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Wine: As Hugh Johnson says in ''The History of Wine'', the territory of Hungary is ideal for wine-making and the country can be divided to six wine regions: North-Transdanubia, Lake Balaton, South-Pannónia, Duna-region or Alföld, Upper-Hungary and Tokaj-Hegyalja. The Romans brought vines to Pannonia, and by the 5th century AD, there are records of extensive vineyards in what is now Hungary. The Hungarians brought their wine-making knowledge from the East. According to Ibn Rustah, the Hungarian tribes were familiar with wine-making long time before the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin. |
Hungarian wine regions offer a great variety of styles: the main products of the country are elegant and full-bodied dry whites with good acidity, although complex sweet whites (Tokaj), elegant (Eger) and full-bodied robust reds (Villány and Szekszárd). The main varieties are: Olaszrizling, Hárslevelű, Furmint, Pinot gris or Szürkebarát, Chardonnay (whites), Kékfrankos (or Blaufrankisch in German), Kadarka, Portugieser, Zweigelt, Cabernet sauvignon, Cabernet franc and Merlot. The most famous wines from Hungary are Tokaji Aszú and Egri Bikavér. Tokaji, meaning "of Tokaj", or "from Tokaj" in Hungarian, is used to label wines from the wine region of Tokaj-Hegyalja. Tokaji wine has received accolades from numerous great writers and composers including Beethoven, Liszt, Schubert and Goethe; Joseph Haydn's favourite wine was a Tokaji. Louis XV and Frederick the Great tried to outdo one another when they entertained guests with Tokaji. Napoleon III, the last Emperor of France, ordered 30–40 barrels of Tokaji at the French Royal Court every year. Gustav III, King of Sweden, loved Tokaji. In Russia, customers included Peter the Great and Empress Elizabeth, while Catherine the Great actually established a Russian garrison in the town of Tokaj with the aim of assuring regular wine deliveries to St. Petersburg. |
For over 150 years, a blend of forty Hungarian herbs has been used to create the liqueur Unicum. Unicum is a bitter, dark-coloured liqueur that can be drunk as an apéritif or after a meal, thus helping the digestion. |
=== Recreation === |
Lake Hévíz, the largest thermal lake in Europe |
Hungary is a land of thermal water. A passion for spa culture and Hungarian history have been connected from the very beginning. Hungarian spas feature Roman, Greek, Turkish, and northern country architectural elements. |
Because of an advantageous geographical location, good quality thermal water can be found in great quantities on over 80% of Hungary's territory. Approximately 1,500 thermal springs can be found in Hungary (more than 100 just in the Capital area). There are approximately 450 public baths in Hungary. |
The Romans heralded the first age of spas in Hungary. The remains of their bath complexes are still to be seen in Óbuda. Spa culture was revived during the Turkish Invasion and the thermal springs of Buda were used for the construction of a number of bathhouses, some of which such as (Király Baths, Rudas Baths) are still functioning. |
In the 19th century, the advancement in deep drilling and medical science provided the springboard for a further leap in bathing culture. Grand spas such as Gellért Baths, Lukács Baths, Margaret Island, and Széchenyi Medicinal Bath are a reflection of this resurgence in popularity. The Széchenyi Thermal Bath is the largest spa complex in Europe and it was the first thermal bath built in the Pest side of Budapest. This building is a noted example of modern Renaissance style. Located on the Buda side of Budapest, the Gellért spa is the most famous and luxurious thermal complex of the capital city. |
=== Folk art === |
Hungarians dancing csárdás in traditional garments / folk costumes |
Ugrós (Jumping dances) are old-style dances dating back to the Middle Ages. |
Solo or couple dances accompanied by old-style music, shepherd and other solo man's dances from Transylvania, and marching dances along with remnants of medieval weapon dances belong in this group. |
Karikázó is a circle dance performed by women only accompanied by the singing of folk songs. |
Csárdás are new style dances developed in the 18–19th centuries. Csárdás is the Hungarian name for the national dances, with Hungarian embroidered costumes and energetic music. From the men's intricate boot slapping dances to the ancient women's circle dances, Csárdás demonstrates the infectious exuberance of the Hungarian folk dancing still celebrated in the villages. |
Verbunkos is a solo man's dance evolved from the recruiting performances of the Austro-Hungarian army. |
The Legényes is a men's solo dance done by the ethnic Hungarian people living in the Kalotaszeg region of Transylvania. Although usually danced by young men, it can be also danced by older men. The dance is generally performed freestyle by one dancer at a time in front of a band. Women participate in the dance by standing in lines to the side and singing or shouting verses while the men dance. Each man performs a number of points (dance phrases), typically four to eight without repetition. Each point consists of four parts, each lasting four counts. The first part is usually the same for everyone (there are only a few variations). |
It was in the beginning of the 18th-century that the present style of Hungarian folk art took shape, incorporating both Renaissance and Baroque elements, depending on the area, as well as Persian Sassanide influences. Flowers and leaves, sometimes a bird or a spiral ornament, are the principal decorative themes. The most frequent ornament is a flower with a centrepiece resembling the eye of a peacock's feather. |
Nearly all the manifestations of folk art practiced elsewhere in Europe also flourished among the Magyar peasantry at one time or another, their ceramics and textile being the most highly developed of all. |
The finest achievements in their textile arts are the embroideries which vary from region to region. Those of Kalotaszeg in Transylvania are charming products of Oriental design, sewn chiefly in a single colour – red, blue, or black. Soft in line, the embroideries are applied on altar cloths, pillowcases, and sheets. |
In Hungary proper, Sárköz in Transdanubia and the Matyóföld in the Great Hungarian Plain produce the finest embroideries. In the Sárköz region the women's caps show black and white designs as delicate as lace and give evidence of the people's wonderfully subtle artistic feeling. The embroidery motifs applied to women's wear have also been transposed to tablecloths and runners suitable for modern use as wall decorations. |
These vessels, made of black clay, reflect more than three hundred years of traditional Transdanubian folk patterns and shapes. No two are precisely alike, since all work is done by hand, including both the shaping and the decorating. The imprints are made by the thumb or a finger of the ceramist who makes the piece. |
=== Porcelain === |
Founded in 1826, Herend Porcelain is one of the world's largest ceramic factories, specialising in luxury hand painted and gilded porcelain. In the mid-19th century, it was purveyor to the Habsburg Dynasty and aristocratic customers throughout Europe. Many of its classic patterns are still in production. After the fall of communism in Hungary, the factory was privatised and is now 75% owned by its management and workers, exporting to over 60 countries of the world. |
Zsolnay Porcelain Manufacture is a Hungarian manufacturer of porcelain, pottery, ceramics, tiles and stoneware. The company introduced the eosin glazing process and pyrogranite ceramics. |
The Zsolnay factory was established by Miklós Zsolnay in Pécs, Hungary, to produce stoneware and ceramics in 1853. In 1863, his son, Vilmos Zsolnay (1828–1900) joined the company and became its manager and director after several years. He led the factory to worldwide recognition by demonstrating its innovative products at world fairs and international exhibitions, including the 1873 World Fair in Vienna, then at the 1878 World Fair in Paris, where Zsolnay received a Grand Prix. |
=== Sport === |
Hungary men's national water polo team is considered among the best in the world, holding the world record for Olympic golds and overall medals |
Hungarian athletes have been successful contenders in the Olympic Games, only ten countries have won more Olympic medals than Hungary, with a total of 498 medals ranking eighth in an all-time Olympic Games medal count. Hungary has the third-highest number of Olympic medals per capita and second-highest number of gold medals per capita in the world. Hungary has historically excelled in Olympic water sports. In water polo the Hungarian team is the leading medal winner by a significant margin and in swimming Hungarian men are fourth most successful overall, while the women are eighth-most successful overall. They have also seen success in canoeing and kayaking they are the third most successful overall. |
Groupama Arena, Ferencvárosi TC's UEFA category four stadium |
Hungary won its first gold medal in Winter Olympics in 2018 in mens short track speed skating with a team of four: Csaba Burján, Sándor Liu, Shaoang Liu, Viktor Knoch. |
In 2015, the Assembly of the Hungarian Olympic Committee and the Assembly of Budapest decided to bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics but eventually awarded to Paris. Budapest has also lost several bids to host the games, in 1916, 1920, 1936, 1944, and 1960 to Berlin, Antwerp, London, and Rome, respectively. |
Hungary hosted many global sport event in the past, among others the 1997 World Amateur Boxing Championships, 2000 World Fencing Championships, 2001 World Allround Speed Skating Championships, 2008 World Interuniversity Games, 2008 World Modern Pentathlon Championships, 2010 ITU World Championship Series, 2011 IIHF World Championship, 2013 World Fencing Championships, 2013 World Wrestling Championships, 2014 World Masters Athletics Championships, 2017 World Aquatics Championships and 2017 World Judo Championships, only in the last two decade. Besides these, Hungary was the home of many European-level tournaments, like 2006 European Aquatics Championships, 2010 European Aquatics Championships, 2013 European Judo Championships, 2013 European Karate Championships, 2017 European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championship and will be the host of 4 matches in the UEFA Euro 2020, which will be held in the 67,889-seat new multi-purpose Puskás Ferenc Stadium. |
The Hungarian Grand Prix in Formula One has been held at the Hungaroring just outside Budapest, which circuit has FIA Grade 1 license. Since 1986, the race has been a round of the FIA Formula One World Championship. At the 2013 Hungarian Grand Prix, it was confirmed that Hungary will continue to host a Formula 1 race until 2021. The track was completely resurfaced for the first time in early 2016, and it was announced the Grand Prix's deal was extended for a further five years, until 2026. |
Chess is also a popular and successful sport in Hungary, the Hungarian players are the 10th most powerful overall on the ranking of World Chess Federation. There are about 54 Grandmasters and 118 International Masters in Hungary, which is more than in France or United Kingdom. World top junior player is the Hungarian Richárd Rapport currently on the FIDE World Rankings, while Judit Polgár generally considered the strongest female chess player of all time. Some of the world's best sabre athletes have historically also hailed from Hungary, and in 2009, the Hungary men's national ice hockey team qualified for their first IIHF World Championship, in 2015, they qualified for their second World Championship in the top division. |
==== Football ==== |
Ferenc Puskás, the best goalscorer of the 20th century, FIFA Puskás Award named after him |
Hungary has won three Olympic football titles, finished runners-up in the 1938 and 1954 FIFA World Cups, and third in Euro 1964. Hungary revolutionised the sport in the 1950s, laying the tactical fundamentals of total football and dominating international football with the ''Aranycsapat'' ("Golden Team"), which included Ferenc Puskás, top goalscorer of the 20th century, to whom FIFA dedicated its newest award, the Puskás Award. The side of that era has the second all-time highest Football Elo Ranking in the world, with 2166, and one of the longest undefeated runs in football history, remaining unbeaten in 31 games spanning more than four years. |
The post-golden age decades saw a gradually weakening Hungary, though recently there is renewal in all aspects. The Hungarian Children's Football Federation was founded in 2008, as youth development thrives. For the first time in Hungarian football's history, they hosted the 2010 UEFA Futsal Championship in Budapest and Debrecen, the first time the MLSZ staged a UEFA finals tournament. Also, the national teams have produced some surprise successes such as beating Euro 2004 winner Greece 3–2 and 2006 FIFA World Cup winner Italy 3–1. During UEFA Euro 2016 Hungary won Group F and were eventually defeated in the round of 16. |
== See also == |
* Outline of Hungary |
* Index of Hungary-related articles |
== Notes == |
== References == |
== Further reading == |
* Kontler, László: ''Millennium in Central Europe: A History of Hungary'', Atlantisz Könyvkiadó, Budapest, 1999 (East-European Non-Fiction), |
== External links == |
; Government |
* Official site of the Hungarian Government |
* Official site of the Hungarian Prime Minister |
* Official site of the President of Hungary |
* Official Hungarian Tourism website |
; General information |
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