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Hungarian culture, also known asMagyar culture, is characterized by itsdistinctive cuisine, folk traditions, poetry, theatre, religious customs,music and traditional embroidered garments. Hungarianfolklore traditions include tales, music, dance, decoratedpottery,carvings andembroidery. Historically, Hungarian music has largely consisted offolk music andclassical pieces.[1] Whilst the Hungarian language is classified asUgric, Hungarian culture exhibits enduringTurkic elements, stemming not only from being underOttoman rule, but also from earlier interactions and affiliations with Turkic peoples.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] Noted Hungarian authors includeSándor Márai,Imre Kertész,Péter Esterházy,Magda Szabó andJános Kodolányi. Imre Kertész is particularly noteworthy for having won theNobel Prize in Literature in 2002.
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Hungary is home to:
Hungarian folk music is a prominent part of the national identity and continues to play a major part in the country’smusic. It often features a strongdactylicrhythm due to the Hungarian language consistently putting stress on the first syllable of each word. It also exhibits an enduring Turkic influence.[10][11][12]
Prominent Hungarian classical music composers includeFranz Liszt,Franz Schmidt,Leó Weiner,Ernő Dohnányi,Béla Bartók,Zoltán Kodály,György Ligeti,Miklós Rózsa. Hungary also has a number of renowned composers of contemporary classical music includingGyörgy Kurtág,Péter Eötvös andZoltán Jeney, among others.
Franz Liszt spoke no Hungarian until 1870, when he started to learn the language, but clearly identified himself as Hungarian and founded the Academy of Music. Béla Bartók was also born in the formerKingdom of Hungary. György Ligeti was born inTransylvania, after the region was transferred toRomania. Both György Ligeti and Béla Bartók studied at theLiszt Academy before moving abroad, where a large portion of their work was written.
Broughton claims that Hungary's "infectious sound has been surprisingly influential on neighbouring countries (thanks perhaps to the common Austro-Hungarian history) and it's not uncommon to hear Hungarian-sounding tunes in Romania, and Slovakia.[13] TheBusójárás carnival inMohács is a major Hungarian folk music event, formerly featuring the long-established and well-regardedBogyiszló orchestra.[14]
Hungarianclassical music has long been an "experiment, made from Hungarian antedecents[clarification needed] and on Hungarian soil, to create a conscious musical culture [using the] musical world of the folk song".[15] Although the Hungarian upper class has long had cultural and political connections with the rest of Europe, leading to an influx of European musical ideas, the rural peasants maintained their own traditions, so that by the end of the 19th century Hungarian composers could draw on rural peasant music to (re)create a Hungarian classical style.[16] For example,Béla Bartók andZoltán Kodály, two of Hungary's most famous composers, are known for using folk themes in their music. Bartók collected folk songs from across Central Europe, including Romania and Slovakia, whilst Kodály was more interested in creating a distinctively Hungarian musical style.
During the era of Communist rule in Hungary (1944–1989), a Song Committee examined and censored popular music for traces of subversion and ideological impurity. Since then, however, the Hungarian music industry has begun to recover, producing successful performers in the fields ofjazz such as trumpeterRudolf Tomsits, pianist-composerKároly Binder, and in a modernized form of Hungarian folk,Ferenc Sebő andMárta Sebestyén. Hungary has had several popularrock bands such asIllés (with creating the hungarian rock music),Metró, orOmega.
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In earliest times, theHungarian language was written in arunic-like script (Hungarian:Rovásírás) derived from theOld Turkic Script. The country switched to theLatin alphabet after being Christianized under the reign ofStephen I of Hungary (1000–1038). There are no surviving documents from before the 11th century.
The oldest written record in Hungarian is a fragment in theEstablishing charter of the abbey of Tihany (1055) which, while mostly written inLatin, contains several Hungarian terms, among them the wordsfeheruuaru rea meneh hodu utu rea, "up the military road toFehérvár". The oldest complete text is theFuneral Sermon and Prayer(Halotti beszéd és könyörgés) (1192–1195), a translation of a Latinsermon. The oldest poem is theOld Hungarian Laments of Mary(Ómagyar Mária-siralom), also a translation from Latin, albeit a flawed one, from the 13th century. It is also the oldest survivingUralic poem.
Among the first chronicles of Hungarian history wereGesta Hungarorum ("Deeds of the Hungarians") by the unknown author usually calledAnonymus , andGesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum ("Deeds of the Huns and the Hungarians") by Simon Kézai, both written in Latin. These chronicles are a blend of history and legends, so they are not always historically accurate. Another chronicle is theKépes krónika (Illustrated Chronicle), which was written forLouis the Great.
Renaissance literature flourished under the reign of kingMatthias Corvinus (1458–1490).Janus Pannonius—even though he wrote in Latin—is considered one of the most important writers in Hungarian literature; he was also the only significant Hungarian Humanist poet of the period. The first printing house was founded during Matthias' reign byAndrás Hess inBuda. The first book printed in Hungary was theChronica Hungarorum.
Matthias Corvinus' library, theBibliotheca Corviniana, was among Europe's greatest collections of secular historical chronicles and philosophical and scientific works in the 15th century. In 1489, Bartolomeo della Fonte of Florence wrote that Lorenzo deMedici had founded his own Greek-Latin library after being inspired by the example of theHungarian king. Matthias Corvinus' library is now part ofUNESCO World Heritage. Two other important figures of the Hungarian Renaissance are poetsBálint Balassi andSebestyén Tinódi Lantos.
The most important poets of the period following the reign of King Matthias were Bálint Balassi (1554–1594) andMiklós Zrínyi (1620–1664). Balassi's poetry, reflecting medieval influences, can be divided into three groups: love poems, war poems, and religious poems. Zrínyi's most significant work, the epicSzigeti veszedelem ("Peril of Sziget", 1648–49) is written in a fashion similar to theIliad. In the poem Zrínyi recounts the heroicBattle of Szigetvár where his great-grandfather died while defending the castle of Szigetvár. Among religious works, the most important is theBible translation byGáspár Károli, theProtestant pastor ofGönc, which was completed in 1590. This translation is called theBible of Vizsoly after the town where it was first published. (SeeHungarian Bible translations for more details.)
The Hungarian enlightenment followed about fifty years after the Western European enlightenment, reaching Hungary throughVienna. The first writers of the Hungarian enlightenment were, among others,Maria Theresa's bodyguards György Bessenyei andJános Batsányi. The greatest poets of this period wereMihály Csokonai Vitéz andDániel Berzsenyi. The enlightenment prompted a reform of theHungarian language. The greatest figure in this reform wasFerenc Kazinczy. Beginning at that time, Hungarian became useful for scientific writing, and many words were coined to name new inventions.
Hungarian literature has recently gained renown outside the borders of Hungary, mostly through German, French and English translations. Some modern Hungarian authors have become popular in Germany and Italy, especiallySándor Márai,Péter Esterházy,Péter Nádas, andImre Kertész. Kertész is a contemporary Jewish writer and Holocaust survivor who won theNobel Prize for literature in 2002.
The classics of Hungarian literature have remained largely unknown outside Hungary.János Arany, a famous 19th-century poet, is still much loved in Hungary, especially his collection ofballads. Arany is among several other "true classics" includingSándor Petőfi, the poet of the Revolution of 1848,Endre Ady,Mihály Babits,Dezső Kosztolányi,Attila József, andJános Pilinszky. Other Hungarian authors areFerenc Móra,Géza Gárdonyi,Zsigmond Móricz,Gyula Illyés,Albert Wass, andMagda Szabó.Vilmos Kondor has created a new trend in recent years, and is mentioned as the creator of Hungarian noir (seeBudapest Noir).
Many Hungarians have contributed to film art and its technology, but, due to political reasons, many of them found it was easier to find success abroad. As of 2018, Hungarians working in Hollywood and some in Hungary had received more than 150 Academy Award nominations and about 46 Academy Awards. Already in the 1930s there were 17 Hungarian nominations, but the peak was in the decade of the 1940s when about 51 nominations and 13 to 15 Academy Awards were given to exiled Hungarians. The best year was 1944 with 9 to 10 nominations and four (Michael Curtiz,Paul Lukas,George Pal, andWilliam S. Darling) Academy Awards.The first Hungarian to be nominated wasLajos Bíró (1929) and the first to win the award wasWilliam S. Darling (1933). Art Direction might be the most successful category concerning wins/nominations:Paul Groesse 3/11,William S. Darling 3/7,Joseph Kish 1/5,Vincent Korda 1/4,Alexandre Trauner 1/2 andMarcel Vertès 1/1.The number of nominees and awards in all categories, exceeds all other nations, counted per capita.
Hungarians emigrated in large numbers after several disasters following the First World War (1918) when neighbouring countries—Romania, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia—occupied parts of the former Kingdom of Hungary, which lost two-thirds of its territory in a 1920 treaty. There was a brief communist takeover accompanied by a so-called ″red terror″ and then a reaction against it called the ″white terror″, which disrupted the economy. At that time Hungarian filmmakers tried their fortunes abroad, first, as didGéza von Bolváry, in the German-speaking world and later in the English-speaking world. Film with sound was invented (1918) in Germany byDénes Mihály.Béla Gáspár invented, 1932, the first full color one-strip film:Gasparcolor patented in 1933. With the advent of racial laws in 1939, Jewish citizens were forced to leave the country to find work. It is ironic that some of the most successful propaganda films during the Second World War for both sides were directed by Hungarians:Münchhausen byJosef von Báky and"Pimpernel" Smith byLeslie Howard. With another, longer-lasting, communist takeover in 1948, more Hungarians left. After the crushed1956 revolution, more important filmmakers left, including Vilmos Zsigmond, László Kovács, Jean Badal andPeter Medak. Following the amnesty of 1960, the cultural climate eased somewhat.
Nevertheless, despite the hardships of staying at home, some Hungarians received Academy Award nominations (21 times for 24 people up to 2018) and in some cases the actual Award (Ferenc Rofusz (1980), István Szabó (1981), Zsuzsa Böszörményi (1991) and co-winners Jászberényi, Perlaki and Priskin (2010), and co-winnersImre Major andCsaba Kőhegyi in 2014. The first Hungarian to be nominated from Hungary wasTamás Czigány,[17] for best short documentary in 1967.
The best-known Hungarian film to date isMephisto, by István Szabó. It won an Academy Award in the category Best Foreign Language film. The year before, in 1980,The Fly, an animation by Rofusz, became the very first Hungarian film to receive an Academy Award. The Foreign Student Academy Award went to Zsuzsa Böszörményi (1991). In 2010 the trioMárk Jászberényi,Tamás Perlaki andGyula Priskin obtained the scientific and engineering award for Lustre, a software program to color-correct intermediates[clarification needed] in real time, first used onThe Lord of the Rings. In 2014, the same prize went to three Hungarians,Tibor Madjar,[18]Imre Major andCsaba Kőhegyi. Up to 2018, ten films have been nominated in the category Best Foreign Language Film: four nominations to István Szabó (the most nominated person in Hungary), two toZoltán Fábri (1969, 1979) and one each toImre Gyöngyössy,Barna Kabay andKároly Makk, andOn Body and Soul (2018). Three films have been nominated for Best Short Animation (Marcell Jankovics,Ferenc Rófusz andGéza M. Tóth). CinematographerLajos Koltai has been nominated for best cinematography in 2000. In 2016,Son of Saul won the second Best Foreign Language Film AA for Hungary. In 2017 Hungary won the best short feature category withMindenki. In 2018, Hungary got its 10th nomination in the category Best Foreign Language Film forOn Body and Soul byIldikó Enyedi. The most successful film around 2019 isEternal Winter byAtilla Szász.Those Who Remained was shortlisted for Best Foreign film 2020.
CinematographersLászló Kovacs ASC, Andrew László ASC.Andrew Marton directed the chariot race inBen-Hur for which he won a Golden Globe.Joe Eszterhas wroteBasic Instinct and became the highest-paid writer in Hollywood history. He also wrote the Berlin Golden Bear winner "Music Box" and the first Hungarian "blockbuster",Children of Glory.Zoltan Elek won AA-award (1986) for make-up. Actors of Hungarian origin arePeter Lorre,Paul Newman (10 AA nominations: 59, 62, 64, 68–69, 82–83, 86–87, 95, 99 and 2003)/one win 87 plus one honorary award 86 and 99 win),Tony Curtis (1 AA nomination),Johnny Weissmüller (Tarzan) andBéla Lugosi (Dracula),Franciska Gaal,Ilona Massey,Zsa Zsa Gabor.Hedy Lamarr was half-Hungarian as wasAli MacGraw nominated (71) (Love Story),Adrien Brody (1 AA),Goldie Hawn (1 AA),Marton Csokas andIsabelle Huppert, one nomination (2017).
Ephraim Kishon (b. Ferenc Hoffmann) was Israel's first nominee for best foreign-language film. He got two nominations (1964, 1972).
Ján Kadár (b. János Kadár) won the first AA for Czechoslovakia (1965).
Paul Sarossy is active often as Atom Egoyan's cinematographer.
Some years after the failed revolution of 1956 against the Soviet-dominated communist dictatorship, the cultural climate eased slightly; this led to more creative freedom. Important films in the 1960s were directed byIstván Gaál: (The Falcons),András Kovács:Hideg Napok (1966),Miklós Jancsó:The Round-Up (1965) (Screenplay:Hernádi Gyula, DOP:Tamás Somló), andIstván Szabó (The Father).Márton Keleti directed:Franz Liszt: Dreams of Love. (1970) filmed in 70 mm byIstván Hildebrandt. Other important filmmakersSándor Pál,Márta Mészáros (Adoption Golden Bear Berlin 1975),Péter Gothár (Golden Lion, Venice):Time Stands Still (Cannes: Award of the Youth, 1982) (1982).Sunshine andChildren of Glory are successful bigger budget movies about Hungary's turbulent past. Recent successful films include:János Szász: (Witman fiúk, DOP:Tibor Máthé 1997),György Pálfi:Hukkle (2002), (Taxidermia) (2006). The first super-studio in Hungary wasKorda Studios. The next wasRaleigh Studios, Budapest. Partly because of this[because of what?] an increasing number of foreign films, mainly with larger budgets, have been shot in Hungary in recent years, especially in Budapest. Budapest has been nicknamed "Hollywood on the Danube" because it is arguably now the most Hollywood-populated[clarification needed] place outside the U.S.[citation needed] Steven Spielberg'sMunich was also partly shot in Budapest. Most ofGuillermo del Toro'sHellboy II was shot in Hungary. Altogether 47 foreign films were shot in Hungary in 2008, and 52 in 2009. In comparison, about 20 to 30 Hungarian movies are made annually.
Hungarians were major pioneers in cinema both in Europe (e.g.Alexander Korda) and in the United States, and they have entered to the formation[clarification needed] of theart movie.
István SzőtsPeople of the Mountains won theVenice Biennale in 1942, thenGéza RadványiSomewhere in Europe influenced the emergingneorealism.
AfterWorld War II the greatest Hungarian film director wasMiklós Jancsó who won the first two international film prizes:
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Traditional dishes such as the world-famousGoulash (gulyás stew orgulyásleves soup) are popular. Dishes are often flavoured withpaprika (ground red peppers), a Hungarian innovation.[22] Thick, heavy Hungariansour cream calledtejföl is often used to soften the dish's flavour. The famous Hungarian hot river fish soup called Fisherman's soup orhalászlé is usually a rich mixture of several kinds of poached fish.
Other dishes includechicken paprikash,foie gras made ofgoose liver,pörkölt stew,vadas (game stew with vegetable gravy anddumplings),trout withalmonds or salty and sweetdumplings, andtúrós csusza, (dumplings with freshquark cheese and thicksour cream). Desserts include the iconicDobos Cake,Strudel (rétes), filled withapple,cherry,poppy seeds or cheese,Gundel pancake, plum dumplings (szilvás gombóc),somlói dumplings, dessert soups like chilledsour cherry soup, and sweetchestnut puree (gesztenyepüré) (cooked chestnuts mashed withsugar andrum, split into crumbs, and topped withwhipped cream).Perec andkifli are widely popular pastries.
Thecsárda is the most distinctive type of Hungarian inn, an old-style tavern offering traditional cuisine and beverages.Borozó usually denotes a cozy old-fashioned wine tavern,pince is a beer or wine cellar, and asöröző is apub offering draught beer and sometimes meals. Thebisztró is an inexpensive restaurant often with self-service. Thebüfé is the cheapest place, although one may have to eat standing at a counter. Pastries, cake, and coffee are served at acukrászda, while aneszpresszó is a cafeteria.
Pálinka:Pálinka is a fruitbrandy, distilled from fruit grown in the orchards of theGreat Hungarian Plain. It is a spirit native to Hungary, and comes in a variety of flavours includingapricot (barack) andcherry (cseresznye). However,plum (szilva) is the most common flavour. Though many flavours are available, pálinka made of strawberries or walnut are considered to be a rare and expensive delicacy; variations also include pálinka sweetened with honey or fruit beds under the liquid.
Beer: Beer goes well with many traditional Hungarian dishes. The five main Hungarian breweries areBorsodi,Soproni,Arany Ászok,Kőbányai, andDreher.
Wine: AsHugh Johnson says inThe History of Wine, the territory of Hungary is ideal for wine-making. Since the fall of communism, there has been a renaissance of Hungarian wine-making. The choice of good wine is widening from year to year. The country can be divided to six wine regions, which includeNorth-Transdanubia,Lake Balaton,South Pannonia,Duna-region orAlföld,Upper Hungary andTokaj-Hegyalja. Hungarian wine regions offer a great variety of style, of which the main products of the country are elegant and full-bodied dry whites with goodacidity, although complex sweet whites (Tokaj), elegant (Eger) and full-bodied robust reds (Villány andSzekszárd). The main varieties areOlaszrizling,Hárslevelű,Furmint,Pinot gris orSzürkebarát,Chardonnay (whites),Kékfrankos (orBlaufrankisch in German),Kadarka,Portugieser,Zweigelt,Cabernet sauvignon,Cabernet franc, andMerlot. The most famous wines from Hungary areTokaji Aszú andEgri Bikavér.
Tokaji:Tokaji, meaning "of/from Tokaj", is used to label wines from the wine region ofTokaj-Hegyalja. Tokaji wine has received accolades from numerous great writers and composers includingBeethoven,Liszt,Schubert, andGoethe;Joseph Haydn's favorite wine was a Tokaji.Louis XV andFrederick the Great tried to outdo one another in the excellence of the vintages they stocked, when they treated guests likeVoltaire to some Tokaji.Napoleon III, the last Emperor of the French, ordered 30–40 barrels of Tokaji for the Court every year.[citation needed]Gustav III, King of Sweden, never had any other wine to drink.[citation needed] InRussia, customers includedPeter the Great andEmpress Elizabeth of Russia.
ZwackUnicum: For over 150 years, a blend of 40 Hungarianherbs has been used to create theliqueur Unicum. Unicum is a bitter, dark-coloured liqueur that can be drunk as anapéritif or after a meal; it is claimed that this helps the digestion. The recipe is held secret by the Zwack family.
Hungary has a wealth ofthermal springs, supplying numerous thermal baths and spas across the country. Hungarian baths featureClassical,Turkish andRoman architectural styles. Thermal water can be found with good quality and in great quantities on over 80% of Hungary's territory, making it an advantageous geographical location.
TheRomans heralded the first spas in the area of present-day Hungary; remains of their bath complexes are still to be seen inÓbuda. Spa culture was significantly revived during theOttoman rule over Hungary; the Turks used the thermal springs ofBuda for the construction of a number of bathhouses, some of which are still functioning (such asKirály Baths andRudas Baths). In the 19th century, advances in deep drilling and medical science provided the springboard for a further leap in bathing culture. Grand spas such asGellért Baths, Lukács Baths,Margaret Island, andSzéchenyi Medicinal Bath are a reflection of this resurgence in popularity. About 1,500 thermal springs can be found in Hungary. About half of these are used for bathing.
The spa culture has a history of nearly 2,000 years inBudapest. Budapest has the richest supply of thermal water among the capitals of the world.[citation needed] There are about 450 public baths in Hungary. Nowadays the trend shows that bath operators are modernizing their facilities and expanding the services offered. A total of 50 of the 160[Inconsistent with the figure of 450] public baths are qualified as spas throughout the country. Services are offered for healing purposes. These spas provide every type of balneal and physical therapy.[23][24]
The spa atEgerszalók is noted for its position in one of the principal wine-growing regions of Hungary. Egerszalók is also notable for human-caused geological morphology: when the spa was expanded by the government in 1961, the flow of supersaturated mineral water sharply increased, leading to the deposition of a hillside of shining whitetravertine.
Lake Hévíz is the largest biologically active, naturalthermal lake in the world.[citation needed] The oldest and most well-known bath of Hungary, in accordance with records from theRoman era, has a history of 2,000 years. The Hévíz treatment, in its present sense, also dates back more than 200 years.
The 4.4 ha (11 acre) lake is fed by its spring rushing up at a depth of 38 m, containingsulphur,radium, andminerals. Due to the high water output of the spring, the water of the lake is completely changed within 48 hours. The water of the lake is equally rich in dissolved substances and gases, combining the favourable effects of naturally carbonated medicinal waters and those containing sulphur,calcium,magnesium,hydrogen-carbonate, as well as those with a slightly radioactive content. The medicinal Hévíz mud, which is unique of its kind, contains both organic and inorganic substances and the radium-salts and reduced sulphuric solutions in it represent special medicinal factors.[clarification needed] The temperature of the water is 23–25 °C in winter and 33–36 °C in summer.
Hungarian folk art is varied and encompasses a variety of influences. It is in the beginning of the 18th century that the current popular style of Hungarian folk art took shape. Flowers and leaves, sometimes a bird or aspiral ornament, are the principal decorative themes of this style. A frequent ornament is a flower with a centerpiece resembling the eye of a peacock's feather.
The finest achievements in theirtextile arts are the embroideries which vary from region to region. Those ofKalotaszeg inTransylvania are charming products of Oriental design, sewn chiefly in a single color - red, blue, or black. Soft in line, the embroideries are applied on altar cloths, pillow cases and sheets. The embroidery patterns for theKalotaszeg region were preserved and popularised by several women in the early twentieth century including Gyarmathy Zsigáné Hory Etelka andKónya Gyuláné Schéfer Teréz.
In Hungary proper,Sárköz (a historical area inTolna) inTransdanubia and theMatyóföld in theGreat 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 ofblack clay, reflect more than three hundred years of traditionalTransdanubian 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.
Founded in 1826,Herend Porcelain is one of the world's largest ceramic factories, specializing in luxury hand painted and gildedporcelain. In the mid-19th century, it was purveyor to theHabsburg 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 privatized and is now 75% owned by its management and workers, exporting to over 60 countries of the world.[26]
There are specifically Hungarian breeds of domestic animals which are seen as national symbols in Hungary:
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Only seven countries (USA, USSR, UK, France, Italy, China, and Germany) have won more Summer Olympic gold medals than Hungary. Hungary has the second most Olympic gold medals per capita in theSummer Olympics. Hungary has the ninth highest, out of 211 participating nations, all-time total medal count for the Olympic Games, with a total of 465 medals. This despite the fact that Hungary was punished and barred from participation in the1920 and1984 Olympics. In the Summer Olympics, Hungary was always been among the top 10 best nations (in gold medal count) between 1928 and 1996, when they were allowed to compete. Hungary had the third most gold medals in 1936, 1952, 1956, and 1960.See:All-time Olympic Games medal table (2008 data)
Among the most famous Hungarians is footballerFerenc Puskás (1927–2006). He scored 84 goals in 85 internationals forHungary, and 511 goals in 533 matches in theHungarian andSpanish leagues. Puskás played in the1954 FIFA World Cup Final againstWest Germany. In 1958, after theHungarian Revolution, he emigrated toSpain, where he played on the legendaryReal Madrid team that also includedAlfredo Di Stéfano andFrancisco Gento.
Hungarians are also known for their prowess atwater sports, mainlyswimming,water polo (See:Water polo at the Summer Olympics) (in which theydefeated the Soviet team in 1956), andcanoeing (they have won multiple medals).Krisztina Egerszegi is one of the greatest Hungarian Olympic champions of the modern era. She is a three-time Olympian (1988, 1992 and 1996) and five time Olympic champion in swimming; and one of three individuals to have ever won the same swimming event at three consecutive Summer Olympics. She is currently also the only female swimmer who wonfive individual Olympic gold medals.[27][28][29] As a player, till dateDezső Gyarmati (1927–2013) is the first and only athlete (man or woman) to winfive Olympic medals in water polo: three gold, one silver and one bronze.[30][31] As a head coach, he guided theHungary men's national water polo team to three Olympic medals: one gold, one silver and one bronze,[30][31] making him one of themost successful water polo coaches in Olympic history, and the only man to win Olympic gold in water poloas player and head coach in the last 100 years. In 2013,FINA described him as a "legendary water polo player and coach", and "one of the best players the game ever seen and in fact the most decorated in history".[30]
Despite being landlocked, the presence of two major rivers (theDuna and theTisza) and a major lake (Balaton), provide excellent opportunities to practice water sports. In recent years there has also been a steady rise in the number of golfers in the country; the sport has developed much over the past 20 years (after the fall of Socialism), but the economic situation hinders further development ofgolf courses.
Some of the world's bestsabrefencing athletes have historically hailed from Hungary.
Hungary's national basketball team was one of Europe's major basketball forces from the mid-1940s until the mid-1960s when it won several medals at theEuropean Basketball Championship and often qualified for theSummer Olympics. In the past decades, the team showed its potential less frequently. Its most famous player in recent decades has beenKornél Dávid.
TheHungarian national ice hockey team also qualified for their firstIIHF World Championship in more than 70 years.
Traditional toys are made from various plants, for examplejuglans (dió),nuts (mogyoró) ormaize. "Erre csörög a dió, arra meg a mogyoró" is one of the most famous Magyarchildren's games.
Ulti is one of the most famouscard games played by a 32-card set so-called: "Magyar kártya", exactly: "Tell-Karte" with German decks.
Button football is a tabletop game which is known in Europe, typically in Hungary.
TheRubik's Cube was invented in Hungary in 1977 and gained international fame.
Hungary has produced many top-levelchess players, notablyJudith Polgar andPeter Leko. The 45thChess Olympiad was hosted in Budapest in 2024.
Theflag of Hungary is a horizontal tricolour of red, white and green (red-white-green). This revised style was adopted on the 12th of October 1957 following theHungarian Revolution of 1956.[32]
The colours of were used during the coronation ofMatthias II in 1608. It is speculated that the colours and their relationship with the Hungarian monarchy date back to the 13th century.[33]
The colours of the flag are also present in the traditionalHungarian Coat of Arms. The red is thought to signify the various battles which Hungary has fought in, whilst the white and green denote Hungary's rivers and mountains respectively.[32]
