Geography Hungary is a landlocked country situated in the Carpathian basin and bordered by Slovekia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovénia to the southwest, Austria to the west. The area of the country is km2 with a population of almost 10 million people. (According to its territory it is the 109th in the world and by the population it is the 4th.) As for the ethnicity almost everybody is a Hungarian nationality (92.3%), the Romas, who are ethnic minorities, make the second biggest group (1.9%) and there are some smaller minority groups around our borders and the others who were invited into the country during the Middle Ages.

Main Geographical Features Hungary is divided into two parts by the river Danube. - The eastern part of the country is occupied by the Great Hungarian Plain and there are some lower mountains in the north (the North Hungarian Mountains with the highest peak of Hungary – Kékes (1015 metres) The western part is called Transdanubia and consists of some smaller areas:

- The western part is called Transdanubia and consists of some smaller areas: - the Transdanubian mountains with Mecsek - the Transdanubian hills - the Subalpine Mountains - the Small Hungarian Plain 2 main rivers: the Danube and the Tisza We have the largest freshwater lake in the central Europe (Balaton – 76 km2) We have quite a big undersurface water supply, so we can drink water from the tap The country is rich in thermal springs with medical effects (Héviz is the 2nd largest thermal lake in the world) The climate of the country is continental

Historic milestones of the country The land of the country has been populated since the ancient times. The area of the former Roman colony (Pannonia) was occupied by the barbaric tribes during the European Great Invension, among them the Hungarian tribes arrived in the end of the 9th century By 1000 ancient Hungarians have settled down and formed the Hungarian Christian state. Then our first king Stephen the 1st was crowned.

During its medieval history the country had some splendid days. On the other hand, unfortunately, our independence was threatened many times (by barbaric Mongolians, by the Turkish and finally we lost our independence and became the part of the Habsburg Empire. 1848/49 are important years in our history as there was a civil revolution to change our society into a civil one and gain back our independence. But we weren’t succesful.

The 20th century brought us 2 cruel wars (World War I and II). The Habsburg Empire collapsed and Hungary became independent again but as a consequence of the Trianon Treaty Hungary lost 2/3 of its original territory. The outcomes of this decision was fatal for the country and tragic for the people inside and outside the new borders. As Hungary belonged to the parts under Sowiet influence, the Communist took over the country and we belonged to the ‘Eastern block’ until In 1956 the Hungarians tried to change but the revolution was defeated and the years of revenge came

Only 1989 brought us independence and freedom again. Hungary was declared a parlamentary republic. And everything has changed…. Officially Hungary became the member of the European Union in 2003.

Our national symbols National flag National anthem National coat of arms

We are proud of our country because It is beautiful It has been heroic many times in the history Our traditions and folk culture is infinite The Hungarians are warm-hearted, cheerful people who are always interested in the latest achievement of the world. Our national drinks (wine and pálinka) and dishes are approved and appreciated by the world. Our Hungaricums are becoming more and more and we try hard to preserv everything which is truly Hungarian.

We have always had an important influence on cultural life of the world (let it be music, literature or final arts) We have added a lot to the scientific development of the world and have had some Nobel Prize winner scientists and the worls use a lot of things under a Hungarian label. Although we are a small country, the Hungarian athletes have always won many bigger nations in the Olympic games. We have some tourist landmarks which became parts of world heritage.