Most of the population of Hungary is the titular nation - the Hungarians. Their number is about 93% of the total number of citizens of this country.
Hungarians
The Hungarian people (self-Magyars) haveinteresting story of its own formation. Linguists and archaeologists have concluded that the ancestral home of this nation are the steppes of the Trans-Urals. It was here that the Ugrians wandered, from which the Khanty and Mansi later also emerged (they now live in Western Siberia).
Magyar pushed to the west the lack of resources.As it already happened several times (and it will be still in the Middle Ages), the wild east "shot" hordes in the direction of Europe. Hungary, whose population is descendants of such nomads, has already suffered from invasions.
First, the Hungarians settled in the Black Seathe steppes of today's Ukraine, and at the end of the 9th century went to Transylvania. Their leader at that time was the legendary prince Arpad. Members of his dynasty ruled the Hungarians until the XIV century.
The Magyars were in their present homelandfrom where they expelled the former inhabitants - Slavs and Avars. Soon the nomads adapted to the new conditions of existence, adopted the customs of their neighbors and began to lead a sedentary lifestyle. Nevertheless, this warlike people still scared the neighboring states for a long time, until they accepted Catholicism. The population of Hungary began to grow due to the attainment of stability and relative calm.
Population of Austria-Hungary
In the late Middle Ages, the Hungarians found themselves independing on Austria. Its rulers Habsburg with the help of dynastic marriages united several national states into an empire that existed until 1918. The population of Austria-Hungary has long fought for their own rights and the preservation of national traditions. German domination was greatly shaken after the 1848 revolution. Then, to suppress the Hungarian speeches, the Russian emperor Nicholas I sent troops to the aid of the Hapsburgs. Independence was not obtained, but after a few decades a dual monarchy was formed. Hungarians and Austrians got the same rights in domestic politics. This led to the growth of national identity, the popularization of language, etc.
National features
The territory of modern Hungary (93 thousandsquare kilometers) does not correspond to the area of settlement of this nation. So, for example, Romania in the XX century received Transylvania, in which many descendants of the Magyars live. The long-term existence under the rule of outsiders did not prevent the people from retaining their identity. Hungarian is very different from the neighboring dialects (German and Slavic groups). To the Germans, for example, he seems gibberish. This language has much in common with the languages of the Finns, Estonians, Khanty and Mansi. With the adoption of Christianity, the inhabitants of the country adopted the Latin alphabet with some peculiarities.
Венгрия, население которой достаточно однородно, ranked second in the Habsburg Empire. This was formalized after numerous revolutions and conflicts of the XIX century. Even the state got the name Austria-Hungary, which emphasized the status of these two peoples, while other minorities (Czechs, Serbs, Bosnia, etc.) seemed to be on the sidelines.
Capital
Thanks to privileges, Hungary developed rapidly.The population had a high literacy rate. Especially proud of the nation was its capital, Budapest. Until the 19th century, in the European consciousness, the lands east of Vienna seemed wild. This stereotype was destroyed after Budapest appeared. Hungary for a long time did not have a normal capital due to the invasion of the Turks and the weak development of infrastructure.
However, the new city formed in 1873after the merger of Buda and Pest, it became a real metropolis of that era. It was the cultural center of the nation, which soon gained independence after the horrors of the First World War. Today, 1.7 million people live in Budapest (this is the seventh largest city in Europe). Here appeared the first metro after London.
Other cities
Other large countries areDebrecen, Miskolc, Pec, Szeged. Their population has confessional and national proportions similar to the capital. The number of residents ranges from 100 to 200 thousand. The population density map clearly shows that it is evenly distributed throughout the country.
Minorities
Hungary, whose population was formed afternumerous historical upheavals, and has significant national minorities. They are Gypsies, Germans, Jews, Slovaks, Romanians, Serbs, etc. In total, they make up about 10% of the total population.
This is explained by the shadow of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, in which a cauldron of national contradictions was simmering. Many residents forcibly assimilated.
The largest religious group is Catholics.(this is approximately every second resident of the country according to opinion polls). The presence of Calvinists (about 15%), which appeared in the country after the European Reformation, is also noticeable.
Jewish communities prefer Budapest.Hungary was a safe haven for this people. In the 19th century, in the neighboring Russian Empire, anti-Semitic policies were carried out (the Pale of Settlement, etc.), which led many Jews to emigrate to the Danube. The Jewish community suffered greatly after the Holocaust. Also, many left for Israel after the formation of this state in the Middle East.
In 1993, a law was passed in Hungaryminorities. He secured for them all sorts of rights. The initiative was adopted after the collapse of the communist system, which was characteristic of all the countries of Central Europe, which were in the orbit of the influence of the Soviet Union.
