History

Located in Central Europe's Carpathian Basin, Hungary has been a link in the chain connecting East and West for a thousand years.
 
The ancestors of the Hungarians, or "Magyars", lived in the Ural Mountains. They had close linguistic ties with other Finno-Ugrian peoples and shared certain anthropological and cultural traits with the Turks. In the 2nd millennium BC they began a nomadic lifestyle based on cattle-breeding; this led to a period of westward migration which brought them into contact with several tribes, including the Alan, Turkish and Kazar ethnic groups.

The Conquest
After the Besenyõ attack in 895-896, the Magyar tribes occupied the Carpathian Basin and nationalised the Avar and Slavic populations living there. The conquest saved the Magyars from the destruction that often occurred during migration, but it required adaptation on the part of the seven Magyar tribes derived from the "Miraculous Deer". The pagan culture of these tribes was shamanism. 
 
In the 10th century the Magyar people gave up their looting adventures. Settlement and the adoption of western feudalism started during the reign of Geza (972-997), who, as a descendent of the conquering Árpád, won a victory over the other tribal chieftains and adopted western Christianity. His son, István, was chosen as king with the blessing of the Pope in 1000. Because of his efforts to establish the Church and the Hungarian State, the Hungarian people still consider him to be the founder of the State, and he was shortly canonised. Before his death he dedicated his country to the Blessed Virgin. The monastic orders and the monasteries created the foundation of the culture in the Latin language. The role of the Abbeys in Pannonhalom and Tihany played a prominent role in this. Székesfehérvár was the place for crowning and burial, and Veszprém was the queen's residence.

Geography

Fifty percent of Hungary's territory consists of flatlands:  the ALFÖLD (The Great Plain) comprises the entire eastern half of Hungary, while the KISALFÖLD (The Little Plain), extends along the northwestern border.  The country's two most prominent rivers - the Danube, of which the Hungarian section is 417 km long, and the Tisza at 598 km - traverse Hungary from north to south.  The Central Danube-Tisza region is also flatland, while the Transdanubian countryside lying west of the Danube has hilly terrain. Lake Balaton, Central Europe's warmest lake, is situated in the centre of this region. The highlands stretch diagonally across Hungary: west of the Danube lies the Central Transdanubian mountain range with its hills reaching 400-700 metres (e.g. The Keszthely, Bakony, Vértes, Gerecse, Pilis, and Visegrád mountain ranges).  East of the Danube lies the Central Northern mountain range with hills of 500-1000 metres (e.g. the Börzsöny, Cserhát, Mátra, Bükk, Cserehát, Zemplén mountain ranges). The highest point in Hungary is 1014 metres, which can be found at Kékes in the Mátra mountain range.  The Hungarian "puszta" (meaning "wasteland" or "barren land") is a popular tourist destination. Its one-time characteristic animals and ethnographic traditions can be seen at the horse-riding shows in the Hortobágy National Park (e.g. Bugac, Apajpuszta, Lajosmizse).

Climate

Hungary has a continental climate, with cold, cloudy, humid winters and warm to hot summers. Average annual temperature is 9.7 °C (49.5 °F). Temperature extremes are about 42 °C (110 °F) in the summer and −29 °C (−20 °F) in the winter. Average temperature in the summer is 27 to 35 °C (81 to 95 °F), and in the winter it is 0 to −15 °C (32 to 5 °F). The average yearly rainfall is approximately 600 millimetres (24 in). A small, southern region of the country near Pécs reputedly enjoys a Mediterranean climate however in reality is just a bit warmer than the rest of the country and still has snow in the winters.

Economy

Hungary continues to demonstrate economic growth as one of the newest member countries of the European Union (since 2004). The private sector accounts for over 80% of GDP. Hungary gets nearly one third of all foreign direct investment flowing in to Central Europe. Foreign ownership of and investment in Hungarian firms are widespread, with cumulative foreign direct investment totalling more than US$23 billion since 1989. The Hungarian sovereign debt's credit rating is BBB+ as of July 2006, making Hungary the only other country in the EU apart from Poland not to enjoy an A grade score. Inflation and unemployment have been on the rise in the past few years, and they are expected to rise further. Foreign investors' trust in the Hungarian Economy has declined, as they deem that the stringency measures planned in the 2nd half of 2006 are not satisfactory, their focus being mainly on increasing the income side rather than curbing government spendings. Economic reform measures such as health care reform, tax reform, and local government financing are being addressed by the present government.

The Hungarian government has expressed a desire to adopt the euro currency in 2010. However, foreign analysts widely criticised that date as highly unrealistic given the current shape of the economy in relation to the Maastricht criteria; their assessments suggest that a date of 2013-2014 for Euro adoption is more realistic. Some analysts even go as far as to suggest that Romania and Bulgaria, who will join the EU in 2007, might beat Hungary to euro adoption.