FORMULA 1  HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX 2024

Budapeszt - Hungaroring

19.07.2024 - 21.07.2024

FORMULA 1  HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX 2024

19.07.2024 - 21.07.2024 | Budapeszt - Hungaroring



Key Facts

Location: 19.417977

Area:

93,028 sq km (35,918 sq miles).



9,821,318 (UN estimate 2016).



106.4 per sq km.



Capital:

Budapest.



Government:

Parliamentary Republic.



Geography:

Hungary is situated in Central Europe, sharing borders to the north with Slovakia, to the northeast with Ukraine, to the east with Romania, to the south with Croatia and Serbia, and to the west with Austria and Slovenia.

Despite much of the country lying lower than 200m (656ft), there are several ranges of hills, chiefly in the north and west. The country’s highest point is Kékes in the Matra Mountains northeast of Budapest, which is 1,014m (3,327ft) high. Other, relatively low, mountain ranges include the North Hungarian Mountains, the Transdanubian Mountains and Mecsek north of Pécs. The lowest point, near Szeged in southern Hungary, is just 77m (253ft) above sea level.

The Great Hungarian Plain, which stretches northeast from the Danube to the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains, east to the mountains of Transylvania in Romania, and south to the Fruška Gora range in Serbia, covers more than half of Hungary’s total territory. It is flat and low-lying throughout, never exceeding more than 183m (591ft) in height. The Little Hungarian Plain is similar, but much smaller, and lies in northwest Hungary next to the Austrian and Slovakian borders.

Two major European rivers run through Hungary, the Danube and the Tisza. The former flows through Budapest on its way to the Black Sea via Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania. The River Tisza, which has its source in Ukraine, flows south through Hungary into Vojvodina in northern Serbia, where it joins with the Danube. Both rivers are navigable in Hungary. Smaller rivers include the Rába, Szamos, Sío and the Drava, which largely defines the Croatian border.

Hungary has no coastline, but the country is home to Lake Balaton in west-central Hungary, which is sometimes referred to as the ‘Hungarian Sea’. Lake Balaton is a regionally important freshwater lake, the largest in Central Europe, with a surface area of 592 sq km (229 sq miles). At 78km (48 miles) long and up to 14km (9 miles) wide, it’s Hungary’s largest recreational area and a popular destination for both summer swimming and winter sports. Hungary also has two much smaller lakes: Lake Velence, which is a bird reserve, and Lake Fertö, which straddles the Austrian border near Sopron.



Language: Religion:

Christianity: 52% Roman Catholic, 16% Calvinist, 3% Lutheran, 2.6% Greek Catholic and a small number of other Christian, Eastern Orthodox and Jewish minorities.



Time: Social Conventions:

When meeting a Hungarian, handshaking is customary and both first name and surname should be used. At a meal, toasts are usually made and should be returned. Gifts such as flowers, chocolates, or a bottle of good quality wine are acceptable for hosts as a token of thanks – particularly when invited for a meal. Smoking, although popular in Hungary, is prohibited on public transport in towns and public buildings. English is quite widely spoken in tourist areas, but some knowledge of German can also prove useful.



Electricity:

230 volts AC, 50Hz. European-style plugs with two round pins are used.



Head of Government:

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán since 2010.



Head of State:

President János Áder since 2012.



Recent History:

Hungary was first colonised by nomadic Magyars from southern Russia in the ninth century, but had previously been occupied by Celts, Romans, Slavs and Avars. The Magyars created a unified kingdom under their ruler Árpád that would last almost a thousand years until a brutal Mongol invasion devastated the kingdom at the end of the 13th century.

The Kingdom of Hungary slowly re-established itself as a leading European power and when the Mongols abandoned Europe a new threat came in the shape of Ottoman Turks who were defeated at the end of the 15th century by Matthias Corvinus, a powerful military leader and a patron of the arts. His successor was less successful, and Hungary fell under Ottoman rule during the 16th century and was not able to re-establish its independence until 1718, forming an alliance with Austria as part of the Habsburg Empire ruled by a Magyar aristocracy.

Despite several uprisings in the mid-19th century, the country remained essentially a feudal state until the end of World War 1 when, in 1918, it finally dissolved its union with Austria. Hungary sided with Nazi Germany during World War 2 until 1944 when German troops occupied the country. Following the Russian invasion in January 1945, Hungary became a short-lived republic before joining the Warsaw Pact as a Soviet-style socialist state in 1949.

Declining living conditions and widespread political purges eventually led to the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 under Prime Minister Imre Nagy, in which Hungary attempted withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact. The uprising was soon quashed with the support of Soviet army units, leaving an estimated 20,000 dead and nearly a quarter of a million Hungarians exiled. Despite this brutal suppression of freedom, Hungary was considered one of the most liberal countries in the Eastern Bloc particularly after 1968 and the introduction of the New Economic Mechanism, allowing a significant role to be taken by private enterprise.

During the 1980s the political situation relaxed still further, and with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989 Hungary was free to begin the transition to a pluralistic political system. The first free elections were held in the spring of 1990. Hungary joined NATO in 1999 and became a full European Union member in 2004. The political landscape is dominated by the conservative Hungarian Civic Union, Fidesz, which holds a near supermajority in the National Assembly.

Did you know?

• Hungary has a rich heritage of folk dance that date back at least as far as the Middle Ages.

• The Romans brought the spa to Hungary, a land of thermal water.

• Unicum, a liquor made from a blend of 40 herbs, is traditionally drunk before or after a meal.