Hungary

[huhng-guh-ree] /ˈhʌŋ gə ri/

noun
1.
a republic in central Europe. 35,926 sq. mi. (93,050 sq. km).
Capital: Budapest.
/ˈhʌŋɡərɪ/
noun
1.
a republic in central Europe: Magyars first unified under Saint Stephen, the first Hungarian king (1001–38); taken by the Hapsburgs from the Turks at the end of the 17th century; gained autonomy with the establishment of the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary (1867) and became a republic in 1918; passed under Communist control in 1949; a popular rising in 1956 was suppressed by Soviet troops; a multi-party democracy replaced Communism in 1989 after mass protests; joined the EU in 2004. It consists chiefly of the Middle Danube basin and plains. Official language: Hungarian. Religion: Christian majority. Currency: forint. Capital: Budapest Pop: 9 939 470 (2013 est). Area: 93 030 sq km (35 919 sq miles) Hungarian name Magyarország

mid-15c., probably literally “land of the Huns,” who ruled a vast territory from there under Attila in the Dark Ages; from Medieval Latin Hungaria, from Medieval Greek Oungroi, the name applied to the people whose name for themselves we transliterate as Magyars. Also related are French Hongrie, German Ungarn, Russian Vengriya, Ukr. Ugorshchina, but the Turkish name for the country, Macaristan, reflects the indigenous name.

Republic in central Europe, bordered by the former Czechoslovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and south, Yugoslavia and Croatia to the south, and Slovenia and Austria to the west. Its capital and largest city is Budapest.

Note: Hungary is a former Eastern Bloc country.

Note: The Austro-Hungarian Empire, in which Austria and Hungary were equal partners, was established in 1867 and collapsed in World War I.

Note: Soviet troops invaded Hungary in 1956 to put down a revolution against the communist government.

Note: Hungary held multiparty free elections in October 1990, ending forty-two years of communist rule. In 1999, it joined NATO.