history of Hungary

Introduction
Origins of the Magyars
The kingdom to 1526
- The Árpáds
  - The Christian kingdom
  - The early kings
  - Consolidation and expansion
  - Social and political developments
  - The Mongol invasion: the last Árpád kings
- Hungary under foreign kings
  - The Angevin kings
  - Sigismund of Luxembourg
  - János Hunyadi and Matthias Corvinus
  - The Jagiellon kings: national decay
The period of partition
- Royal Hungary and the rise of Transylvania
- War and liberation
Habsburg rule, 1699–1918
- Habsburg rule to 1867
  - Charles III and Maria Theresa
  - Joseph II and Leopold II
  - Francis I: the reform generation
  - The nationalities
  - Revolution, reaction, and “compromise”
- The Dual Monarchy, 1867–1918
  - Hungary under dualism
  - Social and economic developments
  - World War I
Revolution, counterrevolution, and the regency, 1918–45
- The regency, 1920–45
  - The Treaty of Trianon
  - Postwar confusion and reconstruction
- Financial crisis: the rise of right radicalism
- War and renewed defeat
Hungary in the Soviet orbit
- The communist regime
  - Political developments
  - Economic developments
- The Revolution of 1956
- The Kádár regime
- Reforms of the late 1980s
  - Economic reforms
  - Political reforms
Postcommunist Hungary
- Political developments
- Economic and social change

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images & Videos

Flag of Hungary featuring three horizontal stripes of red, white, and green.

Political map of Hungary showing national and regional boundaries, major cities, rivers, and neighboring countries including Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. An inset locator map highlights Hungary's position within Europe.

Saint Stephen's Crown

Manuel I Comnenus

cathedral of Pécs

Rashīd al-Dīn: History of the World

history of Hungary: Media

Videos

Hungary's historic removal of the iron border

Hungary's historic removal of the iron border

East German visitors fleeing over the border of Hungary to Austria during the Pan-European...

Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © Fritz Hiersche/Dreamstime.com

Images

Flag of Hungary featuring three horizontal stripes of red, white, and green.

Hungary

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Political map of Hungary showing national and regional boundaries, major cities, rivers, and neighboring countries including Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. An inset locator map highlights Hungary's position within Europe.

Hungary

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Saint Stephen's Crown

Saint Stephen's Crown

Saint Stephen's Crown.

Interfoto MTI

Stephen I

Stephen I

A statue of Stephen I, the first king of Hungary, overlooking the city of Budapest.

© icenando/iStock.com

Stephen I

Stephen I

Stephen I, statue in Esztergom, Hungary.

Villy

Andrew II

Andrew II

Andrew II, statue in Budapest.

Karel Jakubec

Ladislas I

Ladislas I

Ladislas I, coin, 11th century; in the British Museum.

Courtesy of the trustees of the British Museum; photograph, J.R. Freeman & Co. Ltd.

Manuel I Comnenus

Manuel I Comnenus

Manuel I Comnenus, detail of a manuscript; in the Vatican Apostolic Library.

Courtesy of the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana

cathedral of Pécs

cathedral of Pécs

Cathedral of Pécs, Hungary.

Salmer/Plessner International

Rashīd al-Dīn: History of the World

Rashīd al-Dīn: History of the World

Mongol warriors, miniature from Rashīd al-Dīn's History of the World, 1307;...

Courtesy of the Edinburgh University Library, Scotland

Béla IV

Béla IV

Béla IV, sculpture in National Historical Memorial Park, Ópusztaszer, Hungary.

Váradi Zsolt

Louis I

Louis I

Louis I, bust in the National Historical Memorial Park, Ópusztaszer, Hungary.

Váradi Zsolt

Matthias Church, Budapest

Matthias Church, Budapest

Matthias Church (Church of Our Blessed Lady), Budapest.

© Jack Hollingsworth/Corbis RF

Sigismund

Sigismund

Sigismund, portrait attributed to Pisanello; in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.

Courtesy of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

János Hunyadi

János Hunyadi

János Hunyadi, engraving by André Thevet.

Courtesy of the trustees of the British Museum; photograph, J.R. Freeman & Co., Ltd.

Matthias I

Matthias I

Matthias I, detail from the gate tower of Ortenburg Castle, Bautzen, Germany, 1486.

Courtesy of the Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum, Budapest

István Werbőczi

István Werbőczi

István Werbőczi, portrait on a coin; in the Hungarian National Museum, Budapest.

Courtesy of the Hungarian National Museum, Budapest, Hungary

Süleyman I

Süleyman I

Süleyman I (the Magnificent), detail of an engraving of a panel by Pieter Coecke...

Courtesy of the trustees of the British Museum

György Martinuzzi

György Martinuzzi

György Martinuzzi, detail of a painting by an unknown artist; in the Historical Gallery...

Courtesy of the Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum, Budapest

Historical map showing the partition of Hungary in 1568, with Royal Hungary shaded in orange to the northwest and Transylvania shaded in yellow to the east. The map also marks neighboring regions including the Holy Roman Empire, Kingdom of Poland, Republic of Venice, Papal States, and Ottoman Empire, along with major cities and geographical features such as the Carpathian Mountains and the Danube River.

partition of Hungary, 1568

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

István Bocskay

István Bocskay

István Bocskay, engraving.

Interfoto MTI, Hungary

Gábor Bethlen

Gábor Bethlen

Gábor Bethlen, engraving by E. Sadeler, 1620.

Courtesy of the Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum, Budapest

Historical map of Central Europe showing territorial changes resulting from the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 at the end of the Thirty Years' War. Areas transferred to Sweden, Brandenburg, Transylvania, Saxony, France, the United Provinces, Bavaria, and Poland are color-coded. The map also marks the boundary of the Holy Roman Empire, key battle sites, and the route of Gustavus Adolphus's campaign from 1631 to 1632. Major cities, rivers, and neighboring countries such as France, Poland, Sweden, and

Europe after the Thirty Years' War, 1648

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Maria Theresa

Maria Theresa

Maria Theresa.

Photo by Helmet Klapper/Vorarlberger Landesbibliothek, Bregenz, Austria (CC BY 4.0)

Portrait painting of Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, wearing a black and red military coat with medals and a sash, with St. Peter's Basilica visible in the background.

Pompeo Girolamo Batoni: portrait of Joseph II

Joseph II, Holy Roman emperor, detail of a painting by Pompeo Girolamo Batoni, 1769;...

© Leemage—Corbis/Getty Images

Ferenc Deák

Ferenc Deák

Ferenc Deák, detail of an oil painting by Bertalan Székely; in the Hungarian National...

Courtesy of the Hungarian National Museum, Budapest

Lajos Kossuth

Lajos Kossuth

Lajos Kossuth, lithograph, 1849.

Prints, Drawings and Watercolors from the Anne S.K. Brown Military Collection. Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library (HuMP1848f-1).

Artúr Görgey

Artúr Görgey

Artúr Görgey, lithograph.

Courtesy of the Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum, Budapest

Full-length portrait of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria-Hungary in 1865, wearing a white jacket with medals and red trousers.

Franz Joseph

Franz Joseph, portrait by Franz Xaver Winterhalter, 1865.

© Fine Art Images/Heritage Images—Hulton Fine Art Collection/Getty Images

István, Count Tisza

István, Count Tisza

István, Count Tisza, portrait by Gyula Benczúr; in the Hungarian National Museum,...

Interfoto MTI, Hungary

József Eötvös

József Eötvös

József Eötvös, steel engraving by C. Mahlknecht after a drawing by Miklós Barabás,...

Courtesy of the Petőfi Irodalmi Múzeum, Budapest

Historical map of Budapest and its vicinity around 1900, showing city districts, main roads, railways, bridges, and the Danube River dividing Buda and Pest. Key landmarks, neighborhoods, and surrounding areas are labeled, with urban areas shaded in pink and green spaces and hills depicted to the west.

map of Budapest c. 1900

Map of Budapest (c. 1900), from the 10th edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Map showing the borders of Austria-Hungary in 1914 outlined in orange, overlaid on present-day Central and Eastern Europe. The map highlights how the former empire's territory now includes parts or all of Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Romania, Ukraine, Poland, and Italy, with current national boundaries and capitals labeled.

Austria-Hungary

Before the outbreak of World War I, Austria-Hungary was a vast and powerful empire....

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Franz Ferdinand

Franz Ferdinand

Franz Ferdinand.

Library of Congress, Washington D.C

assassination of Franz Ferdinand

assassination of Franz Ferdinand

Soldiers arresting Gavrilo Princip after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand,...

© Photos.com/Thinkstock

Béla Kun

Béla Kun

Béla Kun, drawing by Béla Uitz, 1930; in the Legújabbkori Történeti Múzeum, Budapest.

Courtesy of the Legujabbkori Történeti Múzeum, Budapest

Miklós Horthy

Miklós Horthy

Miklós Horthy.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

György Lukács

György Lukács

Hungarian Marxist philosopher György Lukács.

© Keystone—Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Pál, Count Teleki

Pál, Count Teleki

Pál, Count Teleki, 1921.

National Photo Company Collection/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (Digital File Number: LC-DIG-npcc-04975)

István, Count Bethlen

István, Count Bethlen

István, Count Bethlen, 1930.

German Federal Archive (Bundesarchiv), Bild 102-10737; photograph, o.Ang.

Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp

Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp

A group of Hungarian Jews arriving at the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp in German-occupied...

Courtesy of Yad Vashem/United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, www.ushmm.org

Mátyás Rákosi

Mátyás Rákosi

Mátyás Rákosi, detail of an oil painting by Joseph M. Csaki, 1951; in the Museum...

Courtesy of the Legujabbkori Történeti Múzeum, Budapest

A large crowd in Budapest surrounds a toppled statue base during the 1956 Hungarian uprising, with a man holding a rifle and another holding a flag standing atop the statue.

Hungarian Revolution

A crowd gathering around a toppled statue in Budapest during the Hungarian Revolution,...

Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Destroyed tanks and scattered rubble fill a city street as three men in coats and hats observe the aftermath during the Hungarian Revolution in Budapest, 1956.

Hungarian Revolution

Destroyed tanks and rubble in the street during the Hungarian Revolution, Hungary,...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

János Kádár

János Kádár

János Kádár, 1956.

© Keystone-France—Gamma-Keystone/Getty Images

Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban in 2011, wearing a dark suit, white shirt, and dark tie, standing in front of a partially visible flag.

Viktor Orbán

Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán governed with strong anti-immigration policies,...

Paulo Filgueiras/UN Photo

Hungary in 1360

Hungary in 1360

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

World map highlighting NATO member countries in dark blue, Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council countries in light blue, NATO's Mediterranean Dialogue partners in purple, Istanbul Cooperation Initiative partners in pink, and global partners in teal. Brussels, Belgium, is marked as NATO headquarters. A timeline below the map shows the years each member joined NATO from 1949 to 2024.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization: members and partners

Map and timeline of the member countries and partner countries of the North Atlantic...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc./Kenny Chmielewski