AREA AND LOCATION
Hungary lies in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe and extends over an area of 90 030 square km. Fifty per cent of the territory is flatland. The Grand Plain (Alföld) occupies the entire eastern part of the country and the Little Plain (Kisalföld) is located along the north-western border. Hungary is divided by two rivers, the Danube and the Tisza. Both rivers cross the country in a north-south direction.
Since 2004, Hungary is a member of EU
AREA CODE
+ 36. City code for Budapest: 1
BORDERING COUNTRIES
Austria (366 km), Slovenia (102 km), Croatia (329 km), Serbia (151 km), Romania (443 km), Ukraine (103 km), and Slovakia (677 km).
CITIES
Budapest is the capital city, with a population of 1 775 203 inhabitants. The other big cities are Debrecen (204 297), Miskolc (175 701), Szeged (162 889), Pécs (156 567) and Györ (127 594).
CLIMATE
Hungary has a mild, continental climate and has four seasons. The coldest month is January
(- 1° C average) which is a winter season, the warmest month is August (21° C average). August and July comprise the summer season.
CURRENCY
The “Forint”, which is the only currency accepted for purchases in shops. Tourist areas accept EUR and USD. Most places accept major credit cards.
DISTANCES
Budapest is situated 535 km from Prague, 200 km from Bratislava, 690 km from Berlin, 255 km from Vienna and 639 km from Bucharest.
IMPORTANT TELEPHONE NUMBERS
International emergency call centre 112
Ambulance 104
Fire Service 105
Police 107
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS
Budapest Ferihegy Airport: www.bud.hu
Debrecen International Airport: www.airportdebrecen.hu
The FlyBalaton in Sármellék: www.fly-balaton.com
Györ-Pér Airport: www.gyor-perairport.hu
Pécs-Pogány Airport: www.airport-pecs.hu
LANGUAGE
The official language is Hungarian. It is a Finno-Ugric language unrelated to most other languages in Europe. Connections exist between the Finnish language and Hungarian.
But don’t worry! Especially in the bigger cities, people understand German and English.
NATIONAL HOLIDAYS
1st January: New Year’s Day; 15th March: Outbreak of the 1848-49 revolution and War of Independence, Birth of the modern, parliamentary Hungary; 1st May: Labour Day;
20th August: St. Stephen’s Day – State holiday of the Republic of Hungary;
23rd October: Outbreak of the 1956 revolution and fight for freedom, Proclamation of the Republic of Hungary (1989); 1st November: All Saints Day; 25th and 26th Christmas Days.
POLITICAL SYSTEM
Parliamentary democracy.
POPULATION
10 006 835 inhabitants. Ethnic groups: Hungarian 92, 3 %; Romani (Gypsy)
5 %; German 1, 2 %; Romanian 0, 8 %; Slovak 0, 4 %; Croat 0, 2 %; Serb 0, 2% and Ukrainian 0,1 %.
POWER NETWORK
230V/50 Hz, two-pole socket with safety pin.
PRESIDENT
Katalin Novak
RAIL TRANSPORT
MÁV Hungarian State Railways: www.mav.hu; www.elvira.hu.
RIVER TRANSPORT
A Hydrofoil runs on the Danube (April-October), connecting Budapest, Bratislava (the capital of Slovakia) and Vienna in both directions.
Regular services connect Budapest with resorts along the Danube Bend in Northern Hungary.
Regular boats and ferries run on Lake Balaton, which is the second most visited area in the country after Budapest.
ROAD TRANSPORT
BUS: www.eurolines.hu, www.volanbusz.hu
RENT A CAR: www.hertz.com
TIME
Central European Time – CET (GMT + 1 hour), Summer Time is in effect from March to November: GMT + 2 hours.
VACCINATION
No special vaccination is necessary prior to visiting Hungary.