of Foreign Affairs--Geza Jeszenszky (HDF)
Ambassador to the United States--Pal Tar
Ambassador to the United Nations--Andre Erdos
The Hungarian embassy is located at 3910 Shoemaker St. NW,
Washington, DC, 20008.
POLITICAL CONDITIONS
Hungary's first free, multiparty elections in more than 40 years
were a milestone in the move toward a parliamentary democracy. In
1990, the Hungarian Democratic Forum (HDF) won 43% of the vote to
24% for the Alliance of Free Democrats (AFD). As a result, the HDF
leader, Jozsef Antall, became prime minister and formed a center-
right coalition government--with the Independent Smallholders'
Party (12%) and the Christian Democratic People's Party (6%)--to
command a 60% majority in the parliament. In addition to a small
number of independents, the other parties represented in the
parliament were the HSP, who gained only 8% despite their
reformist credentials, and the Young Democrats (FIDESZ), who
received 6%.
The Antall coalition government has made substantial strides
toward a reasonably well-functioning parliamentary democracy and
is laying the foundation for a free market economy. The non-
communist government formed by Prime Minister Jozsef Antall in
May 1990 has made considerable progress toward transformation of
the Hungarian economic system. Its stated objective is a "social
market" system, in which the market mechanism would be the basic
guide of economic activity and the state would provide an extensive
safety net for the needy.
The prime minister has full control over his cabinet. Under a
checks-and-balances system, each cabinet nominee appears before
four parliamentary committees in open hearings. The unicameral
Hungarian National Assembly is the highest organ of state authority
and initiates and approves legislation sponsored by the Prime
Minister. A 15-member constitutional court has power to challenge
legislation on grounds of unconstitutionality.
There has been a growing sense of disillusionment and frustration
among the populace, especially pensioners and the younger citizens,
who have been seriously affected by the transition to a free market
economy. Declining voter turnouts in the municipal and local
elections in September 1990 (from 68% in the first round to 40% in
the third) reinforced an appearance of growing apathy. Popular
skepticism exists due to the perception that many "reformers" of the
ex-communist nomenklatura began placing themselves in top jobs in
"spontaneously privatized" state enterprises. Partisan disputes
over the nature of transition, rising unemployment, inflation, and
growing income disparities also have affected popular opinion. The
widening gulf between the political parties and voters has raised
fears of a social backlash, such as that sparked by the taxi drivers'
civil disobedience action, which paralyzed the country for 3 days in
October 1990.
ECONOMY
Before World War II, Hungary had a predominantly agricultural
economy. Following the standard Stalinist pattern, industrialization
was forced on Hungary in the post-war period. Under communism,
most economic activity was conducted by state-owned enterprises
or cooperatives, although various small businesses were allowed to
operate. Agriculture was collectivized, undoing the immediate post-
war division of large estates among small peasant owners. Today,
farms are being privatized, both to small holders and to agribusiness
firms.
In 1950, more than 50% of the labor force worked on the land; now,
slightly less than 20% engages in agricultural activity. Recently,
Hungarian agriculture has been generally self-sufficient and an
important source of export earnings. Both the agricultural and
industrial sectors have suffered from a lack of investment since the
late 1970s. In the 1970s and 1980s, Hungary accumulated a huge
foreign debt, largely to finance subsidies to consumers and to
unprofitable state enterprises. Net foreign debt rose from about $1
billion in 1972 to about $20 billion in 1991, giving Hungary the
highest per capita debt in Central Europe. Its repayment record,
however, has been excellent.
Changes introduced by the communist regime, particularly during its
last 2 years, eased the transformation to a market economy. When
Antall took office, 150 state enterprises already had been privatized
under a "business transformation" law. Private firms had rights
equal to those of state enterprises under a law on corporate
association. A joint venture law was in place, and foreign
companies had begun to invest in Hungary. A little-used bankruptcy
law was in place. A value-added tax and a progressive personal
income tax had largely replaced the former arbitrary levies on
profits of state enterprises. The 1990 budget passed by the
communist parliament had slashed the annual deficit by cutting
subsidies while raising charges on fuel, cigarettes, and liquor.
The Antall Government has encouraged the founding of private
businesses and moved forward on privatization of state enterprises,
putting most state assets into the hands of a new State Property
Agency. Part or all of 429 companies have achieved privatization,
perhaps one-fifth of the state enterprises designated for sale to
private owners. This has addressed the abuse of the business
transformation act by some state enterprise managers who had used
it for personal gain. Also, open bidding now is required for any
acquisition of a state enterprise. By the end of 1990, more than
15,000 private businesses were operating; 40% were active in
construction. In 1990, more than 2,300 foreign firms were doing
business in Hungary.
The 1991 federal budget held the deficit to $1.1 billion and satisfied
requirements for a 3-year program with the International Monetary
Fund. The government cut all consumer subsidies and reduced the
real value of subsidies to the remaining state enterprises. Subsidy
cuts led to increases in the price of medicines, bakery products,
sugar, rice, railroad and bus transportation, postage, telephone
calls, water and sewerage services, electricity, coal, and gas.
Charges on concessionary home mortgages were increased
substantially.
The deregulation of prices begun under the communist regime has
been extended by the Antall Government; more than 90% of prices
have been decontrolled. The reform effort incurs painful, immediate
costs to achieve more productive use of economic resources and
higher income in the longer term. Phasing out uneconomic activities
and reducing exports to the former Soviet bloc helped lead to a
decline in the gross domestic product (GDP) in 1991 that amounted,
in real terms, to 10%. Unemployment rose from 1.7% of the labor
force in 1990 to an average of about 12% in 1991.
Foreign Trade
Hungary has shifted much of its trade from
its former Soviet-bloc partners to Western countries. In 1991, more
than half of Hungary's trade was with Western countries; Germany
now is Hungary's principal trading partner, providing only slightly
less trade with Hungary than with all of the former Soviet republics.
Trade with Russia has been further reduced due to declining oil
exports to Hungary. Trade with the United States is increasing;
total trade has risen from $52 million in 1990-91 to $120 billion in
the first half of 1992, an increase of 128%. The US has extended to
Hungary most-favored-nation status, Generalized System of
Preferences concessions, Overseas Private Investment Corporation
insurance, and access to the Export-Import Bank. The two countries
have concluded a bilateral investment treaty and a business and
economic treaty. In 1992, more than 400 US firms were operating in
Hungary, an increase of 34% from 1991.
Foreign concerns have invested about $4 billion in Hungary--more
than half of all foreign investment in Central and Eastern Europe.
The United States is the largest investor, with about $2 billion
invested by mid-1992, followed by Germany and Austria. Foreign
capital is attracted by low wages for highly skilled workers,
generous tax incentives, favorable geographic location, fertile land,
and knowledge of the market of the former Soviet bloc.
Any Hungarian person or enterprise may engage in international
trade now, and about 90% of imports have been freed from license
restrictions.
FOREIGN RELATIONS
Except for the short-lived neutrality declared by Imre Nagy in
November 1956, Hungary's foreign policy generally followed the
Soviet lead from 1947-89. During 1948-49, Hungary maintained
treaties of friendship, cooperation, and mutual assistance with the
former Soviet Union, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Bulgaria.
In 1950, it concluded a friendship treaty with the then-German
Democratic Republic. It was one of the founding members of the
Soviet-led Warsaw Pact and CEMA, and it was the first Central
European country to withdraw from those organizations, both now
defunct.
Along with other European associates of the former Soviet Union,
Hungary has been participating in East-West cooperation agreed upon
at the 1975 Helsinki Conference on Security and Cooperation in
Europe (CSCE). It has signed all of the CSCE follow-on documents
since 1989. Hungary's record of implementing CSCE Helsinki Final
Act provisions, including those on reunification of divided families,
remains among the best in Eastern Europe. Relations with Romania,
however, have deteriorated in recent years over charges of human
rights violations against the ethnic Hungarian minority in
Transylvania.
Hungary has been a member of the United Nations since December
1955 and is a member of the 1992-93 Security Council. It is
committed to strengthening ties with the West and with Japan and
the newly industrialized countries of Asia. Prime Minister Antall
also has expressed interest in joining the European Community.
Early in his Administration, he visited Austria, France, Germany,
Israel, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, and the United States.
DEFENSE
Hungary spearheaded the move leading to the dissolution of the
Warsaw Pact Treaty Organization by its 17% reduction of defense
expenditures and the demobilization of 9% of its force of 100,000 in
January 1989. Renamed the Hungarian Home Defense Forces of
Honvedseg, the military has undergone major restructuring in
organization, orientation, and training. The services include the
army, which is the largest, followed by the air force and a small
naval contingent that patrols the Danube River. Young men become
eligible at age 18 for 12 months of military service; 16-month
alternate service in non-military institutions is available for
conscientious objectors.
On March 11, 1989, Hungary and the Soviet Union concluded an
agreement under which the latter withdrew all 65,000 troops from
the country in June 1991 and asked that Hungary compensate the
former Soviets for the military bases they relinquished. Hungarian
counter-claims charge that some of the bases were built without
permission and do not conform to Hungarian building codes. Toxic
wastes and other Soviet materials left behind at these bases
constitute a serious environmental hazard and are the basis of
another contentious issue with Moscow.
US-HUNGARIAN RELATIONS
Relations between the United States and Hungary following World
War II were affected by Soviet armed forces' occupation of Hungary.
Full diplomatic relations were established at the legation level on
October 12, 1945, before the signing of the Hungarian peace treaty
on February 10, 1947.
After the communist takeover in 1947-48, relations with Hungary
were increasingly strained by the nationalization of US-owned
property, unacceptable treatment of US citizens and personnel, and
restrictions on the operations of the American Legation. During the
difficult period following the Hungarian national uprising in 1956,
relations continued to erode.
Embassies were opened in 1966, and bilateral relations slowly but
steadily improved after ambassadors were exchanged. In 1972, a
consular convention was concluded to provide consular protection to
US citizens in Hungary. In 1973, a bilateral agreement was reached
under which Hungary settled the nationalization claims of American
citizens. In 1976, Hungary paid its debt arrearages to the US
Government in full, including those dating back to the post-World
War I era. In 1977, an agreement on exchanges and cooperation in
culture, education, science, and technology was concluded.
In January 1978, the United States returned to the people of Hungary
the historic Crown of Saint Stephen and other Hungarian coronation
regalia that had been safeguarded by the United States since the end
of World War II. Symbolically and actually, this event marked the
beginning of excellent relationships between the two countries. A
1978 bilateral trade agreement included extension of most-favored-
nation status. Cultural and scientific exchanges were expanded.
Major US official cultural exhibits have been well received. In 1989,
the United States and Hungary renewed a civil air agreement
providing for direct service between New York and Budapest.
Then, as Hungary began to pull away from the links forged by Soviet
communism, the United States offered assistance and expertise to
help establish a constitution, a democratic political system, and a
plan for a free market economy. Between 1989 and 1992, the
Support for East European Democracy (SEED) Act, provided more than
$121 million for economic restructuring and private sector
development. The Hungarian-American Enterprise Fund, capitalized
at $65 million, offers loans, equity capital, and technical assistance
to promote private sector development Hungarian-American joint
ventures.
Additional US assistance includes a $10-million energy sector grant
and other technical assistance. Grants to the International
Executive Service Corps, MBA Enterprise Corps (composed of recent
recipients of Master of Business Administration degrees), and the
Center for International Private Enterprise helps these non-
governmental organizations provide expertise directly to private
enterprises.
The US Environmental Protection Agency and the Environmental Law
Institute assist the Ministry of Environment and the Hungarian
Parliament in drafting the country's first environmental legislation.
Other issues receiving attention include health care, employment,
housing, education, and small business development. About 120
Peace Corps volunteers throughout Hungary work to improve English
language training and environmental awareness.
Principal US Officials
Ambassador--Charles H. ThomasDeputy Chief of Mission--Richard L.
Baltimore IIIPress/Cultural Affairs--Donna CulpepperPolitical--
Thomas B. RobertsonEconomic--Charles EnglishCommercial--Gary
GallagherScience Attache--Lawrence CohenAdministrative--Mary
Jane Thomas Consul--Arnold Haskin CampbellDefense Attache--Col.
John ConcannonAID Director --David Cowles
The US embassy in Hungary is located at Szabadsag Ter 12, Budapest
(tel. 112-6450).
Further InformationAmerican University. Area Handbook for Hungary.
Available from the Superintendent of Documents, US Government
Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402:
For information on economic trends, commercial development,
production, trade regulations, and tariff rates, contact the
International Trade Administration, US Department of Commerce,
Washington, DC, 20230, or any Commerce Department district office.
For information on business opportunities, call the Commerce
Department's East European Business Information Center at (202)
377-2645.
TRAVEL NOTES
Customs:
No visa is required for visits up to 90 days.
Visitors are encouraged to register at the US Embassy. There is no
limit on the amount of hard currency that may be brought into
Hungary. However, travelers are required to declare upon entry any
foreign funds in their possession to facilitate re-export of the funds
upon departure. Immunization requirements are generally those of
Western Europe.
Climate and clothing:
Budapest's climate is temperate,
with seasons of almost equal length.
Health:
Services and medications are widely available and
generally adequate, although of a different standard from that in the
United States. Tapwater is potable. Raw fruits and vegetables are
safe to eat. Avoid unpasteurized milk.
Telecommunications:
Telephone and telegraph services are
readily available at standard international rates. Hungary is 6 hours
ahead of Eastern Standard Time.
Tourist attractions:
Budapest is the country's leading
tourist attraction, especially for its museums, historic houses and
buildings of the "Var" (Royal Castle) area overlooking the Danube
River. Roman ruins are located at Aquincum in suburban Budapest
and other parts of Transdanubia (Pannonia). The remains of the
Renaissance palace of the Hungarian kings at Visegrad on the Danube
bend are of great historic and cultural interest. Many Europeans
visit Lake Balaton, Central Europe's largest lake, for fishing,
swimming and sunbathing. Thermal baths are located throughout the
country. The Hungarian Puszta or "Great Plain" in the east is
interesting for its wildlife.
National holidays:
Businesses and the US Embassy may be
closed on the following Hungarian holidays: New Year's Day--January
1--Commemoration of 1848-49 Revolution--March 15--Easter Monday--
date variesLabor Day--May 1--National Day (St. Stephen's Day--August
20--Commemoration of 1956 Revolution--October 23Christmas Day--
December 25--Boxing Day--December 26
HOW TO ORDER BACKGROUND NOTES IN PAPER
Published by the United States Department of State -- Bureau of
Public Affairs -- Office of Public Communication -- Washington, DC
Editor: Joan Bigge -- Managing Editor: Peter Knecht
Department of State Publication 7915 Background Notes Series --
This material is in the public domain and may be reprinted without
permission; citation of this source is appreciated.
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, US Government
Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402.
Contents of this publication are not copyrighted unless indicated. If
not copyrighted, the material may be reproduced without consent;
citation of the publication as the source is appreciated. Permission
to reproduce any copyrighted material (including graphics) must be
obtained from the original source. (###)