 | |
 Germany |  Hungary |
|---|---|
| Diplomatic mission | |
| Embassy of Germany,Budapest | Embassy of Hungary,Berlin |
Germany andHungary are both member states of theEuropean Union,NATO,OECD,OSCE,Council of Europe and theWorld Trade Organization. Germany has an embassy inBudapest. Hungary has an embassy inBerlin, two general consulates (inDüsseldorf andMunich) and nine honorary consulates (inBremerhaven,Erfurt,Hamburg,Nürnberg,Schwerin,Dresden,Essen,Frankfurt andStuttgart).[1] The Agreement between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Republic of Hungary on 'Friendly Cooperation and Partnership in Europe' concluded on 6 February 1992[2] is one of the principal cornerstones of today's bilateral relations.[3]
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Hungary set down an important marker for future bilateral relations in September 1989 when it opened up its border with Austria to refugees fromEast Germany, thus making a special contribution towardsGerman reunification (1990) and thepolitical transformation inCentral andEastern Europe.[3] On the evening of 10 September 1989,Magyar Televízió broadcast that theGovernment of Hungary had decided to open that border at midnight.[4] Three weeks prior, thePan-European Picnic on the Austrian-Hungarian border nearSopron had taken place; about 660 citizens of East Germany had taken the opportunity to cross theIron Curtain. On 25 August 1989, Hungary's prime ministerMiklós Németh and his foreign ministerGyula Horn had secretly visited the German chancellorHelmut Kohl andforeign ministerGenscher.[5]
Arnulf I of Bavaria maintained an alliance with the Hungarians until his death in 899.[6] During their campaigns followingtheir conquest of theCarpathian Basin the Hungarians stopped neither at the river Morava nor at the western border of Pannonia, but penetrated deeply into the territory ofBavaria as far as the riverEnns.[7][8] During thebattle of Pressburg[9] on 4 July 907, aBavarian army was defeated by theHungarians.[9] TheBattle of Lechfeld (10 August 955) was a decisive victory byOtto I the Great,King of the Germans, over the Hungarian leaders. The defeat effectively ended Magyar raids on the West.[10]
Fearing a war of extermination,Géza of Hungary (972-997) assured Otto II that the Hungarians had ceased their raids and asked him to send missionaries.[10] Otto complied, and in 975 Géza and a few of his kinsmen were baptized into the Roman Catholic Church.[10] Géza used German knights and his position as chief of the Hungarians' largest clan to restore strong central authority over the other clans.[10] Hungary's ties with the West were strengthened in 996 when Géza's son,Stephen I of Hungary married PrincessGiselle of Bavaria, sister of Emperor Henry II.[10] On the eve of World War I a Munich archaeologist discovered her grave in the church of the Niedernburg convent — which has since become a place of pilgrimage for the Hungarian faithful.[11]
Transylvania was conquered and colonized with — besidesSzékely people —German Saxons in the eleventh and twelfth centuries.[10] In 1241-42 theMongols reduced Hungary's towns and villages to ashes and slaughtered half the population.[10]Béla IV of Hungary repopulated the country with a wave of immigrants, transforming royal castles into towns and populating them with Germans, Italians, and Jews.[10] Hungarian kings were keen to settle Germans in the country's uninhabited territories.[11]
Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor was from 1387 to 1437 also aKing of Hungary. Although Hungary's economy continued to flourish, Sigismund's expenses outstripped his income.[10] Social turmoil erupted late in Sigismund's reign as a result of the heavier taxes.[10] Hungary'sfirst peasant revolt was quickly checked, but it promptedTransylvania's Hungarian and German nobles to form theUnion of Three Nations, which was an effort to defend their privileges against any power except that of the king.[10]
In the 18th century, underCharles VI andMaria Theresa, Hungary experienced economic decline. Centuries of Ottoman occupation, rebellion, and war had reduced Hungary's population drastically, and large parts of the country's southern half were almost deserted. A labor shortage developed and theHabsburgs called among others German peasants to Hungary.[10]
In the 19th centuryPrussia's defeat ofAustria-Hungary was a major prelude to the unification of theGerman Empire in 1871.[12][13]
DuringWorld War I both countries were allied asCentral Powers. The 1914Septemberprogramm authorized by German ChancellorTheobald von Bethmann Hollweg proposed the creation of a Central European Economic Union, comprising a number of European countries, including Germany and Hungary, in which, as the Chancellor secretly stressed, there was to bea semblance of equality among the member states, but in fact it was to be under German leadership tostabilize Germany's economic predominance in Central Europe, with co-authorKurt Riezler admitting that the union would be a veiled form of German domination in Europe (see also:Mitteleuropa).[14][15] The plan failed amid Germany's defeat in the war.
The countries shared a common border after Germanyannexed Austria in 1938. Initially, the two countries were allied duringWorld War II, although Hungary opposed and refused to take part in Germany'sinvasion of Poland, which started the war. In 1944, however, Hungary also fell underGerman occupation.
Hungary's 1989 decision to open its borders with Austria to helpEast German refugees flee toWest Germany was a key factor in preparing for theGerman reunification. Despite this, in the 1990s, Germany opposed Hungary and other Central European nations joiningNATO, according to archived German Foreign Ministry files released in 2022.[16] Germany, pursuing a pro-Russian policy, tried to discourage those countries from joining NATO during confidential discussions, and tried to convince other member states against their NATO membership.[16] Hungary eventually joined NATO in 1999.
In 2024, Hungary's Foreign MinisterPéter Szijjártó summoned the German ambassador Julia Gross to complain about a speech in which she urged Hungarian public figures to speak out against actions she said were eroding the trust of the country's NATO and EU allies.[17]
Germany is Hungary's most important foreign trade partner, both as a customer and as a supplier.[18] Germany is one of the countries with which Hungary has a trade balance surplus.[3]
German aid to Hungary between 1990 and 1995 totaledDM 5 billion, loans and aid reflected privileged treatment of Hungary in the region.[19]
Germany is also the leading foreign investor in Hungary: at the end of 2005, German companies accounted for some 28 per cent of all foreign direct investments in Hungary.[3] In 2005 alone, Germany invested or reinvested some EUR 1.2 billion in Hungary.[3] There are more than 7,000 companies in Hungary set up partially or wholly with German capital.[3] One of the most important business links is the German-Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Budapest representing the interests of more than 900 member companies from both countries.[3] The overwhelming majority (75 per cent) of German investors have been very happy with their involvement in Hungary and would invest there again today, shown by an economic survey conducted by the Chamber.[3]
Audi has built the largest engine manufacturing plant of Europe (third largest in the world) inGyőr becoming Hungary's largest exporter with total investments reaching over €3,300 million until 2007.[20] Audi's workforce assembles theAudi TT, the Audi TT Roadster and theA3 Cabriolet in Hungary.[20] The plant delivers engines to carmakers Volkswagen, Skoda, Seat and also to Lamborghini.[20]
Daimler-Benz invests €800 million ($1.2 billion) and creates up to 2,500 jobs at a new assembly plant inKecskemét, Hungary[21] with capacity for producing 100,000Mercedes-Benz compact cars a year.[22]
Opel produced 80,000Astra and 4,000Vectra cars from March 1992 until 1998 inSzentgotthárd, Hungary.[23] Today, the plant produces about half million engines and cylinder heads a year.[23]
Leading automotive manufacturers, includingAudi,Bosch,Knorr-Bremse, andThyssenKrupp have established R&D centers in Hungary:[20]
Germany and Hungary are closely cooperating in culture and education.[3][24] The goal is the promotion of the German language, academic and school exchanges and cultural events.[3]
The German language plays an important role in the education and economic sectors of Hungary.[3] TheGoethe Institute (GI) in Budapest[24] — that has celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2008 — offers a comprehensive range of courses and close cooperation with schools in Hungary.[3] There are also numerous programs designed to promote the German language among Hungary'sethnic German minority.[3] In Budapest, the Thomas Mann Grammar School founded in 1992 is an international school also attended by Hungarians.[3] The GermanAbitur and the Hungarian university entrance examination may be completed at the Ungarndeutsches Bildungszentrum (Education Centre for Ethnic Germans in Hungary) inBaja.[3]
Hungarian literature is popular in Germany with the works ofPéter Esterházy,Péter Nádas,Sándor Márai,Antal Szerb andImre Kertész achieving the greatest success.[24]
The Collegium Hungaricum in Berlin was founded in 1924.[25] After 1945 it ceased operations, and was reopened in 1973, from 2000 under the old name.[25] There is also a Hungarian Cultural Centre inStuttgart, a branch of theBalassi Institute. There are museums dedicated to Hungarian composer and pianistFerenc Liszt inWeimar andBayreuth, and his sepulchral chapel is located in Bayreuth, where he died.
There is a German international school in Budapest,Thomas Mann Gymnasium.
Every year, thousands of Hungarians travel to Germany on study and research exchanges.[3] TheGerman Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and theRobert Bosch Foundation are awarding scholarships for these.[3]
TheAndrássy Gyula German Language University of Budapest plays a key role in German foreign cultural and education policy in Hungary.[3]
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