| AMBASSADOR'S WORDS |
relations. On 12 November 2020, the two longstanding nations Hungary and the Kingdom of Denmark will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the establishment of our diplomatic relations.
The achievement of producing a special supplement dedicated specifically to exploring and promoting a nation with more than a 1,000 years of existence, whilst emphasising its uniqueness at the heart of Europe, is not just the result of a dignifying endeavour as the Ambassador of my home country, Hungary, but a meaningful opportunity to inform how this European member state, despite its size, is rightly proud today. Above all that, this publication takes on more. With its release date timed for November, the backbone of this edition marks a singular milestone in Danish-Hungarian bilateral
The last hundred years have certainly defined the make-up of Europe, just as they have shaped the development of Danish-Hungarian relations. Nonetheless, the depth and substance of such ties undoubtedly progressed and strengthened into a dynamic and prosperous collaboration by the means of our common efforts. Bridging the geographical distance between the two countries is facilitated not only by daily flights between Copenhagen, Billund and Budapest, but also by the diverse bonds that tie the two European countries together. As the Danish corporate presence increases in Hungary, so too does Hungarian community in Denmark, accelerating cooperation in areas such as trade, education, literature, R&D and sport. I am confident that Hungarians living in Denmark contribute as actively to the prosperity of the Kingdom – may it be in the business sector, academia, art or the legislative branch – as the more than 150 Danish companies present in Hungary, who help to elevate Hungarian economic growth. Moreover, due to such an investment climate,
This year, we are celebrating 100 years of diplomatic relations between Denmark and Hungary. There are good reasons to celebrate: our two countries have never been more interlinked. Today, Hungary and Denmark are NATO allies and partners in the European Union. Commercial ties between Hungary and Denmark have prospered since Hungary joined the EU. Moreover, each year thousands of Danish tourists enjoy the magnificent cultural, geographical and historical heritage of Hungary. This 100-year path has not been straight. Its curves and bends reflect the shared and often turbulent history of our continent beginning with the aftermath of World War I. Following World War II, Hungary faced a dark period in its history on the other side of the Iron Curtain. During the Soviet occupation, the Hungarian people proved to the rest of the world their strong aspiration for freedom. Their heroic revolution in 1956 was a defining moment in the Cold War that helped shape the West’s perception of the Soviet Bloc. In 1989, Hungary again showed its resolve to freedom when it became
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Danish companies were quick to financially back a V4 initiative, the launch of a threeyear study course at Aarhus University, where students can now follow courses on CentralEuropean studies. Through this present special edition on Hungary, I hope that everyone will gain a greater awareness of the cultural richness, magnificent sights and diverse opportunities related to this Central European country, which is an outstanding destination for people-topeople contact, and opportunity in the areas of tourism, culture, trade and investment. Browsing through the following pages will yield colourful and comprehensive insights. The Embassy of Hungary in Copenhagen is celebrating the centenary through a series of events in November. May this outstanding edition contribute and stand for a condign launch of our remembrance and pay tribute to those who have been, and are, constantly thriving to foster bilateral relations between Hungary and the Kingdom of Denmark. Kristóf Altusz Ambassador of Hungary to the Kingdom of Denmark
the very first country to tear down the Iron Curtain along its border with Austria. During the difficult years of the 1950s, Denmark welcomed many Hungarian refugees. The ease with which they became valued members of Danish society was a pre-cursor to the close bonds established when Hungary acceded to the European Union in 2004, following the enlargement agreement under the Danish EU Presidency two years earlier. And here we are today: close allies and EU partners, interlinked politically and economically and bound by the same values, obligations and principles that underpin the union. Like Denmark, Hungary has benefited greatly from its membership of the European Union. Hungary’s economic growth over the last 20 years has been spectacular. The Hungarian people’s life expectancy and economic opportunities have increased significantly. May the next 100 years bring us even further down this path of peace and prosperity as committed members of the EU family; and may they bring our two countries even closer together. Carsten Grønbech-Jensen State Secretary for European Affairs and the Arctic Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark
WHY 15? IT’S 9 + 6! Fifteen things that make Hungary stand out from other countries By Ben Hamilton
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When quizzers hear Hungary and the 1970s in the same sentence, they know what’s coming: something about Ernő Rubik’s 1974 invention being called the ‘Magic Cube’ until marketers changed the name ahead of its big push to rapid worldwide popularity in 1980. But did you know the inventor was the first to solve it. After accidentally scrambling it ... it took him a month to complete! Up until that point, László Bíró, a journalist who became intrigued with how newspaper ink dried so quickly and invented the first commercially successful ballpoint pen, was his country’s most famous inventor, although Béla Barényi, who conceptualised the design of the Volkswagen Beetle six years earlier in 1925, has a strong claim. Oszkár Asboth, meanwhile, is often credited with inventing the helicopter, and János Neumann with being the grandfather of digital computing. In more recent times, Hungarians have been responsible for the stringbike and Prezi.
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Few sides can compete with Aranycsapat’s claim to be the most talented to never win the World Cup. There’s the Dutch side of the 1970s and Brazil’s Socrates-Zico era in the 1980s, but neither of these sides were 2-0 up inside eight minutes of a World Cup final against a team they’d thrashed 8-3 in the group stage. Unbeaten in five years – a run that included two thrashings of England – forwards Ferenc Puskás and Sándor Kocsis were the world’s best player and tournament’s leading scorer, but it was not enough for the the Magnificent Magyars in Berne in 1954.
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Hungary is landlocked, but don’t tell the locals that. Back in the days of the empire, it had several shorelines, but today it makes do with the 592 sq km Lake Balaton, which after Budapest is the country’s biggest draw for tourists. Don’t be surprised if you hear it being referred to as ‘The Sea’. Look out for the Blue Ribbon Race, annually held since 1934, which is Europe’s most prestigious and oldest existing round-lake competition. With enough freshwater to satisfy the needs of 200 million
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people, Hungary is swimming in the stuff, with numerous rivers, thermals and spas galore. It’s no surprise, perhaps, to note that a pioneer in soda water was Hungarian inventor Ányos Jedlik.
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“After studying the Hungarian language for years, I can confidently conclude that had Hungarian been my mother tongue, it would have been more precious,” commented George Bernhard Shaw. “Simply because through this extraordinary, ancient and powerful language it is possible to precisely describe the tiniest differences and the most secretive tremors of emotions." With 42 letters, it puts most other European alphabets to shame, with a number befitting an Asian equivalent. And just like in the east, they prefer to write people’s names and dates back to front.
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By that token, Weisz Erik was born 1874-3-24 in Budapest, but from 1890, to US audiences at least, he was strictly known as Harry Houdini, an illusionist known for his miraculous escapes (the museum at Buda Castle is well worth a visit). Rivalling him in
the fame stakes, Joseph Pulitzer was like Houdini a Hungarian-Jewish emigre to the US, but his true adversary was William Randolph Hearst. The famous journalism prize bearing his name was established in 1917, six years after his death. Other notable emigres to the US include General Julius H Stahel-Számwald, who fought for the Union in the Civil War, Peter Gogolak, who revolutionised gridiron field-goals with his European style of kicking, Charles Simonyi, the creative force behind Microsoft Word and Excel, film directors Michael Curtiz (Casablanca) and George Cukor (My Fair Lady), film studio founders Adolph Zukor (Paramount) and William Fox, and Andy Vajna, who produced multiple Stallone and Schwarzenegger films! Staying in Hollywood, the actors Tony Curtis, Bela Lugosi (the original Dracula), Peter Lorre and the Gabor sisters were all ethnically Hungarian, while Drew Barrymore, Adrien Brody, Jamie Lee Curtis (duh) and Goldie Hawn all have at least one Hungarian parent. Finally, nine-time Grand Slam-winning tennis player Monica Seles might have been Yugoslavian by nationality, but she was ethnically Hungarian.
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Only Finland has a better per capita Olympic medal success rate than Hungary, and only marginally so – its hosting of the games in 1952 gave it an obvious advantage. In fact, with 491 medals in total placing its eighth on the all-time table, Hungary is the most successful Olympic nation never to have hosted the summer games. Brilliant at fencing, swimming and canoeing, it is the all-time leader in the pentathlon and waterpolo.
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The popularity of ‘Teqball’, a cross between football and table tennis played on a curved table, is really taking off - to the extent that last year there was even a world cup. Not bad for a sport invented in Hungary in 2012.
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Disgracefully, the Kennedy’s Bar Quiz dared to suggest that Hungary’s favourite son, the composer and pianist Franz Liszt, was Austrian. While it’s true he was born in modern-day Austria, and barely spoke a word of Hungarian, his famous words upon his return to his homeland, after a twodecade exile conquering the halls of Europe, says it all:“Je suis Hongrois”. Tommy Ramone’s Hungarian nationality is undisputed, even if it might surprise those that presumed the New York punks were a family band. The
original drummer’s real name was Tamás Erdélyi. And did you know that Elvis Presley performed ‘Peace in the Valley’ on The Ed Sullivan Show in honour of the 1956 revolution, urging viewers to donate to Hungarian relief efforts? Well, Hungary apparently did, as it made him an honorary citizen … albeit in 2011.
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In Hungary the number 96 is considered lucky, or sacred, or at least significant enough to draw our attention to, even if most of the connections sound like a stretch and by design. For example, given that the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin took place in 896, it kind of stood to reason it would commemorate its thousandth year as a kingdom. Fortunately the construction of the Budapest Metro – which opened in 1896 as the first subway line of Continental Europe – went smoother than the Copenhagen City Ring. The number also pops up as the limit for buildings in Budapest (metres) and the number of seconds the national anthem should be sung in. In 1996 … nothing of note happened.
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Julia Szendrey may have been the spouse of one the greatest Hungarian poets, Sándor Petőfi, but she also had a distinguished career of her own. She was the very first writer to translate the famous Hans Christian Andersen fairy-tales into Hungarian – a cultural bond that is celebrated by a statue in Charlottenlund.
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Tokaj in northeastern Hungary became the world’s first official wine region thanks to King Karoly’s 1737 decree, thus predating the likes of Bordeaux. In fact, French monarch Louis XIV observed the following about the ‘Tokaji Aszu’: “Wine of Kings, King of Wines”. These days, the region is shared with southeastern Slovakia. But wine isn’t the national drink; it’s either the fruit brandy ‘pálinka’ -“in small amounts a medicine, in large amounts a remedy” – or fekete leves, a neat coffee the originals called black soup when it was introduced by the Turks.
most Hungarians concur it should be a soup, not a stew. It suited shepherds back then, as all they had to do is add water to the gut of a sheep and … hey presto … they had the world’s first cup-a-soup. Ingredients wise, it’s a free-for-all with most varieties of meat and veg permitted, although they’re more likely to export their goose liver – an industry in which they’re only out-performed by France worldwide.
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It’s no exaggeration to say that Hungarian tends to douse most of their dishes in paprika, a peppery spice of which there are 40 varieties grown in Hungary alone. The average citizen consumes half a kilo of it a year, and there are several museums entirely dedicated to it.
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For leisure, Hungarians enjoy playing chess in a spa, so don’t be surprised if you see semi-naked men stroking their bishops whilst watching their pawn. Nevertheless, Hungary’s most celebrated star was a woman. In 1991, Judit Polgár acquired the title of grandmaster aged just 15 and is widely considered the best female player of all time. After the spa, hit one of the ruin bars, where locals rub up against bullet-market walls in bombed-out ruins to drink more pálinkas than they’ll care to remember.
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It’s rude to clink glasses – a tradition dating back to a failed revolution in 1848 when the Austrians saluted the executions of 13 Hungarian generals in similar fashion.
Goulash is known the world over, but rarely made to the specifications of the recipe for gulyás (named after the shepherds who ate it a thousand years ago), as HUNGARY SUPPLEMENT 2020
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| HISTORY |
TAK TO THE TROOPER Over 100 years of diplomatic relations between Denmark and Hungary, there has been a lot to give thanks to. We fire up the Delorean to take you on a journey through a century full of twists and turns By Soma Biró 895: The Conquest – arriving from the East, the Hungarian tribes conquer the Carpathian Basin under Arpad’s leadership. 1001: The coronation of Stephen and the foundation of the Hungarian State. 1222: King Andrew II issues the Golden Bull of 1222, the first written Hungarian Constitution. 1241–1242: The Mongols invade the country. The reconstruction is Béla IV's achievement. 1342–1382: Under the reign of Charles' son, Louis I, the medieval state of Hungary attains its largest size. Louis the Great secures the throne of Naples and becomes king of Poland in 1370. 1456: János Hunyadi successfully defends Nándorfehérvár, today's Belgrade, and stops Turkish attacks for half a century. 1458–1490: During Mátyás (Matthias) Hunyadi's reign Hungary becomes an important European power. The Black Army conquers part of Bohemia and takes Vienna.
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You’ve probably eaten goulasch before (it’s gulyás, actually) and seen Denmark beaten by Hungary in a handball game, or maybe your doctor is Hungarian. Or, perhaps you’ve been to Budapest to get your teeth done, because a return trip and a Hungarian dentist’s bill is still cheaper than extracting that wisdom tooth in Korsør. Since Hungary established diplomatic relations with Denmark in November 1920, the road of this past century has been long and winding, with the two nations meeting each other at several, often unexpected points in history. Buckle your seatbelt, because this won’t be a simple cruise around the Balaton. We’re going back in time and our first destination is 1944.
LAST-MINUTE SOLDIERS In 1944 the world was in chaos as the Second World War rumbled towards its conclusion. Hungary was on the side of the Axis powers and by the end of the year the Soviets had already occupied much of the country. But, since the Germans weren’t giving up just yet, they decided to activate about 12,000 fresh Hungarian soldiers to keep the country out of Russian hands. First, they needed to be trained though. However, due to the increasing Russian presence, this could not be done in Hungary. Thus it came to be that they were transported to a small country conquered by the Germans about five years earlier: Denmark. The peaceful and prosperous atmosphere of this small Nordic nation
was a surprise for the Hungarians, who came from a universe crushed by two consecutive world wars. István Kiss, one of the young Hungarian soldiers, told Hungarian TV channel M1 decades later: “Soon after we arrived, one of the boys left and then suddenly returned with a cake in his hands. We all reached out, trying to scoop a piece of it. We quickly devoured the entire thing. This is how we met Denmark. We basically didn’t know cakes existed at that point. Sometimes we barely had food to eat where we came from.” Houses were intact, the stores were full of goods and the people looked both healthy and wealthy.
CHANGE OF PLANS But the plan to train these men in Denmark – and send them to the front later – never materialised. In the end, Germany opted to use the Hungarians as replacement for the more experienced German troops deployed to the Russian and Western fronts. So they remained in Denmark with the job description of fighting the Danish Resistance movement. This sometimes included guarding railways and bridges, and other times forced labour. When it came to performing their anti-Resistance tasks, the Hungarians weren’t exactly zealous though. British planes would fly over Denmark at night and supply the Resistance with ammunition and weapons. When this was detected, Hungarian soldiers were supposed to capture the Allied soldiers and confiscate their packages. “The way
we sometimes did that is that we didn’t do it,” Kiss recalled to M1.
EASTER BREAK
their support, the Hungarians wanted the Danes to guarantee the protection of their wives and children once the Germans capitulated, as well as their safe return to Hungary.
But let’s hit the breaks for a moment here. It’s 1945 and Easter is fast approaching. The leader of the Hungarian battalion has asked the parish priest to deliver an Easter service for the Hungarian soldiers. The Danish priest obliged. When the day came, he read a Martin Luther sermon in German while the battalion captain translated for his soldiers.
The deal also implied that the Hungarians should be better treated than the Germans, as they were allies of the movement and, by extension, allies of England and the US. However, once the war was over, the Danes couldn’t live up to this deal as the Brits had complete control over their new-found prisoners-of-war.
This was a turning point in relations between the Danes and the Hungarians. Seeing the emotional reactions of the Hungarians, a deep sympathy developed among the Danes as they realised these soldiers were basically prisoners-of-war. This revelation laid the foundation for the collaboration that was to come between the Danish Resistance and the Hungarian soldiers.
NOT GONNA TAKE IT
THE HALIFAX Not long after the Easter service, a British plane – a Handley Page Halifax four-engined heavy bomber – was shot down by the Germans and forced to perform an emergency landing on Ringkøbing Fjord. Hungarian soldiers were on patrol that night. Members of the Danish Resistance showed up to save the six Allied men onboard – from Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The Danes also intended to pump out the fuel from the plane so that their Allies could make good use of it later. Instead of confiscating the fuel from their official adversaries, the Hungarians turned a blind eye. Thus, the Danes were able to save the soldiers and their fuel whilst hiding them from the Germans. They also pumped water back into the tank so that later, when the German superiors arrived, the illusion of pumping out fuel would remain intact. This was 26 April 1945.
THE DEAL Indeed, the Hungarian soldiers weren’t eager to further the German cause, and – thinking also about the future that awaited them on the other side of the war – they aided the Danes instead of hindering them. One Hungarian battalion in Northern Zealand was in collaboration with the highest level of the Danish Resistance. So much so that they even struck a deal: in exchange for
On one occasion the Germans attempted to send a Hungarian unit to the front in Berlin. But things didn’t go as planned: the Hungarians broke out of the barracks at Rosenborg Castle and began to run. The Germans began to shoot. The Hungarian soldiers hoped to hide among the Danes and disappear in the homes and hidden corners of Copenhagen. Seven Danes died in the shooting, but it remains a mystery how many Hungarians were shot, as well as the number of those captured. Rumour has it that many were executed by the Germans at Kastrup Fortress.
THE END The Second World War ended for Denmark after it was liberated by British forces on 5 May 1945 (except for Bornholm, which was liberated by the Soviets). When the time came for the Hungarians to leave, the Brits arranged for them to leave a few days after the Germans. This was due to the hostile atmosphere between the two nations and British concerns that they might end up at war with each other. The Hungarians received an honourable goodbye from the Danes: one witness told of a Dane saluting to Hungarian soldiers as they left the country. Some of these soldiers were later transported to British prison camps in Germany before finally making their way back to a Hungary under Soviet rule. Others, like many of the Hungarians stationed in Bornholm, lived the rest of their lives in Soviet captivity. But many visited later or kept correspondence with their Danish friends and acquaintances for years to come.
EXTRA READING For the rest of the story, read Søren Peder Sørensen’s book‘De Ungarske Soldater’and the corresponding (and continually updated) website deungarskesoldater.dk. Sørensen was born in Lønborg, a town close to Ringkøbing Fjord – where the Halifax plane crashed in 1945. His grandfather was the mayor of the parish during the Second World War, but he never mentioned the Hungarians. After his death, however, Sørensen found some documents among his belongings that concerned soldiers. That’s how Sørensen began his research in 1992 — into a topic completely undiscovered at that point.
29 August 1526: The independent Hungarian state falls in the battle of Mohács against the attacking Turkish Empire. One camp of the feudal estates elects János Szapolyai as king, while another camp elects Ferdinand I (a Habsburg). 1604-1606: The fight of Istvan Bocskai for independence ends with the Peace of Vienna. 1683-1699: Turkey is expelled from Hungary with the assistance of the Habsburg emperor. 1722: The Pragmatic Sanction endorses the line of succession through the female line of the Habsburgs. 1825: The Hungarian national assembly conducts its session in Hungarian instead of Latin. March1848: The Revolution coincides with the first printed editions of the '12 Points' and the 'National Song' 14 April 1849: The national assembly proclaims the dethronement of the Habsburgs 13 August 1849: The end of the war of independence. The Hungarian army capitulates to the Austrian emperor and the Russian tzar’s superior forces at Vilagos. 6 October 1849: The martyrs of the War of Independence are executed in Arad, Lajos Battyany in Pest. By way of retaliation, all laws adopted between 1848 and 1849 are invalidated. Only the liberation of serfs remains in force. The constitutional independence of Hungary is abolished, and the Austrian customs and legal system are introduced. 29 May 1867: A compromise with the House of Habsburg occurs and Francis Jospeh I is HUNGARY SUPPLEMENT 2020
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| HISTORY | crowned king of Hungary and the Austro-Hungarian monarchy is established. Dynamic economic development also starts in Hungary whilst political and national tensions are aggravated. 1896: The millennium, the thousandth anniversary of the Magyar conquest, is celebrated with great pomp. 28 June 1914: Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the crown prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, is assassinated. The empire declares war on Serbia. 28 June 1914: World War I breaks out. 1918: Following defeat, the empire falls apart. 4 June 1920: The peace treaty of Trianon is signed, thereby reducing Hungary’s territory by more than two-thirds and its population from 20 to 7.6 million. 1932: PM Gyula Gombos seeks support from Germany and Italy to further Hungary’s overseas ambition. 3 April 1941: Hungary permits the transit of the German army on its way to occupy Yugoslavia, therefore breaching its ‘treaty of eternal friendship’ with its neighbour. PM Pal Teleki commits suicide shortly afterwards. 16 June 1941: Hungary enters World War II and declares war on the Soviet Union. 19 March 1944: Germany occupies Hungary. April 1945: The Soviet Army drives the Germans out of Hungary. Hungary loses approximately one million lives during World War II.
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Hop back in the time machine, and let’s put the pedal to the metal and fast forward a decade to 1956 and the Hungarian Revolution. After years of Soviet control and a communist dictatorship forced upon the country, many Hungarians had had enough. Led by students, Hungarians organised themselves and a protest broke out on October 23. At first, it was peaceful. In the end, however, the Soviet Union wasn’t going to give in to the demands. On November 4, about 200,000 soldiers and 2,500 tanks entered Budapest to clash with the rebels. Though armed, the Hungarian revolutionaries were outnumbered and the Soviets eventually crushed the revolution. Some 2,000 Hungarians were killed, and 20,000 were wounded. By January 1957, all public displays of opposition were eradicated by the Red Army.
COMMUNISM FOIBLES The world was watching and so were the Danes. One of those who took special notice was a man named Aksel Larsen. He wasn’t exactly pleased with the way the Soviets reacted to the Hungarian uprising and he gave a voice to his criticism. Who was he and why does this matter? Well, my timetravelling friend (imagine me stroking my beard and looking into the distance before turning back to you to say) Larsen was none other than the leader of the Communist Party of Denmark (DKP). As a result of his disapproval, he was excluded from the Communist Party in 1958. Then, Larsen set out on an endeavour that has been a significant factor in shaping Danish politics ever since: he founded Socialistisk Folkeparti (SF), which is still one of the 10 parties in the Danish Parliament today, having won 14 mandates in the most recent election – with Pia Olsen Dyrh at its helm. Indeed, many Western Marxists began to distance themselves from the Soviet regime after the Hungarian revolution, which also inspired a debate in Denmark about the relationship between democracy and socialism. According to an SF statement released in 1958, the party took issue with Soviet dictatorship because they believed that socialism was an expansion of democracy, not the opposite.
THE REFUGEES It is estimated that 200,000 Hungarians fled the country after the merciless Soviet response, and approximately 1,400 came to Denmark. They arrived aboard a train named Danicaexpress in the border town of Padborg, where they were greeted
with the Hungarian rhapsody, a welcome speech and some warm tea. As the train went further into Denmark, Danes would greet the heroes of the revolution with food and flowers. The Dansk Flygtningehjælp refugee council was founded in response to this relatively large number of incoming Hungarians. Today, the DRC is Denmark’s largest NGO, aiding refugees in over 30 countries. Only about 800 of those Hungarian refugees stayed in Denmark for the long run. Most of them completed an education and quickly entered the labour market (many within two years of their arrival). Svend Mortensen, who worked at the employment agency in Viborg at the time, told Nyt Viborg Museum that they were very productive – more so than their Danish counterparts, which sometimes led to arguments between the workers. Among those Hungarians was then 14-year-old Károly Németh, who has since become one of the most famous lawyers in Denmark – they call him the legal baseball bat. Don’t worry, I’ll introduce you on page 12.
THE DANISH HERO Naturally, the United Nations was also watching while the Soviets muffled the Hungarian cry for freedom. Though it failed to lend any meaningful help to the Hungarians (the possible reasons for that are another long story), the UN did appoint one of its officials to interview more than 80 Hungarian refugees: a Danish man named Povl Bang-Jensen. After the interviews were conducted, UN Secretary
General Dag Hammarskjöld demanded a list of the names of the interviewees, but Bang-Jensen would not provide it – he considered this sensitive information. Bang-Jensen feared that the list might wind up in Soviet hands and result in retaliation against the relatives of the refugees still residing in Hungary. So Bang-Jensen went to the UN building in New York City, entered the elevator and did not stop until he reached the rooftop. Here, he apparently burned the list of names to ashes in a defiant move against the UN. But the truth is a little different: Bang-Jensen knew that the UN could confiscate the papers as soon as he stepped foot into that building, so he lit them on fire in the comfort of his own home, before anyone could get to them. The rooftop-stunt was but a symbolic gesture.
DARK THANKSGIVING On 26 November 1959, Bang-Jensen was found dead in Alley Pond Park with a hole pierced through his head, a gun in his hand and a suicide note in his pocket. It was quickly concluded that, indeed, he committed suicide. But, hold on a second: the bullet entered his brain through his right temple, yet Bang-Jensen was left handed. Furthermore, not long before his death, he wrote the following in a letter to his wife: “Under no circumstances whatsoever would I ever commit suicide. This would be contrary to my whole nature and to my religious convictions. If any note was found to the opposite effect in my handwriting, it would be a fake.” According to one source, Bang-Jensen was promised evidence – in the form of coded telegrams – that Soviet influence had reached the highest levels of the UN. If you’d like to know more, contact the FBI: to this day, it still has 1,200 pages of information on Bang-Jensen that it is not willing to release. In any case, Bang-Jensen is considered a hero in Hungary. Though he was buried in Denmark, a tombstone was placed in Plot #301 in the New Cemetery of Rákoskeresztúr in Budapest – the resting place of the victims of the retaliation that followed the 1956 revolution – and a bust was positioned in the lobby of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Budapest!
BUILDING DIPLOMACY So yeah, as I told you, the road was long and winding. But get back in the car and let’s go – there are a few short stops I want to take before we get back to 2020 ... oh and hit the radio, will you (Majka’s ‘Füttyös’ begins to blast through the speakers) ... not least some of the official high-level visits between the two countries over the years. Let’s start with the Danish Royal Family. Margrethe II of Denmark visited Hungary in 1987, after which her son, Crown Prince Frederik, attended the Budapest Spring Festival two decades later in 2010, along with the then culture minister, Per Stig Møller. Finally, her daughter-in-law, Crown Princess Mary, stopped by in 2017 as patron of the 67th session of the World Health Organization Regional Committee in Europe, which was held in Budapest. Danish politicians are also frequent visitors. PM Lars Løkke Rasmussen had paid his respects in the country, in 2010 in connection to Hungary’s upcoming EU presidency. In 2016, Pia Kjaersgaard, the then speaker of the Danish Parliament, visited Budapest, and then a year later, the then foreign minister, Anders Samuelsen, travelled to Hungary to meet his counterpart, Péter Szijjártó, where he opened the annual Ambassadors Conference in Budapest.
THE FINAL STOP The last stop will have to be 2003. Hungary held a referendum on joining the EU, with 83.8 percent in favour. In 2004, the country officially became part of the union, leading to plenty of new meetings and cultural exchanges between the two nations, particularly through Hungarians living in Denmark and vice versa. So that’s it, you may step out of the car now. It’s been a heck of a ride. Who am I, you ask? Uhm… just your regular time machine operator: moved from Hungary as a kid, ’cause my dad got a job here. Yeah, he’s a doctor, that’s right. Free movement of workers, you know.
10 February 1947: Hungary signs the Paris Peace Treaty. 20 August 1948: The People’s Republic of Hungary’s Constitution becomes enforced. 23 October 1956: An uprising against Soviet rule, the October Revolution, is suppressed by the Soviet Army. 1978: The US returns the holy Crown and coronation insignia it took into safe keeping after World War II. 10 September 1989: Hungary opens its western borders to refugees from the German Democratic Republic. 23 October 1989: The republic is proclaimed. 30 June 1990: Soviet troops leave Hungary 1999: Hungary joins NATO 2004: Hungary joins the EU 2011: Hungary holds its first EU Presidency
| BUSINESS |
BLOOMING BUDS AT PLAY As the good times continue to roll in the central European nation, a number of companies have looked to get in on the action By Luke Roberts
D
anish businesses have long had a significant presence in Hungary, and business relations get stronger with every passing year. Hungary is a bustling business hub situated right at the very heart of Europe; historically, geographically, economically and culturally. As a full member of the European Union, companies coming to do business in the country can access a market of more than 500 million people. Hungary is an open economy with particular emphasis placed on encouraging foreign direct investment.
RISING STAR The past ten years have seen extraordinary economic growth in Hungary. Prior to the pandemic it stood as one of the fastest growing economies in the EU, with consistent GDP growth of between 4 and 5 percent. Unemployment too stood at a historical low of 3.5 percent – lower in fact than in most EU nations, including Denmark. Part of the explanation for this lies in Hungary's central location at the crossroads of Europe, as well as its excellent transport, logistics and telecommunications infrastructure.
BUSINESS IN BUDA For businesses in particular, there are many reasons to want to call Hungary home. Its flat corporate income tax rate of just 9 percent is the lowest of any EU member-state – one of the reasons that 45 of the world’s 100 biggest multinationals have set up operations there. Its open economy and geographical location make it a prime spot to expand into a whole host of European markets – hardly any wonder that so many seek to make themselves at home there.
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To further sweeten the deal, there have also been concerted efforts on the part of the government to encourage direct investment from abroad, making the country as appealing as possible – not least for Danish businesses, of which many have already set up shop there.
STRONG PRESENCE In total, more than 150 Danish companies currently have investments in Hungary, with Denmark ranking as the country’s 13th largest investor overall. The majority of Nordic investment comes from Denmark, and the Danish business presence stretches back over 30 years. Around 17,000 people are employed by Danish subsidiaries in Hungary, with some of the country’s biggest businesses making the leap to central Europe. Among them are Lego, Abacus Medicine, Balyfa, First Farms, Foss, Grundfos, Hartmann,
Coloplast, Velux, Rockwool, Vestfrost, Nilfisk and Xellia Pharmaceuticals.
WORK HARD; PLAY HARD A number of initiatives are in place to encourage and facilitate the Danish business presence in Hungary. The Trade Council has one of its hubs in the country, which it uses as a base of regional co-operation, also covering the Czech Republic, Poland and Ukraine. The council provides market research and local knowledge for businesses that are considering building a base in the country, and it also identifies potential local partners or suppliers. As well as that, the Danish-Hungarian Business Club now boasts over 30 members. It offers a platform for networking and knowledge-sharing, alongside more social and cultural events.
BUILDING BLOCKS IN PLACE Hungarian and Danish businesses have more in common, and more to gain from one another, than might at first be apparent By Luke Roberts labour costs (particularly when combined to Danish costs at home). It is also a country with a historically low rate of unemployment: at 3.5 percent prior to the pandemic, it was one of the lowest in Europe. In recent years Danish companies have increasingly sought to make the most of this skilled workforce, focusing more and more on innovation and research in Hungary. In particular, Foss, a provider of automated analytical services, has set up a unit in Pécs, Xellia Pharma has set up in Budapest, and pump giant Grundfos has built a presence in Székesfehérvár and Tatabánya.
W
hilst uncertainty might seem to be the watchword for business in 2020, opportunities for investment and potential new business ties lurk as constant as ever looking ahead to next year.
been increasing year-on-year, particularly in machinery, transport vehicles, and processed products such as chemical goods and medicines.
SCOPE FOR INVESTMENT
DANISH EXPERTISE
For those interested in exploring opportunities in Hungary, the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency (HIPA) offers a one-stop-shop for advice, support and direction.
Building on this pre-existing relationship, as well as the evident eagerness to capitalise on each country’s respective areas of expertise, a number of Danish businesses have sought to expand their operations in Hungary. As the green revolution accelerates, demand for Danish equipment and knowledge has increased dramatically.
In an interview with CPH POST last year, Hungary’s ambassador to Denmark hinted at the great deal of mutual interests that the two countries are exploring. Kristóf Altusz revealed that not only are there regular consultations between the two country’s foreign ministries, but also between the ministries of immigration and integration, agriculture, and health.
The management consultancy, organised and managed by Hungary’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, provides insights into the local market, as well as tailormade incentive packages for prospective businesses. It is a holistic service that continues even after a business has made itself at home in the country.
A wide range of sectors will be of interest to Danish businesses alongside the green focus. Danish tech and increasingly AgriTech are increasingly finding a foothold in the country.
As two EU member states, the connections between the two countries are naturally already strong. Denmark is an important investor in the Central European state, whilst exports from Hungary to Denmark have
INDUSTRY OF THE FUTURE
Of particular interest to Danish investors, HIPA supports investment in agriculture, life science, medical technology, and energy sectors. Currently it supports 44 different investment projects, offering quality, prescreened, legally transparent and readyto-launch investment opportunities for potential investors.
In particular, Hungary’s recent economic success, whilst slowed a little by the pandemic, has made it an extremely appealing option for businesses and investors alike. Many Danish are already looking to make the most of the country’s emergent opportunities.
EXPLORING POTENTIAL
Not only that, but Danish fashion and design are gaining in popularity, making for a diverse and expansive opportunity space.
Hungary is home to a great number of internationally-renowned universities, and this makes for an appealing combination of a highly-skilled workforce and relatively low
These sectors of focus are testament to the modern and future-facing nature of the Hungarian economy, which is ever-looking to harness and develop high-tech, cuttingedge technologies. HUNGARY SUPPLEMENT 2020
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| INTERVIEW |
FROM SOVIET TANK HOPPING TO RULING THE DANISH COURTS Károly Németh, one of Denmark’s most famous lawyers, moved here as a teenager after participating in the famous Hungarian Revolution of 1956
H
By Soma Biró
e lit the molotov cocktail on fire and slung it at the tank. It crashed right into the Soviet vehicle and an explosion rippled through the air. Károly Németh was only 14, his brother 16, and they were part of the Hungarian Revolution. “We had even received guns from the police, but we never used them,” Németh says. “Once, we were actually able to force some Russians to surrender their tank to us – my brother and I rode it with the other revolutionaries on its way to Kossuth Square. But the two of us got off before it got there, because the Russians were shooting so bad. When we got home, our mother and grandmother were crying. They thought the Russians killed us – they knew from our neighbours that we were on the tank and they had just heard on the radio that all the revolutionaries were shot to death after they reached the final destination.” Today, Németh, 78, is one of this country’s best known lawyers, and it’s no exaggeration to say it’s been quite a journey from the streets of Budapest to Strandvejen in Charlottenlund, the same street that’s home to the Hungarian Embassy. Why did your mother decide to leave the country in 1956? My grandmother told my mother and my uncle: ‘You two will leave the country and take your families with you.’ Then, she looked at her third child, my mother’s sister, and said: ‘You will stay and take care of me.’ And that’s what happened. So how did she execute the escape? My grandparents were rich people, so we had the means to do it – because you needed to find somebody who could smuggle you out of the country. I remember going to my aunt’s to fetch the
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money. I spoke very good Russian back then – I even took part in a Russian-language championship – and I asked one of the soldiers stationed on the bridges above the Danube: ‘What are you doing here you big fool?’ He was an idiot. He pointed at the Danube and said to me: ‘I’m protecting the Suez Canal.’ So eventually we got to a point when, on a beautiful sunny morning, we were already 200 metres from the Austrian border. Then my mother said: ‘We have some bread in the backpacks, let’s sit down and have a last meal at home.’ We sat down and about half an hour later we were arrested by the Russians. They put us in a prison camp kind of place, but they released us about a week later at the end of November. My uncle and his family decided to give up and go home. But my mother wanted to give it another go. So we took a train and we met a man who took us to Lake Fertő – which is on the AustrianHungarian border – with about 20 others. We got in a boat and people on the Austrian side were pulling us over the lake. We even had a small child onboard, constantly crying. The Russians could’ve heard us. But nothing happened and we got there. Why did you end up in Denmark after that? We were in a camp in Austria with about 100,000 other people and it was unbelievably ugly. Then, the speakers suddenly announced there was a train going to Denmark. My mother wanted to go to Australia because we had family there. So she thought: ‘We’ll go to Denmark and move on from there.’ And then we came to Denmark and we’re still here.
How was the process of getting used to Denmark and Danish culture? It was not hard. Of course we missed Hungary because our family was there. But it was not hard at all. A year after we got here, I spoke Danish. My mother eventually married a Danish man and in about three years we were basically Danish. But you spoke Hungarian at home with your brother, sister and mother, right? No. We spoke Danish. We weren’t allowed to speak Hungarian at home. At school, my brother and I spoke Hungarian to each other, naturally, but then the school also told us it wasn’t allowed anymore. Because the other kids thought we were speaking about them. So in Denmark, we only spoke Danish. And it was interesting because, when we visited Hungary later on, we switched to Hungarian immediately. I hear you’re retiring. You must be proud of your career. I’m stopping in June next year. Since I graduated in 1966, I’ve worked as a lawyer, a judge and a university teacher at KU. I’m the lawyer who has had the most court cases in Denmark. And now I’ve even been appointed to Rigsretten – The Court of Impeachment of the Realm.
| INTERVIEW |
GULYÁS AND KOLDSKÅL IN KOLDING Renowned Hungarian-Danish economist Daniel Fabricius reflects on his upbringing with a dual nationality By Soma Biró
mark, that’s it – in the minds of Danes, they remain foreigners, and thus they can’t assimilate to society in the same manner. Ask a hundred foreigners this question: “How many Danes have invited you into their homes since you’ve been here?” It’ll be a very low number. Thus, many foreigners remain in their own international communities while living in Denmark. So there is a Danish fence as well – it’s just not at the border. I fear that it is what the Danes call a ‘bear favour’.
T
he same year Károly Németh left Hungary, a girl named Beáta Bella was born in Szirák. Twenty-eight years later, this girl would go on to meet a Danish man with the purpose of honing their German skills together – he was on a visit and a friend set them up. They would eventually fall in love and move to Denmark together. This is where their son, Daniel Fabricius would be born – in Kolding, Jutland. I met Fabricius at the Danish-Hungarian Association where he’s a member of the board. He is also an economist and the former vice president of Young Conservatives Copenhagen (Konservativ Ungdom I København). “I have a fire in my belly, I can’t stand still. If I’m interested in something, I want to be active in it, pursue it further.” Though Fabricius grew up in Denmark, he speaks Hungarian – that is how we talked when I called him one chill Thursday night. Tell me, how was it growing up as a half-Hungarian, halfDanish kid in Denmark? I always felt I was different from most of my Danish peers. I saw things from a different angle. For example, the position of the family in Denmark. In Hungary, the family is more of an institution. It carries a greater importance. And I have always gravitated more towards that approach. Can you give me a concrete example of this difference between conceptions of family? For example, it wouldn’t be uncommon to pay rent – however symbolic it may be – to your parents after turning 18. I don’t think that would happen in Hungary. And there were other differences too: I’ve never had the same excess admiration for the US as many of my compatriots. America is, of course, an interesting and large country, but we have so many nations with older and richer histories around us. I was more interested in exploring those instead of visiting New York high-rises. I think this comes from my bilingual background and the Central European culture running through my veins. Take a look at Russia, Poland, Hungary or Austria. These are countries that have had enormous importance in European history. And they’ve been around much longer than the US. Yet, Danes know very little about them. You often write political pieces and take part in debates. Can you give me an example of something that you had to explain to a Danish audience – perhaps something that’s misunderstood in Denmark about Hungarian politics? Or take the fence at the Hungarian border. The thing about that is: Hungarians might put a fence at the border, but in Denmark there are also fences, metaphorically speaking, but they’re in front Publisher: CPH POST • Editor: Soma Biró • Journalists: Ben Hamilton, Natalia Joanna Bajor • Executive Editor: Hans Hermansen • Layout: CPH POST • Info: hans@cphpost.dk • Tel: +45 2420 2411
of homes, not at borders. Hungarians say: ‘We will only let those in our country who enter legally and who are willing to contribute to, and be part of, our society.’ But once they let you in, Hungarians actually let you in – though a foreigner at first, you will become one of them. Danes, on the other hand, believe that they are very accepting of everybody because they let them in their country. But once these foreigners are in Den-
What is the reason for some of the greatest misunderstandings in your view? I think it’s a lack of historical context for most people. Once you sit down and explain to someone, for example, how communism has affected Hungary and how a given initiative today could be an attempt to fight those repercussions, they will usually at least begin to understand.
| FOOD & DRINK |
LITTLE CORNERS OF HUNGARY By Soma Biró
They’ve made Denmark their home and their homeland their business Chimney cake (kürtőskalács) is a Hungarian spit cake that originates from Transylvania. In Hungary, they’re usually sold from food trucks at most markets and events (or next to the local Tesco). “Would you like Nutella with your chimney?” Susy Gál Rødtnes asks as she exits the kitchen of The Chimney Cake Shop in Ballerup. Susy is Hungarian. Together with her husband Martin, who she met on Tinder two years after she moved to Denmark, she owns the shop. You say no to the Nutella and take a bite from the chimney cake. The crispy, caramelised crust crushes under your teeth before they cut through the soft inner layer of pastry.
MEETING OF THREE COUNTRIES The couple took part in a chimney cake course in Slovenia and travelled to Prague and Budapest to sample some of the many different types of chimney cakes out there. On social media, Susy and Martin follow other chimney cake shops from around the world to find inspiration for the next new item on the menu. “What we’re trying to do is to introduce people to the original – the chimney cake known and
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loved in Hungary – while also offering new and innovative versions of it,” explains Martin.
facilitated by a couple who themselves embody this intersection of cultures.
They fill chimney cakes with ice cream, for example, or make salty chimney cake sandwiches – an innovation very rare in Hungary, if existent at all.
ENTERING THE VINEYARD
BITE OUT OF BUDAPEST “Our sandwiches are actually much more popular with the Danes than our classic sweet chimneys,” explains Susy. One of these chimney cake sandwiches is ‘The Budapest’. “Martin, make a Budapest for our guest,” Susy says to her husband enthusiastically. “It’s the chimney cake version of that classic sandwich they’d serve at name day parties in Hungary. You know, with salami, mayonnaise, cheese, egg slices, paprika cream and pickles." You’re sceptical at first, but the Budapest is a winner: the warm, salty, cheesy pastry might even be better with the toppings (or, in this case, fillings) than the regular bread of the original sandwich.
PAST MEETS PRESENT Susy then tells you they also offer workshops – where you and a group of friends can begin mastering the craft of making chimney cakes – as well as catering services. When it’s time to go, you take a look around the room. In The Chimney Cake Shop, past meets present, tradition meets innovation and Denmark meets Hungary. And it’s all
“When people think about Hungarian wine, they think about Tokaj,” contends Mihály Fekete. “Yes, Tokaj is the crown jewel, but we have 21 other historic wine regions in Hungary.” Mihály worked as a chef in high-end Hungarian restaurants before moving to Denmark where he is now the head chef at Boulebar Nørregade. Meanwhile, in his free time, he’s been working on engineering a Hungarian wine portal called Wine and Spirit Store.
VINTAGE IN THE VAULT Mihály is very approachable. He’s happy to talk and eager to teach, and he’ll even invite you into his treasure vault, the stock, which is located “in the cellar of the house where I live with my mom at the moment”. There he’ll open some wine so you can make an informed decision before undertaking an actual investment. “The storage space is becoming a little tight,” he says. “You’ll also find wine upstairs, on the bookshelves, for example. But, basically in eight out of ten drawers you’ll find some of the wine we’re selling.” From the 75 kroner Egri Csillag to special editions like the 1975 kroner Balassa Betsek
really be a Hungarian restaurant here. We’re really missing one.’ I just looked at him and replied: ‘Okay, let’s do it,’” explained Imre Lengyel, the head chef at Nomad, who worked as a chef in Hungary for 30 years before moving to Denmark 12 years ago. Indeed, there has not been a Hungarian restaurant in Copenhagen since Hungaria closed its doors years ago.
ALL THE CLASSICS
Trilogy – a package including three bottles of wine and three rocks and minerals of the type in which these wines were cultivated (quartz, rhyolite and andesite, respectively) – Mihály aims to offer a diverse selection of wines. “My goal is to give you the best quality wine for the price range you come with,” he asserts.
UNDER-RATED PLAYERS While he’s doing this partly for profit, Mihály is truly proud of Hungarian wine. “We are mind-bogglingly underrated. Still today, you sit down in a wine school and they’ll tell you that the French sauternes wines – produced in Bordeaux – are the best sweet wines in the world. A side note: they are very good,” he contends. “But our similar Tokaji Szamorodni is just as good, only less famous. And above the Szamorodni, we even have another classification called Aszú, which is even better.” Mihály takes further issue with the Bordeaux region, as history tends to credit the French with creating the first classifications there – in 1855 on the request of Emperor Napoleon III. “Yet, in 1737, Tokaj had already become the first classified wine region by decree of Charles VI, ruler of the Habsburg Monarchy. Just sayin’,” he adds.
closer: you begin to discover that these candles burn in Unicum bottles (a Hungarian herbal liquor) and that the old newspaper framed on the wall is from November 1953, when Ferenc Puskás led Hungary to a 6-3 win over England.
HUNGARIAN CULTURE Furthermore, there is a pub quiz every Wednesday night and Balázs the bartender often includes questions related to central Europe. When you mention this to him, he goes: “Of course! Of course, look, let the western Europeans learn about it.” Balázs will also invite Hungarian musicians to his pub and throw special events on Hungarian national holidays. If you catch one of the latter, there will be no shortage of Hungarian company. You’ll meet everybody from chefs to engineers to businessmen to fashion designers. Standing by the bar, you examine what’s on offer: all kinds of craft beer (including Hungarian, of course), gin, vodka, Unicum, long drinks (like ‘skinny bitch’ and ‘white Russian’) and cider. A few drinks later, returning to Poul Henningsens Plads, the nearest Metro station, you decide to come to Kompasset on a Tuesday next time – to see the open mic, where random musicians play three songs in hopes of winning a free drink.
A SAILOR’S PUB?
COMPANY OF NOMAD’S
It looks like a sailor’s pub. The compass logo, the wooden tables and the candles burning on top of them. Sure enough, this pub was founded by a British sailor.
But where are the Hungarian dishes, you think to yourself. The ones that they eat for lunch or dinner. Fortunately there is Nomad at Valby Langgade 25.
But take a few more steps inside and look a little
“This whole thing actually started at a party, when Zoli, my business partner, said to me: ‘There should
“So what we have here is classic Hungarian food,” adds Lengyel’s business partner Zoltán Karpf, who used to run a small grocery shop in Debrecen. A glance at the menu reveals dishes like ‘beef loin with pasta’, ‘fake goulash’ and ‘sponge cake ala Somló’. Nomad also strives to take things in new directions: every day there is a new menu and, starting this week, they’ll also include a fitness option in each one. These are all on their Facebook page – @Nomadfoodcph – or their brand new website nomadfood.dk.
AND PIZZA TOO! And then there is the pizza. Though they don’t claim pizza is a Hungarian invention (although, you never know), it’s a special recipe.” “No, I’m not gonna reveal it now,” Lengyel tells you with a laugh. “But I use a very healthy kind of flour that is low on gluten. It tastes great – so far, everybody loved it.”
SOUL-WARMING STEW As the conversation comes to an end, your stomach begins to grumble and you’re now sure you’re hungry. So you sit down to enjoy a steaming hot stew while you watch people cut through the winter cold in large coats and heavy boots. The warm pork crumbles in your mouth as you dip a piece of potato in its brownish sauce. Staring out that window, you think to yourself: “Huh. That’s Denmark out there, yes, but this, this is Hungary.”
| EVENT |
THE WORLD CUP OF HUNTING But unlike in 1971, the year in which Hungary hosted a specialised Expo, next year’s event will promote a sustainable approach that advocates a harmonious coexistence between humans and wildlife By Ben Hamilton The event was officially endorsed by the Hungarian government in 2016 and also has the backing of the FIFA of such matters, the Bureau International des Expositions, although it will not be subject to the BIE Convention as it will only last for 20 days. Central Europe, the Turkic Council, the Arab League and sub-Saharan Africa have been enlisted as priority partner country groups, while the list of international partner organisations is pretty numerous, with the International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation (CIC) leading the way as the official and main specialist advisory body. Together they will all play the same tune as the official slogan of the event, ‘One With Nature’.
P
lans don’t get grander than those underway to mark a major refurbishment in Budapest .
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Hungary’s first and ever Expo, an event specialising in hunting, the recently renovated HUNGEXPO Budapest Congress and Exhibition Center will next year host another enormous hunting spectacle, but this time teaming with nature. Taking on a similar theme to the 1971 World Fair that welcomed just under 2 million visitors and included the participation of 52 countries, ‘The Hunt through the World’, next autumn’s ‘The World of Hunting and Nature’ (FeHoVa) will be inhabiting 80,000 square metres of the huge venue.
The largest pavilion of the event has been reserved for international exhibitors, so it is too early to confidently predict what it will entail. However, the planning of many of the smaller pavilions is already fully realised. ‘Walk through 1,000 Years in the Carpathian Basin’, for example, will present the history of hunting in Hungary – a country in which around 15 percent of the population have a strong association with the hobby.
HEAVYWEIGHTS ONBOARD
Other exhibitions assigned to pavilions include ‘Fish-Water-Mankind and Taxidermy’, ‘Traditional Hunting Methods’ and ‘A Thousand Years of our Waters’.
Between 25 September and 14 October 2021, very many exhibitors will be setting up shop at FeHoVa. Already enterprises from 20 different countries have confirmed their attendance (all UN members are invited), and it is believed that the three-week event will bring an extra 1 million visitors to the Hungarian capital.
There will also be an extensive trophy exhibition and various outdoor activities, including live displays of falconry, archery, bowhunter horsemanship and bloodhounds on the trail of a scent.
That’s enough room for a whole school of blue whales with enough space for herds of wildebeest to join in at their leisure.
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INTO THE WETLANDS
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MULTI-FAIR APPROACH ‘The World of Hunting and Nature’ will be accompanied by three trade fairs: Mini FeHoVa – the International Weapons, Fishing and Hunting Exhibition and Fair (Sep 30-Oct 3), OMÉK Plus – the National Agriculture, and the Food Industry Exhibition and Fair (Oct 7-10) and the Innovation Fair (TBC). The anticipated increase in attendance as a result of the extra trade fairs is in the interest, according to the organisers, of “mitigating the economic crisis brought on by the coronavirus crisis”. It anticipates the hunting elements of the Expo and the three other trade fairs will attract “ solid, high-end demand”, while the nature components will draw in “international political and economic decision-makers, who could also bring investment opportunities with them”.
SUSTAINABLE APPROACH Overall, in keeping with its slogan ‘One with Nature’, FeHoVa will seek to convey the message that “humanity will always be a part of nature, its future depends on the global ecosystem, and protecting and preserving it is essential”. The emphasis, therefore, is very much on responsible hunting – a sustainable approach that advocates a harmonious coexistence between humans and wildlife through conservation, which is based on reality. The organisers hope FeHoVa will promote Hungary as a “flagship in the fight to preserve the order of the natural world”, whilst providing a platform for diverse hunting cultures to share information and learn from one another.
| CUSTOMS |
TRADITIONS BY THE TRUCKLOAD From their dances to their dresses, Hungarian customs really stand out By Ben Hamilton
H
ungarian traditions are world-famous and for good reason. Often unique, they mark out the nation as one of the most distinctive in eastern Europe. Beyond the capital Budapest, visitors are recommended to go to Fonó to sample Hungarian culture at its finest. The number of daily folk music performances are numerous.
NEVER A DULL DAY! Read on for a selection of the best the country has to offer. From traditional clothing and dancing, to the best of their Easter and Christmas pastimes, we’re sure you’ll agree that Hungary is a cornucopia of tradition.
EASTER MONDAY VISITS
On Easter Monday, fathers, sons, uncles and grandfathers gather to visit the homes of women in their sphere. The men arrive laden with perfume and poetry, and in exchange the women give them a beverage, and maybe chocolate to any children present. The passing of perfume symbolises the women’s flower-like qualities and their need to grow and bloom. But in olden days, men often turned up with a bucket of water! For the kids, the day is a little like Halloween’s trick and treating.
SANTA’S SHOE TEST
December 6 is the date of a big pre-Christmas visit by Mikulás (Santa) himself. All over Hungary, meticulously cleaned boots are presented in windows overnight, and presents are left in them for the next day. For the children who have been good, it could be something like a Lego kit, but for the kids who misbehave it will traditionally be a stick, which in olden days was used to beat them.
LIKE GROUNDHOG DAY
A number of traditions are similar to Groundhog Day in the US when the weather on a single day denotes a forecast for months in advance. On the day dedicated to Magyarok Nagyasszonya (Virgin Mary) on October 8, if it is sunny the next spring will follow suit. And then on the passing of the spring equinox (around March 18-21), many pastimes revolve around saints Sándor, József and Benedek, who again can determine whether there’s good weather in store.
PARADING THE STREETS
Busójárás, the country’s answer to Fastelavn, is best celebrated in the town of Mohács, as many dress up in their best spooky outfits (well known for huge masks and lots of fur) for a parade that has been included on UNESCO’s world heritage list. Parades are also commonplace on April 1, which in Budapest tend to focus on funny walks.
FOLK DANCING: HIS & HERS
Folk music (magyar népzene) has an influence on almost all aspects of Hungarian culture, and worldwide it is probably the traditional dancing that has grabbed the most attention. The oldest, perhaps, are the Ugrós jumping dances that are often performed by men over laid-down swords. Another dance, favoured again by men but more modern is the Csárdás, which involves some pretty intricate boot-slapping. The women tend to own the Karikázó circle dance and often they gather as such to let the men take centre stage again with the Verbunkos and Legényes solo performances.
bar bill! Worse still, if his bride loses a shoe, he has to drink champagne from the other one to win it back.
FAMED HORSEBACK EXPLOITS
Hungarians are famed for their horsemanship, which on more than one occasion has won them victory on the battlefield. Visit one of the many traditional equestrian shows around the country and you’ll often see riders sat backwards on the saddle with apparent eyes out of the back of their heads. It was in this exact fashion that they used to feign retreating in battle, but fire arrows at the same time, before turning around (both horse and in the saddle) to finish them off with a szabla.
STEALING THE BRIDE
Weddings are a big deal in a country in which 62 percent of the population are Catholic, although the traditions tend to be more secular, starting with the popular pastime of kidnapping the bride during the reception. It is not uncommon to hear that the groom has paid his cousins a ransom (normally a forfeit) for her return from a nearby bar whilst ensuring the bouquet doesn’t disappear as well. Lose them both and he has to pay the
DISTINCTIVE DRESS SENSE
Hungarian traditional dress is highly distinctive. For men, think embroidered shirts, floppy hats, and baggy, short trousers tucked into long, leather boots. While the women tend to favour a white blouse and apron finished off by flower-patterned skirts and headscarves, which can often be beaded. HUNGARY SUPPLEMENT 2020
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| TOURISM |
The Danube passes through or forms the borders of ten countries on its way to the Black Sea, passing through no fewer than four capital cities: Vienna, Bratislava, Belgrade and Budapest. But while, the river is undoubtedly the star of the show in every city it graces, few can compete with Budapest for sheer splendour - so much so that the view from the river of the city has been listed as a World Heritage site by UNESCO.
#1 IN EUROPE!
It has helped to elevate Budapest into the upper echelon of world resorts. Just last year it was voted number one in the continent by European Best Destinations, which praised its rich architectural, historical heritage, culture, gastronomy and thermal baths. A fair proportion of the 42 million overnight stays in the capital are made by Danes taking advantage of direct flights from Copenhagen and Billund. It’s no wonder that tourism now accounts for 13.5 percent of the country’s GDP.
MORE THAN THE CAPITAL
However, Hungary has so much more to offer than just its beautiful capital, and whilst not extremely mountainous, there’s 24 carat gold in them hills and valleys off yonder. Charming resorts such as Tihany, Visegrád and Kékes ensure that no trip to Hungary is ever wasted, and don’t forget to sample the local wines and spices while you’re at it.
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GO HUNGARY
Savouring the delights of the Danube and Budapest beyond
AROUND A CITY WITH HISTORY AT EVERY TURN
A whole millennium of history and architecture awaits visitors to the capital: from the Castle of Buda (medieval), to the Parliament and Opera House (dualism), to the baths and mosques (Turkish Occupation), to the ruin bars and Memento Park (communism) - and don’t forget the Jewish heritage.
COMES WITH A CORNUCOPIA OF CULTURE
Budapest is always vibrant with culture thanks to a wide range of theatre venues and festivals, including Sziget, the continent’s biggest music festival, and the Budapest Spring Festival – a cornucopia of classical music that always delivers. And it has rubbed off on the rest of the country, as both Pécs and Veszprém have enjoyed the honour of being the European Capital of Culture: the former back in 2010 and the latter for 2023.
REV UP THE ENGINE IN THIS SPORTING POWERHOUSE
Budapest is an undoubted regional capital of sport, not least for its exploits in motorsport. In 1986, the twisty Hungaroring in Mogyoród near Budapest became the first circuit to host a Formula One race behind the Iron Curtain, and it has been a mainstay of the racing calendar ever since. Watersports are also a
speciality of the nation, which hosted the 2017 FINA World Aquatics Championships, welcoming over 2,000 participants to do battle over 75 events. Combining motosport and aquatics, Hungary is also a regular host of powerboat events, as well as chess (see page 19), judo and teqball (19 again), a sport it invented.
RELAXED AND RECLINED: SAVOUR THE SPAS! No trip to Hungary is complete without a visit to one of its thermally-heated spas, where it is not uncommon for whole families to enjoy a whole day of relaxation. The Széchenyi Baths are the most famous (and biggest, not just in the capital but the whole of Europe), but our top tip is to venture out to Lake Balaton and seek out the thermally heated lake Hévíz.
FAB FOR FASHION: THE CITY’S A CATWALK Taylor Swift, Rita Ora, Lady Gaga, Lindsay Lohan, Olivia Munn and Tyra Banks are among the many stars recently snapped wearing the clothes of Dóra Abodi, and the streets of Budapest are testament to its status as a fashion powerhouse. Dua Lipa and Kendall Jenner love Nanushka, the brand of Hungarian fashion designer Szandra Sándor, and keep an eye out for the designs of rising star Fábián Kis-Juhász.
MOST FAMOUS 4-4 GAME OF ALL TIME
The Hungária Körúti Stadion in Budapest hosted one of the most famous games of all time in 1981. No, it wasn’t the European Cup Final or a World Cup qualifier, but it did feature Pele, Ossie Ardilles and … er … Sylvester Stallone. Doubling as a stadium in Paris, it provided us with the climactic scenes of ‘Escape to Victory’, which was in fact a remake of Zoltán Fábri’s 1962 Hungarian film Két félidő a pokolban (‘The Last Goal’). Producer Andy Vajna would go on to link up with Stallone for the Rambo films and the door had truly opened to Hollywood in Hungary. Since then Budapest has doubled as Moscow in ‘Die Hard 5’, London in ‘Munich’ and … Buenos Aires in ‘Evita’.
LUXURIATING BY THE LAKESIDE
Tihany is a small, charming village by Lake Balaton that will give you your all-Hungarian summer experience. It’s no wonder it has been a popular tourist and culinary destination since the 1960s. If the natural thermal springs and beaches don’t convince you, the spellbinding churches, views, vineyards and cottages definitely will. And look out for Balaton Sound, a music festival held every June. Speaking of music and cultural festivals, Hungary is home to one of the largest in the world, located on Óbudai-sziget (Old Buda Island) in the Danube in Budapest: it’s called Sziget Festival and it has hosted names such as Ed Sheeran, Post Malone, Macklemore, Foo Fighters, Kendrick Lamar and Gorillaz in its two most recent lineups alone.
SPICE THAT ECLIPSES THE WANNABES
Hungary is known for its love of paprika and rightfully so. Cultivated under the Hungarian sun, the national paprika acquires an aroma like no other imitations do. It is so good, some might even think the red in Hungarian flag is in honour of the delicious red powder. The best paprika is known to come from the town of Kalocsa. There, you can take part in an annual festival, as well as visit the paprika museum. So, if you ever visit Hungary, do not forget to bring home a bag of the spice back home. Or maybe ten. You decide.
WHERE SOVIET ERA STATUES HANG UP THEIR BOOTS
A 30-minute bus ride away from the capital lies a curious park where you can find statues of Lenin, Marx, Engels and even Joseph Stalin’s boots - the remnants of the country’s communist past. Szoborpark, which is called Memento Park, is billed as a historical themepark, but it’s hard to see why unless you count crawling over all the plinths as part of the fun. It opened in 1993 on the second anniversary of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Hungary, and many of the statues are originals saved from vandalism in 1991. However, ‘Stalin’s boots’, which was all that remained when his body was ripped from its pedestal in the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, is a replica.
SMOOCHING WITH HUNGARY’S SWEETHEART
Treating yourself to a chilled glass of good Tokaji is an absolute must
HUNGARY, THE WELLSPRING OF WONDERS
while visiting Hungary. This sweet wine comes from the region of Tokaj-Hegyalja – an area rich in volcanic clay soil, which gives its vines a unique microclimate in which to grow. Tokaji wine is normally aged in subterranean
mould-covered cellars that give it a distinct and sought-out flavor. Best enjoyed with fish and light dishes, like a salad, or on its own after a meal – just like the dessert it is!
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