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TheGreat Hungarian Plain (also known asAlföld orGreat Alföld,Hungarian:Alföld[ˈɒlføld] orNagy Alföld)[1][2] is aplain occupying the majority of the modern territory ofHungary. It is the largest part of the widerPannonian Plain (however, the Great Hungarian Plain was not part of the ancient Roman provincePannonia). Its territory significantly shrank due to its eastern and southern boundaries being adjusted by the new political borders created afterWorld War I when theTreaty of Trianon was signed in 1920.
Its boundaries are theCarpathians in the north and east, theTransdanubian Mountains and theDinaric Alps in the southwest, and approximately theSava river in the south.
Its territory covers approximately 52,000 km2 (20,000 sq mi) of Hungary, approximately 56% of its total area of 93,030 km2 (35,920 sq mi). The highest point of the plain isHoportyó (183 m (600 ft)); the lowest point is theTisza River. The terrain ranges from flat to rolling plains.
The most important Hungarian writers inspired by and associated with the plain areFerenc Móra andZsigmond Móricz, as well as the poetsSándor Petőfi andGyula Juhász.
Hungarian scientists born on the plain includeZoltán Bay, physicist;János Irinyi, chemist, inventor of the noiseless match;János Kabay, pharmacologist;Gábor Kátai, physician and pharmacist; andFrigyes Korányi, physician and pulmonologist.
The most important river of the plain is theTisza.
The notable cities and towns with medicinal baths areDebrecen,Berekfürdő,Cserkeszőlő,Gyula,Hajdúszoboszló,Orosháza,Szentes andSzolnok.
Among the cultural festivals and programmes characteristic of the region are theCsángófesztivál (Csángó Festival) inJászberény, theCseresznyefesztivál (Sweet Cherry Festival) inNagykörű, theGulyásfesztivál (Goulash Festival) inSzolnok, theHídi Vásár (Bridge Fair) inHortobágy National Park, theHunniális atÓpusztaszer, theSzabadtéri Játékok (Open-air Theater) inSzeged, theVárjátékok (Castle Games) inGyula, theVirágkarnevál (Flower Carnival) inDebrecen and theBajai Halászléfőző Népünnepély (Fisherman's Soup Boiling Festival) inBaja.
The part of the plain located in Hungary comprises the following areas:
The term is used in Serbia to denote the Hungarian portion of thePannonian plain.
The portion of the Pannonian plain in Serbia is mostly divided into 3 large geographical areas:Bačka,Banat andSrem (Syrmia), most of which are located in theVojvodina province.
The term is rarely used in Croatia, and is usually associated there with the geography of Hungary.
Parts of Pannonian Croatia can be considered an extension ofAlföld, particularly easternSlavonia and the connected parts ofSyrmia.[3]
The portion of the plain located in Slovakia is known as theEastern Slovak Lowland.
The part of the plain located in Ukraine is known as theTranscarpathian Lowland.
In Romania, the plain (Rom. câmp or câmpia, from Lat. campus) includes the regions ofBanat andCrişana. It is referred to inRomanian asThe Western Plain (Câmpia de Vest [ro]).
During the prehistoric era, the Great Hungarian Plain was a place of cultural and technological changes, as well as an important meeting point of cultures of Eastern and Western Europe.[4] It is a region of great archaeological importance to major European cultural transitions.
Agriculture began in the Great Hungarian Plain with the EarlyNeolithicKörös culture, located in present-day Serbia, 6000-5500 B.C.E.[5] followed 5500 B.C.E. by theLinear Pottery culture (LBK)[6][7][8] which later became the dominant agricultural culture of Europe. The LBK was followed by theLengyel culture in the Late Neolithic 5000-3400 BC.
During the EarlyBronze Age (2000 - 1800 BC), the growing demand for metal ores in Europe resulted in the new pan-European and intercontinental trade networks.[9] During that period cultures of the Great Hungarian Plain incorporated many elements from the other cultures of Bronze Age Near Eastern, Steppe and Central Europe
During the earlyIron Age (first millennium BC), a variant of the Central EuropeanHallstatt culture inhabitedTransdanubia, while pre-Scythian and laterScythian cultures were found in the eastern region of the Great Hungarian Plain.
In 2014, a major study of DNA from burials in the Great Hungarian Plain was published.[10] The 5,000-year record indicated significant genomic shifts at the beginning of the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages, with periods of stability in between. The earliest Neolithic genome was similar to other European hunter-gatherers and surprisingly there was no evidence oflactase persistence at that period. The most recent samples, from the Iron Age, showed an eastern genomic influence contemporary with introduced Steppe burial rites. There was also a transition towards lighter pigmentation.
The Hungarian plain became the heartland of theEurasian nomads, being in its natural environment similar to thePontic–Caspian steppe. The plain had formed the base forHuns,Avars,Magyars,Cumans,Jasz people and other nomadic tribes from theEurasian Steppe.[11][12]
U velikoj mađarskoj nizini Alföld zapadno od Karpata tradicionalno su se smještale euroazijske nomadske skupine, a dio panonske Hrvatske može se smatrati ekstenzijom tog područja, osobito istočna Slavonija i s njome povezani dijelovi Srijema.[5]
Media related toGreat Hungarian Plain at Wikimedia Commons
Great Hungarian Plain travel guide from Wikivoyage| West-Hungarian Borderland |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Little Hungarian Plain | ||
| Transdanubia | ||
| Transdanubian Mountains | ||
| Transdanubian Hills | ||
| North Hungarian Mountains | ||
| Great Hungarian Plain | ||
