A complete short history of Hungary

The history of Hungary is far from complete, in fact around 400 years are
missing from what could have been the very beginning of its foundation.
Unfortunately no documents or artifacts have ever been found and
neither are they likely to be.

What we do know is that ”Arpád” was the first ruler of Hungary and the
founder of the ”Arpád dynasty”. It was in fact a descendant of Arpád that
eventually became the first king of Hungary.

Arpád came to the area east of the Carpathians with seven tribes of
which he was the leader in the 9th century. They were searching for land
to claim and settle as their own and they knew from previous raids that
this area was an ideal place, the mountains gave protection, the rivers
would feed them and the abundance of wild animals in the forests would
give them food for great feasts and most importantly only several small
groups of nomadic people were in this area at that time.

However before we carry on, let us step back in time a little more to the
6th century. A time of battles and warriors and the Roman
Empire. During the 6th century there was a feared and mighty warrior who
went by the name of Attila the Hun. He was the leader of
many raids coming from beyond the Carpathian mountains, attacking
Dacia (situated on the outskirts of Roman Empire) and later
Pannonia, crossing central Europe and even venturing as far as France.
Attilla was ruthless and feared by all. He liked the area which
we now call Hungary but it seemed as though he never actually settled
here although the Huns occupied it for several years.

The death of Attila the Hun is uncertain but one rumour suggests that his
wife was bribed by the Roman Empire with money and gifts
to poison him. Another rumour of his death is that he was buried three
times with all of his riches . Once in a gold coffin, once in a
silver and finally in a lead coffin which was then thrown into the River
Tisza by several trusted warriors. However upon their return the
warriors were shot down and killed by archers as it was feared they may
reveal his final resting place. Today the whereabouts of
Atilla the Huns coffin still remains a mystery.

It is difficult to say for certain if the Hungarians were related to the Huns.
The English translation sounds so similar, however the
people who live in Hungary call themselves Magyars and always have
done so. Because of the missing years between the 6th and
9th century it is unlikely to ever come to light if there was ever a
connection between the two. Despite this Atilla still remains a popular
name in Hungary and almost all Hungarians believe they are related to the
great Huns!

Stepping forward now to the 10th century, Geza, the great grandson of
Arpad was the ruling prince of what is basically western
Hungary today. He was keen to integrate Hungary into western Europe by
adopting Christianity. He died in 997 and his son Stephen I
became the ruling prince. Following his fathers wishes of adopting
Christianity Stephen ordered every 10 villages to build a church
and to maintain its priests. On Christmas Day 1000 Stephen was rewarded
with a crown, sent from Pope Sylvestor II and he became
the first King of Hungary.

By the time of Stephens death in 1038 Hungary was a nascent Christian

nation, multi ethnic and increasingly westward looking.
Unfortunately the next 2 ½ centuries were a time full of struggles for this
young nation with rival pretenders to the Throne weakening
the country’s defence.

By the beginning of the 14th century the reign of the Arpád dynasty was
coming to an end.
Andrew III was the king from 1270 until 1301. He was still alive and not
even ailing when Charles II of Naples sent his 12 year old
grandson to take the throne, his only claim being that his grandmother
was Hungarian.

The new King became known as Karoly Robert and with his rule a western
dynasty had extended its rule to the Carpathian basin.

Louis the Great, son of Karoly, ruled for four decades and built Hungary
into a great country with great regional power. This also
extended his direct power and indirect influence. Later, largely due to his
mother, he was elected to be the king of Poland too. The
lands that he was ruling were large and spread across central Europe from
one sea in the north to another in the south. This led to the
question of who was to direct central Europe and from where?

Louis the Great had no son, only 2 daughters, Hedwig and Mary. Hedwig
was left the Polish Throne and Mary the Hungarian.

After some significant medieval ups and downs Mary, obliged by mutual
dynastic interests and by war waged by her future
bridegroom, married the Son of Charles IV the Holy Roman Emperor. The
marriage to Sigismund of Luxembourg meant that once
again a well known dynasty from the West had again acquired a dominant
power in Hungary.

Sigismund reigned over Hungary from 1387 until 1437, he was the master
of the whole of central Europe and eventually he was
elected to be the Holy Roman Emperor in 1433. Much of his time became
devoted to European Politics, or, in a sense world
politics. His 50 year reign brought peace and a great flowering of Gothic
art and architecture.
The house of Hapsburg and house of Jagiello came into conflict as part of
the Sigismund rich legacy. The result of the struggle
between the Hungarian aristocracy and the lesser nobility was that on the
frozen ice of the Danube a new national King was elected.
His name was Matthius Corvinius and he was to be the greatest ruler of
medieval Hungary.

He ruled from 1458-1490 and was nick named the Raven. He maintained a
mercenary force of between 8,000-10,000 men through
taxation. However he was celebrated by his people for being fair and just
and many folk tales and Hungarian mythology regard him
as a great king. Matthius Corvinius made Hungary into one of Central
Europe's leading powers and the country enjoyed its first ever
golden age. Unfortunately during his reign a Turkish threat was growing
which he ignored and Vladislav I, his successor, was unable
to maintain royal authority. In May 1514 the power hungry archbishop of
Esztergom, Tamas Bakócz, organised a crusade which
eventually led to a peasant uprising against landlords under the
leadership György Dósza.

The revolt was repressed but some 70,000 peasants were tortured and
Dósza himself was brutally fried alive on a red hot iron throne.
The tripartum Law that followed codified rights of barons and nobles and
reduced peasants to serfdom. When Louis II took to the
throne at the tender age of 9 in 1516 he could n’t rely on either side for
support.

Louis II reigned for only 10 years and in 1526 he had the unenviable task
of conducting the most well known losing battle in the
whole of the Hungarian history. His rag tag army were defeated by the
Turks on the field of the Mohács during their 1526 campaign.
The Turks were now poised to march onwards to Buda and then Vienna
with a force of 100,000 men.

John Szapolyai took the throne after this defeat. He was a well placed
Oligarch (supporter of the government), who with his private
army arrived too late to fight in the battle of the Mohács but whether this
was from clever planning or by accident shall remain a
mystery. Szapolyai reigned from 1526-1540 and he was the last national
king.

Buda fell to the Turks in 1541 and Hungary was torn into three parts. The
northern and western borders were ruled by the Hapsburg's
for nearly 4 centuries. Buda and the central regions remained in
Hungarian hands with the Turks surprisingly content to receive safe
passage and assistance whilst passing through. The remaining parts were
under the Turks control.

Despite the trouble free passage westwards, the Turks military operation
was so cumbersome that in 1529 when they reached Vienna
they were unable to mount an effective siege and had to turn back to
Buda castle, which they occupied for over 100 years! During
this time a series of forts were built to the north and the east to ensure
protection for the flanks of any future advance. Despite this in
1686 it was noticed that the Turkish Ottoman Empire had passed its peak
and united Christian armies from different parts of Europe
recaptured Buda castle. Soon after the entire Carpathian basin was
liberated. These liberated areas were given to the Hapsburg
Monarchy and it was at this time that Hungary acquired much of its
Baroque style buildings which can still be seen in some parts of
the country in the present day.

The War of Independence

During the early part of the 19th century the Hapsburg Empire was
beginning to weaken and Hungarian nationalism was increasing.
The Hungarian language was replacing German, which at that time was
the language of the social elite.

In 1848 Lajos Batthyany was elected Prime Minister of the new Hungarian
Ministry. On March 15th Sandor Petőfi took to the streets
with a group that went by the name of ” Youth of March”. They were
demonstrating for more radical reforms and revolution and the
Hapsburg patience was wearing thin.

Later that same year the Hapsburg's launched an attack and Batthyanys
government was dismissed. However the Hungarians quickly
reformed a national defence commission and moved the government seat
to Debrecen, Kossuth was elected a Governor-president
and parliament declared full independence and the dethronement of the
Hapsburg's for the second time but the new Hapsburg
emperor was not as feeble as his predecessor. He decided to seek
assistance from the Russian Tsar Nicholas I, who obliged him
by sending 200,000 troops.

Support for the revolution was beguiling to crumble and in August 1849
the rebel troops were defeated. Kossuth went into exile in
Turkey and many other important supporters of the revolution were
executed.

Hapsburg troops stormed through Hungary blowing up castles and

fortifications lest they be used again by resurgent rebels. Most of
medieval Hungary was reduced to rubble.

Once again Hungary was merged into the Hapsburg Empire, however in
1867 a compromise was reached which created The Dual
Monarchy of Austria (Empire) and Hungary (Kingdom). It was federated
state of 2 parliaments and 2 capitals, Vienna and Pest, later
Budapest.
The age of dualism sparked an economic, cultural and intellectual rebirth
in Hungary. The capital positively blossomed and much of
what can be seen in Budapest today was built during this time.
Unfortunately the situation in the countryside remained as it had done
through much of the middle ages. Minorities were under Hungarian control
and were pressurised to Magyarise.

The world wars and treaty of Trianon.

The age of Dualism lasted only until 1918 because of a decision made 4
years earlier.
In 1914 a month after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir
to the Hapsburg throne, the Dual Monarchy declared war
on Serbia and entered into WWI allied with the German Empire. It ended
with disastrous results.

The Treaty of Trianon drawn up in June 1920 by the allies was, and still is,
seen as a form of punishment for supporting the losing
side during WWI. Hungary lost over 2/3 of its territory and over 3/5 of its
population. Almost overnight millions of Hungarians found
themselves to be the minority groups in Romania, Yugoslavia and
Czechoslovakia. Even in the present day many people living
close to the borders of Hungary often consider themselves as ”Magyars”
and still speak Hungarian.

Hungary's first ever election was by a secret ballot in March 1920.

Parliament chose a Kingdom as the form of state and since lacking
a King elected regent Admiral Miklás Horthy in place of one.

U.S. President Franklin D Roosevelt reportedly remarked on the situation

as: ”Let me see if I understand you right: Hungary is a
Kingdom without a King run by a regent who’s an admiral without a navy?”

Confusing as it was Horthy remained in this position until the latter days of
WWII, even defeating 2 returns by the lawful King Charles
IV, who has been banished from Vienna by then.

During Hórthys reign the revision of the Treaty of Trianon was at the top
Hungary's political agenda. Building relations with stronger
nations and strengthening the economy was the strategy employed by
Bethlen who was the prime minister between 1921 and 1931.

Revision of the treaty had such strong backing that Bethlen used it to
deflect criticism of his economic, social and political policies
but in 1932 the great depression induced a drop in the standard of living
and the political mood shifted.

1932 saw the appointment of a new prime minister, Gyúla Gömbos, and
he pushed Hungary towards co-operation with Germany. A
trade agreement was signed with Germany that drew Hungary's economy
out of depression but made the country dependant on the
German economy for both raw materials and markets. Hitler also used
promises of returning lost territories and threats of military
intervention and economic pressure to push Hungarians into supporting
Nazi policies.

By 1941 Hungary had indeed regained some of its territories, a little to the
north gained during the ”Little war”, some to the West and
a substantial amount to the East. Dividing Transylvania between Hungary
and Romania ensured that Hitler could manipulate both of
his future allies, both fearing that if they did not comply with his requests
the land they had gained would be taken away and given to
the other.

Hungary did not immediately participate in the invasion of the Soviet

Union on June 22, 1941 and Hitler did not directly ask for
assistance however many Hungarian officials argued for participation
fearing border revision of Transylvania. Hungary entered into
WWII on Dec 1941.

In 1944 Hitler ordered Nazi troops to occupy Hungary fearing that Hungary
was having secret negotiations with Britain and America,
which they were. Döme Sztójay a supporter of the Nazis became the new
prime minister and negotiations ceased.

In September 1944 Soviet forces crossed the border and soon Hungary
became a battlefield. The country was crumbling as its
armies surrendered one by one. The retreating German army demolished
rail, road and communication systems and the red army
found the country in a state of political chaos.

Budapest was captured on February 16 1945.

On May 7, 1945, General Alfred Jodl, the German Chief of Staff, signed the
unconditional surrender of all German forces. On 11 June
1945, the Allies agreed to make 9 May 1945 the official "Victory in Europe"
day.

The Germans surrendered and as they retreated vindictively blew up every

bridge spanning the Danube. The capital, Budapest
suffered badly , many historical buildings were lost forever, churches were
completely destroyed. The city was in complete chaos.
The Russians had to take control and began trying to rebuild a war torn
nation.

By signing the Peace Treaty of Paris, Hungary again lost all the territories
that it gained between 1938 and 1941. Neither Western
Allies nor the Soviet Union supported any change in Hungary's pre 1938
borders.
The Soviet Union itself annexed Sub-Carpathia, which is now part of
Ukraine.
The Treaty of Peace with Hungary signed on 10 February 1947 declared
that "The decisions of the Vienna Award of 2 November
1938 are declared null and void" and Hungarian boundaries were fixed
along the former frontiers as they existed on 1 January 1938,
except a minor loss of territory on the Czechoslovakian border. Half of the
ethnic German minority (240,000 people) was deported to
Germany in 1946-48, and there was a forced "exchange of population"
between Hungary and Czechoslovakia.
An election was held in November 1945 and the Independent Small
holders' Party won 57% of the vote. The Hungarian Communist
Party, now under the leadership of Mátyás Rákosi and Ernő Gerő, received
support from only 17% of the population. The Soviet
commander in Hungary, Marshal Voroshilov, refused to let the Small
holders Party to form a government. Instead a coalition
government was established with the communists holding some of the key
posts. The leader of the Small holders, Zoltán Tildy, was
named president and Ferenc Nagy prime minister. Matias Rákosi became
deputy prime minister.

László Rajk became minister of the interior and in this post established the
security police (ÁVH). In February 1947 the police began
arresting leaders of the Small holders Party and the National Peasant Party.
Several prominent figures in both parties escaped
abroad. Later Mátyás Rákosi, a big fan of Stalin, boasted that he had dealt
with his colleagues, one by one, "cutting them off like
slices of salami."

On 18 August 1949, the Parliament passed the new constitution of

Hungary modelled after the 1936 constitution of the Soviet Union.
The name of the country became the People's Republic of Hungary.
Socialism was declared as the main goal of the nation. A new
and disliked coat of arms was adopted with Communist symbols like the
red star, a hammer and an ear of wheat.

During the early Communist years a state protection authority, the AVH,
was collated. The job of this secret police force was to
capture anyone said or found to be against the communism ideals. The
AVH obtained a reputation for brutality because of a series
of purges beginning in 1948 and intensifying in 1949. Anyone captured
was sent immediately to a punishment camp. Usually the
AVH would take away the ”guilty” person in the middle of the night and
they could be sent to any number of camps around the
country or even to Siberia.
Punishments at the camps were excruciatingly hard and humiliating.
Prisoners could be made to strip off and climb a tree, sit on a
branch and sing like a bird until they fell off from either tiredness, cold,
hunger or death.

By 1956 a majority of Hungarians had enough and on October 23rd 50,000

university students gathered in Bem Tér shouting anti
Soviet slogans, demanding that ”Nagy” be named the new Prime Minister.
A giant statue of Stalin was pulled down during the ruckus
and then shots were fired by the AVH at the students who were now
gathering at the entrance of the Hungarian Radio HQ. The news
spread quickly and disorder and violence erupted throughout the capital.
Overnight Hungary was in the midst of a revolution.

On the 24th October Nagy did indeed form a new government and for a
short while it seemed possible that he would be successful
in transforming Hungary. Nagy announced that Hungary would leave the
Warsaw pact and become a neutral state. The AVH was to
be abolished and political prisoners released but it was to be the nations
greatest tragedy and an event the reverberated throughout
the world.

Thousands organized themselves into militias, battling the State Security

Police (ÁVH) and Soviet troops. Pro-Soviet communists
and ÁVH members were often executed or imprisoned, as former prisoners
were released and armed.

By the end of October, fighting had almost stopped and a sense of

normality began to return.

However Soviet tanks crossed the borders into Hungary and by

November 4, a large Soviet force invaded Budapest, killing
thousands of civilians. Fighting continued for several days but organized
resistance ceased by November 10, and mass arrests
began. An estimated 200,000 Hungarians fled as refugees, 25,000 had
died, 20,000 were arrested and 2,000 executed.

By January 1957, the new Soviet-installed government had suppressed all

public opposition.

Public discussion about this revolution was suppressed in Hungary for over
30 years, but since the thaw of the 1980s it has been a
subject of intense study and debate

In 1989, October 23 was declared a national holiday.

In the late 1980s, Hungary led the movement to dissolve the Warsaw Pact,
this time successfully. On October 23, 1989, Mátyás
Szűrös declared the Third Hungarian Republic and became interim
President. Hungary's first free elections were held in 1990.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Hungary developed

closer ties with Western Europe as well as with other Central
European countries. It became a member of the Visegrad Group in 1991,
joined NATO in 1999, and became a member of the
European Union on May 1, 2004.