CultureTrivia

Top Ten Curious Facts About Hungary

Every 20th August, Hungary celebrates State Foundation Day, a date that commemorates the death of the country’s first Christian king, Saint Stephen, in 1038. Almost a full millennium after the king’s death, Hungary ranks 20th worldwide for quality of life and it enjoys a very high standard of living as a Member State of the European Union. Join in the celebrations by learning ten interesting facts about one of the oldest countries in Europe!

St Stephen's modern sculpture in Budapest
St Stephen’s modern sculpture in Budapest

1 – In 2010, Hungary became the first country in the world to draft its current Constitution on an iPad.

2 – From August 1945 to July 1946, Hungary went through the worst hyperinflation episode in global history. The month of July 1946 in particular holds the record for the most extreme monthly inflation rate ever – 41,900,000,000,000,000% (41.9 quadrillion percent), causing prices to double every 15 hours.

3 – It’s considered rude to clink your beer glasses. According to the stories, when the 1848 revolution against the Habsburgs was defeated and thirteen Hungarian generals were executed, the Austrians would clink their beer glasses after each execution. As a result, Hungarians vowed not to cheer with beer for 150 years – and while the time has passed, the custom remains.

4 – The cross on top of the Holy Crown of Hungary was accidentally knocked crooked in the 17th century when the chest it was stored in was hastily closed. It was never repaired, and the crown has been displayed and depicted since then with its crooked cross.

Left to right: Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin
Left to right: Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin

5 – In 1969, the Apollo 11 astronauts returning from their successful mission to the Moon embarked on a 37-day tour of the world, meeting approximately 100 million people. However, Hungary refused to allow the trio in the country, almost causing a diplomatic incident with the US. The reason? The US Government still had not returned the Crown of St. Stephen, which it had been safekeeping during World War II. Hungarians had to wait until 1978 to have their crown returned to them.

6 – Hungary holds the credit of having one the world’s highest Value Added Tax (VAT) in the world, equal to 27%.

7 – Parents are subject to strict laws when it comes to naming their children. They have to pick from a list of pre-approved names – any deviations must be submitted to and accepted by the Research Institute for Linguistics of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

Budapest Children's Railway
Budapest Children’s Railway

8 – It has an 11km stretch of railway which is operated entirely by children aged 10-14 (with the exception of train drivers and maintenance workers). The Gyermekvasút – or Children’s Railway – started operating in 1948 following similar initiatives in other Communist countries. To this day, it is the longest Children’s Railway in the world.

9 – Hungary is the motherland of some very famous inventors. Did you know that the Rubik cube was invented by a Hungarian? The country can also be credited for the ballpoint pen, the first thermographic camera, plasma displays and holography.

10 – It has found a smart solution to dispose of old banknotes which have been recalled. The country’s central bank converts all the bills which are unusable by the public into compact bricks of paper. Every year, the bank collects around forty to fifty metric tons of bank notes that are no longer to be used for payment, according to the bank’s communications department. These are then offered out of charity to non-profit organizations or foundations that use them for heating in the cold season.

Did you enjoy learning more about Hungary? Why not discover some more fun facts on neighboring Serbia or on Hungary’s fellow Uralic country Finland?

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