Culture In Hungary

A landlocked country in the heart of Europe, Hungary was a powerful medieval kingdom. Intimately involved in European history and culture, the Hungarians have always been proud of their distinctive identity, reinforced by the fact that their language bears no resemblance to that of any of their neighbors. Today, following the collapse of Communism, Hungarians feel part of Central Europe again, the Europe of science, culture, and civic virtue, of gem-like Baroque churches and 19th century schools, town halls, barracks, and railway stations. This beautiful and beguiling land is home to the magnificent city of Budapest on the banks of the Danube, to the largest lake in central Europe, and to charming spa towns and hot springs. Hungarian openness and hospitality have been tested by the migrant crisis on Europe's doorstep, and the rise of populist parties. After setting the context in a brief historical overview, Culture Smart! Hungary offers practical advice and important insights into different aspects of Hungarian life today, to help deepen your understanding and appreciation of this complex and talented people.

This book provides a one-stop introduction to the history, culture, and personalities of Hungary, a fascinating country located at the heart of Europe and born at the crossroads of civilizations. Hungary today is most certainly a Central European nation in terms of a modern geopolitical and cultural understanding of Europe. Additionally, it has occupied a central position in the constellation of European kingdoms for centuries. The story of Hungary is about a country at the heart of Europe, geographically as well as culturally, and of a people quite distinct from their eastern and western neighbors yet irrevocably intertwined with them in terms of their histories and futures. Culture and Customs of Hungary is an absolute must-have for high school, public, and undergraduate library bookshelves. Readers will explore Hungary's fascinating contemporary life and culture in this unique and all-encompassing reference work that highlights the most important Hungarian historical personalities and explains their role in the development of Hungarian culture and society, as well as their standing in modern Hungary. Topics covered include history; art, including literature, architecture, film, and music; customs and traditions; modern society and culture; media; gender roles; language; and religion.

Contending that the possibilities for regular diplomacy and foreign politics were narrow following the close of the Second World War (for fairly obvious reasons--i.e. Soviet-U.S. tensions), this work advances the novel argument that Hungary used cultural diplomacy to maintain some relations with countries that had been important to it before the war. The author looks at official cultural and scientific efforts, but also includes the work of civilian organizations and prominent civilians who weren't necessarily working at the behest of the Hungarian government. A translated and revised version of Magyar Kultura--Egyetemes Kultura: Magyarorszag kulturdiplomaciai torekvesei 1945-1948. Distributed by ISBS. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject Cultural Studies - East European Studies, grade: A, The Emirates Academy (The Emirates Academy), course: Cult 201, 28 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: Even though Hungary is often described as an Eastern European country, in fact, it is situated in the Carpathian Basin in Central Europe. Its capital is Budapest. The Republic of Hungary, as it is called officially, borders Austria, Slovenia, Romania, Ukraine, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovakia. The national language is Hungarian (Magyar), a tongue, which is unique in the whole world. Although it is part of the Finno-Ugric family of languages, Finnish or Estonians and Magyars are not able to understand each other. Until today it’s not clear where these people originally came from. It can be assumed that they arrived somewhere from Asia. In history Hungary has survived several invasions, emerging empires and devastation of the Turks, the Tartars, the Habsburgs and the Russian. During those periods, the country went through various forms of governments, from Kingdom between 1000 and approximately 1900 to Communistic nation, beginning with the end of World War II until 1989, when the Iron Curtain fell on the border to Austria and the Eastern Bloc collapsed. Today’s governmental form is a Parliamentary Republic. Hungarian people have a very strong bound towards their religious beliefs. 68 % of those who declare religious affiliation are Roman Catholic, 21 % Reformed (Calvinist) Protestants and 6 % Lutheran Protestants. Jewish now form a very small part of the Hungarian population, resulting from persecution during the Third Reich. There also exist a small number of Greek Catholic and Orthodox believers as well as Muslims. Like in other countries, Catholic culture in Hungary tends toward particularistic ethics in terms of absolute values. Geert Hofstede, a Dutch researcher, carried out a study of how values in the work place are affected by culture in order to evaluate their attitude and for avoiding misunderstandings in terms of business making and intercultural collaboration.

'This book is about one of the most important questions under investigation both in Hungary and throughout Europe, namely, how and under what effects is traditional popular culture territorially distributed. This work uses new methods and new sources; it is based on the digital elaboration of the biggest and most comprehensive data set of Hungarian ethnological research, the 634 maps of the Atlas of Hungarian Folk Culture. Borsos's interdisciplinary elaboration creates a synthesis in ethnocartography with the help of mathematical, statistical methods and computerised cluster analysis, and thus assures an important leap in the science of ethnography.' Committee of Ethnology, Hungarian Academy of Sciences 'This work is a compendium, in the classical sense of the word, justifying, clarifying or eventually refuting our former knowledge obtained on the extremely rich distribution pattern of land and culture which characterises the Hungarian people. A comprehensive outlook, giving help to find our way in the complicated spatial labyrinth of cultural organisation.' Balázs Balogh, Director, HAS RCH Institute of Ethnology Balázs Borsos, Prof., DSc. of ethnography, has been working at the Institute of Ethnology of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences for nearly 30 years, since 2010 as scientific councilor (full professor). He was deputy director of the institute between 2002 and 2012. His main research interests lie in visual and ecological anthropology, ethnocartography, African ethnology.