Hungary

Strange information about Hungary

 • The first foreign fast food restaurant was McDonald's, which originated in Hungary.

 • It is one of the oldest countries in Europe, Hungary was founded in 895, which means that it is older than countries like France and Germany.

 • Hungary is home to the world's most extensive geothermal cave system located below Budapest.

 • There are cowboys (csikos) in Hungary, Hungarians rode to Europe on horseback, and even today, you can see cowboys on the plains of Puszta.

 • Budapest has the largest number of thermal springs in the world, there are more than 1,500 health resorts in Hungary

 • You cannot name your child unless approved by the government, there is a list of pre-approved names that you can name your child, but if you want to name your child by a name that is not on the list, you will have to apply first.

 • The Hungarian alphabet contains 44 letters, the Hungarian language is unique, unlike other European languages.

 • 27% VAT is collected in Hungary, this is the largest amount of VAT collected in the world.

 • The first communist bloc country to open its borders with Western Europe.

 • There are many Hungarian inventions, such as the Rubik's cube, the ballpoint pen, holography, the thermal camera, digital computing, and the first practical helicopter.

 • Lake Balaton is the largest lake in Central Europe. Hungary may be a landlocked country without an ocean, but it is home to the largest lake in Central Europe, and during the summer.

 • Home to the world's first official wine region, France, Spain and Italy may be most famous for their wines in general, but in Tokaj, there's something special.  Tokaji Aszu is also known as the King of Liquor.

 • Hungary's national dish is gulyás, a world-famous dish.

 Amazing facts about Hungary

 • Hungary spends up to 5% of its GDP to facilitate education.  This has resulted in the country's literacy rate reaching 99%.  The country has more than 77 institutions of higher education, including ten universities and nine technical institutions.

 • Hungary is a landlocked country located in Central Europe.  It is bordered to the north by Slovakia, to the northeast by Ukraine, to the southeast by Romania, to the south by Serbia and Croatia, to the southwest by Slovenia, and to the west by Austria.

 • During the Roman Empire, approximately 40% of Hungary was part of a region known as Pannonia.  Pannonia included parts of Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, and Serbia as well.

 • Hungarians take pride in winning gold medals every time they participate in the Olympic Games.

 • The oldest university in Hungary is the University of Pécs, which was founded in 1367.

 • The name Hungary is the English version of the medieval Latin word "Hungarian".  The name Hungarian comes from the Ural steppe people, who conquered the land in the ninth and tenth centuries.  However, Hungarians generally refer to themselves as "Hungarian", not "Hungarian".

 Interesting facts about Hungarian

 • The Hungarian capital, Budapest, has the largest number of thermal springs in the world.

 • August 20 is Saint Stephen's Day, the national holiday of Hungary, which commemorates the founding of the Hungarian state.

 • After World War II, the communist rule became dominant in Hungary.  In the late 1980s, Hungary had a cumulative debt of $18 billion and was the highest debt owed per capita in all of Europe.

 • Did you know that about 2.5 million native Hungarians do not live in Hungary, instead, they live in Romania and other countries of Western Europe as well as in North America.

 • Most people in Hungary use their last name when writing or when introducing themselves to the public.

 • Hungary has the highest global ranking to date.  It produces banknotes with a face value of five million bingo.

 • 13 Hungarians have won Nobel Prizes by 2007, which is a very large number.

 • The multi-wheeled vehicle was invented in Hungary in the year 1500, and the word “bus” was derived from the names of the Hungarian city of Kocs.

 • Hungary is still the only country that has held a referendum to decide whether to join NATO or not.  He joined in 1999.

 • At some point during the 20th century, rates of tuberculosis were so high – especially in Hungary around the first and second world wars, that the disease was sometimes referred to as “Morbus Hungaricus.”  The virus killed between forty and fifty thousand people in Hungary.

 • Football is still the most popular game in Hungary, Hungarians still remember the 1953 match of the century where Hungary beat England at Wembley Stadium in England.