Eastern and Central Europe (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

334 CENTRAL EASTERN EUROPE

Ottoman Hungary. To quell their

advance, the Austrians, under

Ferdinand of Habsburg, occupied

west ern Hungary, while

the central plains stayed

under Ottoman control;

the eastern region,

including Transylvania,

became a semi-auto -

nomous land, tied to the

Ottomans. Christian arm-

ies led by the Habsburgs

finally defeated the

Ottomans in 1686.

Economic pros perity

came with Austrian rule,

but national ism was sup-

pressed, which led to a major uprising

in 1848. After crush ing the rebel lion,

Emperor Franz Joseph I sought to

unite the two nations, and so created

the Dual Monarchy of Austro-Hungary

in 1867. Following World War I, the

Habsburg Empire was dismantled, and

Hungary lost two-thirds of its territory

to the “successor states” of Yugoslavia,

Czechoslovakia and Romania. It was to

regain these territories that

Hungary backed Germany

in World War II, but in 1945

Budapest was occupied by

the Soviets. The subsequent

Communist rule was ruth-

lessly upheld, most visi bly

in 1956 when demon -

strations were crushed by

Soviet tanks. Nevertheless,

free elections took place

in 1989, resulting in

victory for the democratic

oppo sition. Since then, the

coun try has invested in tourism, which

is now a major source of income.

LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

Modern Hungarian derives from a

language originally spoken by the

Finno-Ugric tribes of the Urals.

Located in the heart of Central Europe, Budapest is the

perfect base for exploring Hungary. Szentendre, with its

Serbian religious art, is a short drive north. Pécs, a trea-

sure trove of European history, lies to the south, while

the popular town of Eger in the wine-producing

area is to the east. The country has an excellent

rail net work and fares are low while the road

infrastructure has expanded in recent years.

Exploring Hungary

Mátyás Corvinus,

King of Hungary

Budapest pp336–55 (^1)
Bükk National Park
pp378–9 (^) s
Debrecen g
Eger pp380–83 (^) d
Esztergom pp360–61 (^7)
Fertőd q
Fertő-Hanság National
Park w
Gödöllő 3
Győr 0
Hortobágy and
Hortobágy National
Park h
Kecskemét pp376–7 a
Keszthely pp370–73 o
SIGHTS AT A GLANCE
Kőszeg r
Lake Balaton Tour pp368–9 (^) i
Lake Tisza f
Nagybörzsöny and Duna-
Ipoly National Park 6
Pannonhalma Abbey 9
Pécs pp374–5 p
Sárvár t
Siófok u
Sopron e
Szeged j
Székesfehérvár 8
Szentendre pp356–8 (^2)
Vác 4
Veszprém pp366–7 (^) y
Visegrád 5
85
84
86
86
84
61
6
67
65
68
67 66
58
61
81
82
83
74
8
8
A4
87 8
76
76
75
M70
75
71
M1
M1
M7
1
1
Rába
Dan
ube
Lake^
Balato
n
Szigetvár
Nagyatád
Csorna
Mosonmagyaróvár
Szombathely
Zalaegerszeg
Nagykanizsa
Kaposvár
Tihany
Herend
Pannonhalma
Abbey
Győr
Fertőd
Fertő-Hanság
National Park
Sopron
Kőszeg
Sárvár
Siófok
Keszthely
Pécs
Lake Balaton
Tour
Veszprém
CROATIA
AUSTRIA
SLOVENIA
Vienna