Greetings! We recently returned from a trip to Hungary (country #114), where we were able to experience Mohács (moh-HAHTCH) as part of a river cruise on the lower Danube River. Below, you will find information and photos from our trip. Please note that there will be references to religion, wars, and politics within this post. These references are for historical purposes only, and should not be interpreted as a promotion or degradation of any of those topics.
Hungary (called “the Queen of the Danube”) is a landlocked country in Central Europe, surrounded by Austria, Croatia, Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Ukraine. Hungarians arrived in the year 900 as a loose connection to the original inhabitants, and are one of the only groups in the region to have established independent statehood before being taken over by outside entities. The original inhabitants became Roman citizens during this time, and as Christianity spread, they converted to Christianity and declared King Stephen the first Christian king of Hungary (crowned in the year 1000). They subsequently invited the neighboring villages to learn about Christianity and encouraged them to consider converting to Christianity.
In 1526, Mohács (a village that is 123 miles/198km south of the capital city of Budapest) was engaged in a battle between its 25,000 Christian inhabitants and 70,000 members of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire prevailed and proceeded to stay in the area for 150 years, during which the country was split into Royal Hungary, Ottoman Hungary, and Transylvania. In 1867, a dual Austro-Hungarian monarchy was established; however, by the end of World War I (WWI), the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy collapsed, independence was restored, and the current borders were established with the Treaty of Trianon in 1920.
During World War II (WWII), Hungary joined the Axis powers, but after suffering significant casualties, it became occupied by the Soviet Union, and was called the Hungarian People’s Republic. In October of 1956, university students within the Hungarian People’s Republic attempted a revolution against the Soviet Union. The attempt was unsuccessful, and resulted in thousands of people being killed, and almost a quarter of a million people fleeing the country. A subsequent revolution in 1989 resulted in Hungary gaining its independence as a democratic parliamentary republic. Hungary subsequently joined the European Union (EU) in 2004, and the Schengen Area in 2007.
Today, Hungary is made up of almost 90% of people of Hungarian background, and also has representatives within the population that are Roma/Rroma, German, Serb, Slovak, and Romanian. Hungarian is the language that is predominantly spoken in Hungary (and is similar to Finnish [the language spoken in Finland]), and it is considered to be the second hardest language to learn after Mandarin (Chinese). Hungary is known for paprika (which was brought to Hungary by the Ottoman Turks) and Palinka (which is a hard liquor that is akin to moonshine). While Budapest is the capital of Hungary (population 2.1 million), Mohács has a population of 18,000 people, and is a region well known for its vineyards (within Hungary are 22 wine regions and 50,000 hectares/123,550 acres of vineyards). It is said that Serbians escaped to the north from the Ottoman Turks to find peace, and they brought one of the grapes (kadarka; kah-DAHR-kah) to this area, making it a main feature within vineyards of this region.
Our time in Hungary was short but impactful, and we look forward to returning so that we can explore the capital city of Budapest. Stay tuned for details! In the meantime, take care and be well…