Facts about Hungary: Geography, Capital and Key Information

Introduction

Hungary is a landlocked country in the heart of Central Europe, known for its grand capital on the Danube, its warm thermal springs and its wide, open plains. Facts about Hungary reveal a nation with a language unlike any of its neighbors, a cooking tradition built around paprika and a history stretching back more than a thousand years. Although it is one of the smaller countries in the region, Hungary has given the world famous inventors, composers and even the Rubik’s Cube. This article explores the geography, population and culture that make Hungary such an interesting country to learn about, whether you are a student, teacher or simply a curious reader.

Quick Facts about Hungary

  • Capital city: Budapest
  • Population (approx.): 9.5 million
  • Area (km²): 93,030
  • Currency: Hungarian forint (HUF)
  • Official language(s): Hungarian
  • National Day: August 20 (St. Stephen’s Day, the Foundation of the State)

Geography and Landscape

Hungary lies in the Carpathian Basin, a huge lowland almost completely ringed by the Carpathian Mountains and the Alps. Because the mountains lie mostly beyond its borders, Hungary itself is one of the flattest countries in Europe. More than half of its land sits below 200 meters above sea level, and its highest point, Kékes in the Mátra Mountains, reaches only about 1,014 meters.

The largest landscape is the Great Hungarian Plain, called the Alföld, which covers much of the east and south of the country. Much of it is farmland growing wheat, corn and sunflowers, but parts remain as grassy steppe known as the puszta. Hortobágy National Park, the largest continuous natural grassland in Central Europe, protects this landscape and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In the northwest lies the smaller Little Hungarian Plain, while a chain of low, wooded hills and mountains runs across the north.

Two great rivers shape the country. The Danube flows south through Hungary and splits the country roughly in two, passing directly through Budapest. The Tisza, the second major river, crosses the Great Plain in the east. Hungary is also home to Lake Balaton, the largest lake in Central Europe, stretching around 77 kilometers long. Its shallow water warms quickly in summer, earning it the nickname “the Hungarian Sea.”

The climate is continental, with warm to hot summers and cold winters. Beneath the ground, Hungary sits above a thin section of the Earth’s crust, which is why hot water rises to the surface in so many places. The country has more than a thousand thermal springs, and bathing culture is an important part of everyday life.

Population and Culture

Hungary is home to around 9.5 million people. Budapest is by far the largest city, with about 1.7 million residents, and the wider metropolitan area holds roughly a third of the country’s population. Other major cities include Debrecen in the east, Szeged in the south, and Miskolc and Pécs, each serving as a regional center with its own universities and traditions.

The Hungarian language, called Magyar, is one of the most distinctive in Europe. It belongs to the Uralic language family, which makes it a distant relative of Finnish and Estonian rather than of the Slavic, Germanic or Romance languages spoken all around it. Hungarians also write their names with the family name first, so the inventor Ernő Rubik is known at home as Rubik Ernő.

Food is a proud part of Hungarian identity. Paprika, made from dried red peppers, flavors many national dishes, including gulyás, a hearty beef soup known in English as goulash, and chicken paprikash. Sweet treats such as the layered Dobos torte and the chimney-shaped kürtőskalács are popular across the country. Music runs deep as well, from lively folk dances to the classical composers Franz Liszt and Béla Bartók, both of whom drew on Hungarian folk melodies in their work.

3 Interesting Facts about Hungary

  1. Budapest was officially created in 1873 by joining three separate towns: Buda and Óbuda on the hilly west bank of the Danube, and Pest on the flat east bank. The famous Chain Bridge, the first permanent bridge across the river there, opened in 1849 and helped bring the two sides together.
  2. Lake Hévíz, near the western end of Lake Balaton, is the largest natural thermal lake in the world that people can swim in. Its water stays warm all year round, so visitors bathe in it even in winter.
  3. The Rubik’s Cube was invented in Budapest in 1974 by Ernő Rubik, a Hungarian architecture professor. He first designed it as a teaching tool to help his students understand how objects move in three dimensions, and it went on to become one of the best-selling puzzles of all time.

Where is Hungary Located?

Hungary is located in Central Europe and has no coastline. It shares borders with seven countries: Austria to the west, Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east, Serbia to the south, and Croatia and Slovenia to the southwest. The Danube connects Hungary to the rest of the region, flowing in from Slovakia and Austria in the north and continuing south into Serbia on its way to the Black Sea.

This central position has made Hungary a crossroads for trade, travel and culture for centuries. Its location between Western Europe and the Balkans explains why so many different influences can be seen in its architecture, food and history.

Discover More About European Countries

If learning facts about Hungary made you curious about the rest of the continent, there are more ways to keep exploring Europe’s countries, capitals and cultures together as a family.

The European Countries Book – Extended Color Edition
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The European Countries Book – Color Edition
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The European Countries Book – Black & White Edition
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The European Countries Book – Color Quiz Edition
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The European Countries Book – Black & White Quiz Edition
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