 Hungary is located in the heart of Europe, the Carpathians, surrounded by the Alps, the Carpathian mountains and the Southern Slavonic mountains.
The Hungarians had moved to the Carpathian basin in the 7th century - in 895 they marched towards the Carpathian basin seeking safety against the Turkish Pecheneg attacks. Árpád was chosen to be a monarch. By the end of the 11th century Hungary have become a powerful country and conquring the nearby Southern and Eastern lands. In 1301 the dynasty of Árpád have died out and was followed by the Neopolitan-French Anjou dynasty on the throne. The reign of the second Anjou king was memorable mainly beacause of his conquering politics. Hungary has became a Central European great power and could keep this status until the death of Matthew I. The cultural growth, the estabilishment of the first Hungarian University (Sophianae, 1372) certifies that Hungary under the Anjou reign was blooming during the Western European crisis as well.
Meanwhile, the Turkish were threatening the country for the second time (beginning of 15th century). The enslavement was prevented by János Hunyadi, the legendary warlord. His son, Matthew (Corvin) Hunyadi was crowned in his teenage years in 1458. In the battle of Mohács (1526) the Hungarian army was defeated and that unfortunately put its mark on the Hunagrian history for a long time. The country was torn into 3 parts. Buda has been liberated by the Holy Convention in 1686. The greatest representative of the Hungarian noble liberalism, Count István Széchenyi recognized that the main cause of underdevelopment is feudalism. Lajos Kossuth, one of the most significant polititians of his time was even more radical - he wanted to appeal the masses. On 15th March 1848 the Hungarian Revolution broke lose and was followed by negotiations initiated by Ferenc Deák. As a result of these negotiations Austria and Hungary became a dualist federation. In 1914 Hungary entered the World War I on the side of Austria - the war ended in 1918 and Hungary was among the defeated. The peace-traety was signed in Versailles (Trianon) in 1920.
In World War II Hungary was once again defeated thus the Russians occupied the country. In 1956 Stalin's death meant a hope for democracy. The Hungarian revolution took place on October 23, 1956 and was defeated by the russian armies.
During the 80's USSR realized the crisis and that it cannot uphold the reign of the Eastern European region. On October 23, 1989 the Republic of Hungary was proclaimed. The country joined the NATO on March 12, 1999 and the EU on May 1, 2004.
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