I - Hungarian History

I'm sorry this cuts Gina's face, but at least it shows her in an energetic pose.

When we visit Hungary we are always welcomed & kept busy by a proud & patriotic Hungarian woman. Gina is the mother of our daughter-in-law #2, Irina. Gina, a diminutive Magyar -- as Hungarians are also called-- is a professional tour guide with boundless energy. Just keeping up with her pace has convinced us that in the case of her ancestors, the Magyar’s small  size was no deterrent to their superior abilities. When we visit Gina, J.J. & I know that we will tour until we drop, and she will be stoking us with Hungarian history, as much as we are able to take in. With this in mind I am going to offer a very simplified narration.

(Note to reader: photos do not necessarily go with text.)

Looking at the many cruise boats on Pest (pronounced Pesht)

Why is Hungary called HUNgary?

As we know the Huns were mongols, an oriental race who attacked the Roman Empire. Under Attila they were pretty successful until 451 A.D. at the the Battle of Chalons sur Marne where they were defeated by General Aetius with his Roman troops and Visigoth warriors led by Theodoric. Repelled from Gaul (France under the Romans) they retreated to Rome & sacked it. The Huns could not resist a hefty “payoff” from the Romans if they would just leave. Then Attila died leaving his Mongol hordes disunited, quarreling, & weakened. Nevertheless, they continued their retreat to a vast plain to the northeast, a Roman province called Pannonia. The people there were Slavic and Celtic tribes, & Romans colonists.  By the time the battle-fatigued Huns arrived, the local population didn’t fight them, they merely assimilated them. Ever after the plain was called HUNgary. Physically, modern Hungarians do not exhibit much trace of their mongol heritage….except maybe high cheekbones & an admirable pugnacity.

One of the several bridges across the Danube linking Buda to Pest 

Arpad, St Stephen, St. Imre, & Mattias the Crow

Aside from the Huns becoming a part of the national DNA & the name, the real history of Hungary begins in with the Magyar Invasions & Arpad I who became king in 972. Lore has it that these fearless invaders came like a swarm of locusts from the east, undersized horsemen on miniature horses. Arpad I took control of Hungary and his lineage became the dynasty which ruled Hungary for roughly 6 centuries. Arpad’s son Stephen became the first Roman Catholic convert & the patron saint of Hungary. Stephen’s son, Imre, martyred at a very young age, was also sainted. Since then Hungary has always been Roman Catholic. The many kings that came from Arpad’s line spread their power & influence in neighboring countries & became the ruling aristocracy. Hungary reached its apex under Mattias Corvinus (the Crow) in the late 15th century, who is credited for being the first head of state to introduce the Italian Renaissance in his country.

The Turkish Takeover

The glory days ended soon afterward. I often wonder if life was just so peaceful that no one had the slightest idea of what would come next: The Turks. They came, they conquered, and remained for 150 years! After the heights, suddenly the nadir, a kind of Dark Ages for Hungary and surrounding countries, seemingly erased from European pre-eminence. But then, slowly the Austrian Hapsburgs began conquering these forlorn lands & chasing out the Turks. Hungary was unified with Austria...but the king was always a Hapsburg, always crowned in Bratislava, now capital of Slovakia. This rankled the pugnacious Hungarians because they never liked being bossed around. 

The Comeback

Hungarians kept right on rebelling until 1867 when the Hapburgs decided to do something different. They found that they could not reasonably oversee the newly acquired countries, Slovakia, Transylvania (Romania), Serbia, Croatia,  parts of Poland & Ukraine. So, they neutralized the troublesome Hungarians by making them the CEOs of the eastern part of their Holy Roman Empire. The Hapsburgs understood that under the Magyar kings the Hungarians had ably administered these countries--actually, preventing civil unrest between factions-- and that Hungarian aristocracy was already strategically placed in the large cities of each of these countries. Even through the Turkish occupation the stubborn Hungarians had endured. 

House of Parliament 

Lookin’ Good

The result of the alliance with Austria, known more familiarly as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which lasted until WWI, brought great prosperity to Hungary, best seen in Budapest, that great capital on either side of the Danube. Buda is the old medieval city on a high hill; Pest, the young city on the opposing plain where there is no mistaking the Hapsburg architecture on massive, ornate public buildings and churches.  In recent years, almost all national treasures have been restored to their full glory. They gleam with fresh color and gilding.

Of WWI and WWII and the grim period of Soviet occupation I will say nothing, since places we visited do not have much to do with these events. However, recently the European Union has garnered the Nobel Peace Prize which has raised eyebrows and even protests. J.J. & I are of the opinion that for once the recipient was well chosen. Because the EU has placed conditions on membership there have been significant noticeable upgrades in Central & Eastern European countries. Here are a few observations made by a couple of mundane tourists between 2004 and 2012.

1. Rule of Law - There is peace in the street and corruption has been curbed. This takes the simplest form comfort & relaxation in public places, or buying or paying for tickets and other services. If a regular citizen or tourist is law-abiding the state won’t arrest you on a whim.
2. Transparency - The taxpaying citizens knows how tax money is used, in contrast to non-transparency when no one knows how the government operates or uses public funds.
3. Modernization and repair of infrastructure - New highways have been built; streets have been widened and repaired. New codes of health are in place: streets & establishments are clean & free of trash; no smoking in public places; and clean, modern toilets everywhere. 
4. All public buildings have been cleaned, refurbished, and modernized. Most are opened to the public or, for a fee can be visited.
5. Touristic infrastructure - much improved with better trains, planes, city transit. Hotel accommodations & tourist information are abundant and fairly priced.

Very Hapsburg -- now peaceful and touristic

This is not an exhaustive list, but it will serve as launch for my next post in which I will discuss some of these things more indetail...with a few stories, of course.