Hungary is located in Central Europe, the country is bordered by Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Ukraine and the Slovak Republic. In the north-western part of Hungary, the small lowland extends into the Hungarian low mountain range transforms. Between the Carpathians and the Danube, as well as between the Fruska Gora mountains and the Transylvanian Alps is the Great Hungarian Plain. The Balaton (also known as Balaton) is one of the largest lakes in Europe.

Budapest is the capital of Hungary and is one of the most interesting European cities. It is made up of two parts of the city: the Pest business district is to the left of the Danube. Buda is characterized by buildings from the Middle Ages, Buda is connected to Pest by a beautiful chain bridge. The Fishermen’s Bastion and Matthias Church are particularly worth seeing in Buda.

The Balaton (Lake Balaton) is a popular travel destination. There are good sandy beaches and leisure facilities on the southern shore of the lake.

Hungary is located in the European interior area. The climatic influences are intensified by the mountains that shield Hungarians. As a result, there is a dry continental climate here. The winters are cold and the summers are very warm. This creates good conditions for travel and tourism throughout the country.

The flora and fauna naturally also adapted to the climate. More than 45,000 animal and 2,200 plant species live in Hungary. There are also some species that only occur here or that are only found in small numbers in the rest of Europe. The nature reserve is an important issue in Hungary and so are now 855 animals and 535 species of plants under protection. The hellebore and the wild peony are also protected species.
You can also find wild boar, roe deer, deer and some foxes in the large forests of the country. Storks and swallows are also native to Hungary.

Hungary climate

Hungary has a temperate climate with three climatic zones: Mediterranean climate in the south, continental climate in the east and Atlantic climate in the west. Winter in Hungary is cold, cloudy, humid and windy. The summer is warm to very hot. July and August are the hottest months (average temperature 26 ° C), January the coldest (-4 ° C). The number of hours of sunshine averages between 1,900 and 2,500 per year, making Hungary one of the top ranks in Europe. The average annual rainfall is 650 mm.

Hungary – key data

Area: 93,028 km² (of which land: 89,608 km², water: 3,420 km²)

Population: 10.0 million (July 2011 estimate, CIA). Composition:Hungary 92.3%, Roma 1.9%, others or unknown 5.8% (2001 census).

Population density: 107 people per km²

Population growth: -0.17% per year (2011, CIA)

Capital: Budapest (1.7 million residents, January 2008)

Highest point: Kekes, 1,014 m

Lowest point: River Tisza, 78 m

Form of government: Hungary has been a republic since 1989. The Hungarian constitution dates from 1949, the last constitutional amendment was made in 1989. The Hungarian houses of Parliament, the National Assembly (Országgyûlés) consists of 386MPs together, parliamentary elections take place every 4 years. Hungary left the Real Union with Austria on October 31, 1918, thereby ending the Hungarian-Austrian monarchy. Hungary has been a member of the European Union since May 1, 2004.

Administrative division: 19 counties (counties): Bacs-Kiskun, Baranya, Bekes, Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen, Csongrad, Fejer, Gyor-Moson-Sopron, Hajdu-Bihar, Heves, Jasz-Nagykun-Szolnok, Komarom-Esztergom, Nograd, Pest, Somogy, Szabolcs-Szatmar-Bereg, Tolna, Vas, Veszprem as well as Zala 24 cities with county law: Bekescsaba, Budapest, Debrecen, Dunaujvaros, Eger, Erd, Gyor, Hodmezovasarhely, Kaposvar, Kecskemet, Miskolc, Nagykanizsa, Nyirecshaza, Nyirecshaza Salgotarjan, Sopron, Szeged, Szekesfehervar, Szekszard, Szolnok, Szombathely, Tatabanya, Veszprem and Zalaegerszeg

Head of State: President János Áder, since May 10, 2012

Head of Government: Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, since June 3, 2010

Language: The official language in Hungary is Hungarian (93.6%). Others spoke 6.4% (including German). (2001 census). In the western part of Hungary, English or French are also spoken as a foreign language.

Religion: Roman Catholic 51.9%, Calvinists 15.9%, Lutherans 3%, Greek Catholic 2.6%, other Christians 1%, other or no information 11.1%, not religiously bound 14.5% ( 2001 census)

Local time: CET. Between the last Sunday in March and the last Sunday in October there is summer time in Hungary (CET + 1 hour).
The time difference to Central Europe is 0 h in both winter and summer.

International phone code: +36

Internet identifier:.hu

Mains voltage: 220 V, 50 Hz

Hungary Geography

The Republic of Hungary is a landlocked country in the south-east of Central Europe, which is located in the Pannonian Basin. The country borders the Slovak Republic in the north, Ukraine in the northeast, Romania in the east, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia in the south and Austria in the west. With a total area of ​​about 93,000 square kilometers counts Hungary to the smaller states of Europe. The north-south extension of the national territory is 320 kilometers, from west to east about 520 kilometers.

The landscape of Hungary is mostly flat and is divided by the Danube into two halves of different sizes, which are known as Transdanubia and Great Lowlands. Transdanubia in the west, “beyond the Danube”, is divided into the Small Plain in the north-west, the wooded foothills of the Alps in the south-west, the Transdanubian low mountain range north of Lake Balaton and the hill country in the south.

East of the Danube extends the Great Plain, known as the typical Hungarian landscape, although it occupies just half of the total area of ​​the country. Geologically, the Alföld, as this area is also called, is the youngest landscape in Hungary and emerged as a so-called embankment plain. The Great Plain is divided into two areas by the second largest river in Hungary, the Tisza: the Danube-Tisza intercurrent land between the Danube and the Tisza and the Tiszántúl, “across the Tisza”, to the east of it. The annual floods caused by both rivers produce fertile black earth in this region, which together with the mild climate create ideal conditions for the cultivation of fruit, vegetables and wine. The Puszta landscape, which consists mainly of flat, seemingly endless steppe, is the actual image of the Great Plain, which is commonly associated with Hungary.

Northern Hungary, on the other hand, is characterized by impenetrable forests, deep valleys and karst caves. This is where the relatively low Cserhát Mountains extend, with rugged basalt peaks that are around one to two million years old. The Zagyva River separates these mountains from the Mátra, which runs further east, which is one of the few winter sports regions in the country. The Kékes, the highest mountain in Hungary at 1,014 meters, rises here, followed by Galya, 964 meters high. The Zempliner Mountains in the northeast form the end of the Northern Hungarian Central Mountains. Volcanic peaks and romantic castle ruins shape the image of this mountain range, on the south-eastern slope of which lies the most famous wine-growing region in the country. Visit handbagpicks for Hungary Economy.

Danube and Tisza are the two most important rivers in Hungary. The Danube crosses the country for around 400 kilometers and forms the natural border with the Slovak Republic over a distance of 140 kilometers. Probably the most beautiful and most scenic section is the so-called Danube Bend. The Tisza flows through Hungary for a total of 600 kilometers, which corresponds to about two thirds of its length before it was straightened in the 19th century. The largest lake in Hungary is the Balaton. The approximately 600 square kilometers large Lake Balaton is 78 kilometers long, a maximum of 15 kilometers wide and only three to four meters deep. Because of its flat banks, Lake Balaton is a popular bathing area. Lake Velence, located between Balaton and Budapest, is also very flat and only ten kilometers long. Lake Neusiedl, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, only belongs to a quarter of Hungary, the majority of the lake is on Austrian territory.

Hungary – arrival

Airplane: the national Hungarian airline Malév Hungarian Airlines (MA) offers numerous Direct flights as well as flights via Prague, Madrid and Amsterdam to more than 60 cities in Europe. Destinations include Amsterdam, Athens, Berlin, Brussels, Bucharest, Dublin, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Geneva, Helsinki, Istanbul, Kiev, Lisbon, Sofia, Madrid, Manchester, Moscow, Munich, Paris, Prague, Warsaw and Zurich.

Other airlines with flights to and from Hungary include Aeroflot (SU), Alitalia (AZ), Austrian Airlines (OS), British Airways (BA), CSA Czech Airlines (OK), Finair (AY), KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KL), LOT Polish Airlines (LO), Lufthansa (LH), SAS (SK), Tarom Romanian Airlines (RO) and Turkish Airlines (TK).

Airports: the main Hungarian airport is Ferihegy International Airport. Other international airports are Debrecen International Airport in Debrecen and Balaton Airport in Sármellék.

Ship: from the beginning of April to October, a hydrofoil regularly transports passengers between Budapest and Vienna. With prior registration, passengers can get on in Bratislava. In Budapest, ferries start and land at the International Ferry Pier (Nemzetközi Hajóállomás). The Vienna ferry docks are located at the Reichsbrücke. Further information and ferry tickets are available from Mahart PassNave in Budapest and Vienna.

Rail: Hungary is excellently connected with its seven neighboring countries by road, rail or ship traffic. The most important traffic junction in the country is Budapest. The Hungarian state railway, Magyar Államvasutak (MÁV) links up with the European rail network in all directions. Trains run from Hungary to London (via Munich and Paris), Stockholm (via Hamburg and Copenhagen), Moscow, Warsaw, Rome, Bucharest and Istanbul (via Belgrade), for example.

Seat reservations are required for international trains. First and second class sleeping and couchette cars are almost always available on long journeys. Not all express trains have a dining car.

The central station for international train connections in Budapest is the Keleti station. However, some trains to the east, such as Romania, leave from the Westbahnhof. The Deli station is an important junction for train connections to the south, for example to Croatia or Bosnia. In order to avoid standing at the wrong station when the train departs, travelers should always check from which station their train is departing when buying a ticket. Tickets are available at all three international train stations in Budapest or at the international information and ticket center of the Hungarian State Railways. Prices and discount offers vary depending on the itinerary.

Car: there are no border formalities between Hungary and its EU neighbors Austria, Slovenia and Slovakia. However, those arriving from Croatia, Romania, Ukraine and Serbia must expect more precise controls at the borders.

Bus: most international bus connections to and from Hungary are covered by Eurolines or its Hungarian partner Volánbusz. All international buses depart or arrive at the Népliget bus station. There are regular bus connections between Budapest and Amsterdam (via Frankfurt and Düsseldorf) with onward travel to Rotterdam, London, Brussels and Lille. Other routes lead to Athens (via Thessaloniki), Berlin (via Prague and Dresden), Paris (via Vienna, Strasbourg and Reims), Rome (via Bologna and Florence), Venice and Bratislava.

The destinations of long-distance buses in the direction of Croatia are Pula, Rijeka and Porec. There is also a daily bus connection between Budapest and the Serbian Belgrade and Subotica. Several times a week buses go to Ukraine, Kiev and Lviv.