Hungary  

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Portrait of Elizabeth Báthory, her castle was in Čachtice, now Slovakia
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Portrait of Elizabeth Báthory, her castle was in Čachtice, now Slovakia

"We ate paprika-seasoned food to the clangour of the usual gipsy band that never saw the Hungarian Putzta. It was at one of the tinsel Bohemias so plentifully scattered along the avenue. I was better satisfied than earlier in the evening, for I had proved that the old East Side was fabulous. I said as much, and was called ungrateful."

--New Cosmopolis (1915) by James Huneker


"To the left, on a rock nearer the railway, are the remains of the Cachticz, Hungar. Csejthe, once the residence of the infamous Elizabeth Báthory.

The network of railways with which Hungary is now covered renders a visit to this highly-favoured country almost as easy and convenient as any tour of similar extent in Central Europe. The unadventurous traveller may therefore enter on the undertaking without misgiving, and will find his time well and pleasantly spent.

Hungary is one of the countries of Europe with which nature has dealt most bountifully. The N. portion , intersected by the Carpathian Mts., possesses mineral treasures of every kind in abundance, from rock-salt to precious stones, as well as an inexhaustible supply of timber."

--Southern Germany and Austria, Including Hungary and Transylvania (1883)


"We find this superb style penetrating far into Hungary and Siebenbürgen; and only the mountain-line of the Transylvanian Alps has established a barrier between the Romanesque and the Byzantine art. The masterpiece of Hungarian architecture is the Church of St. Jak."--History of Art (c. 1860) by Wilhelm Lübke

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The Republic of Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia. Its capital is Budapest.

Central to this wiki are the photographers André Kertész, Brassaï, supposed serial killer Elizabeth Báthory, moral crusader Max Nordau, the musician Gábor Szabó, the filmmaker György Pálfi, the architect Antti Lovag and the artists László Moholy-Nagy and Mihály Zichy.

Contents

Culture

The culture of Hungary is rich and varied, from the twin cities of Buda and Pest on the Danube, to the Great Plain bordering Ukraine. Today's Hungary was formerly (until 1918) part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Hungary has great folk traditions, producing embroideries, pottery, decorated buildings, and carvings. Hungarian music ranges from the rhapsodies of Franz Liszt to Roma and folk music.

Then there are the Hungarian Dances.

Literature

Hungary has a great literature, with many poets and writers, although not many are well known abroad due to the limited prevalence of the Hungarian language as a Finno-Ugric language. Some noted authors include Sándor Márai and Imre Kertész, who have been gaining acclaim in recent decades.


While virtually unknown in the Anglosphere for centuries, Hungary's literature gained renown by the end of the 20th century thanks to a new wave of internationally accessible writers like Antal Szerb, Sándor Márai, Imre Kertész and Magda Szabó.

See also Frigyes Karinthy, Ferenc Molnár and Christa Winsloe.

Philosophy

Cuisine

Hungarian cuisine includes many pork and beef dishes, particularly goulash (a beef soup – gulya means a herd of cows, gulyás is like 'cowboy'), or a stew known in Hungarian as pörkölt. Dishes are often flavoured with paprika.

Music

The music of Hungary consists mainly of traditional Hungarian folk music and music by prominent composers such as Franz Liszt, Bartók and Rózsa.

Traditional Hungarian music tends to have a strong dactylic rhythm, as in the Hungarian language the first syllable of each word is invariably stressed. Hungary also has a number of internationally renowned composers of contemporary classical music, including György Ligeti.

In jazz there is Gábor Szabó.

Photography

Cinema

Hungary has had a notable cinema industry since the beginning of the 20th century, including Hungarians who affected the world of motion pictures both within and beyond the country's borders.

The former could be characterized by directors István Szabó, Béla Tarr, or Miklós Jancsó; the latter by William Fox and Adolph Zukor, the founders of Fox Studios and Paramount Pictures respectively, or Alexander Korda, who played a leading role in the early period of British cinema. Examples of successful Hungarian films include Merry-go-round, Mephisto, Werckmeister Harmonies and Kontroll.

Of note is the actor Bela Lugosi and the cinematographer László Kovács.

In 2012, Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen by György Pálfi caught international attention.

Famous for being famous

Hungarian-Americans

Notable Hungarian-Americans include Vilmos Zsigmond, King Vidor, Michael Curtiz, Eugene Fodor and Karoly Grosz.

Art

Social sciences

Architecture

One of the greatest architects of his age was Ödön Lechner, who planned the Museum of Trade Art, The Hungarian Geological Institute, the town hall of Kecskemét, and the Saint Ladislaus Church at Kőbánya, Budapest. Sometimes he is called the Hungarian Gaudí.

Also of note was Antti Lovag.

See also




Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Hungary" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

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