Hungary
Hungary
- Capital
- Budapest
- Population
- 9,749,763
- Region
- Europe
- Languages
- Hungarian
Hungary is the birthplace of the world-famous Rubik's Cube, which was invented by Ernő Rubik in 1974 as a teaching tool for 3D geometry. The country is also home to Lake Hévíz, the world's largest biologically active thermal lake where bathers can swim year-round. Additionally, Hungarian scientists have contributed an outsized number of inventions to modern life, including the ballpoint pen, the electric motor, and the basic technology behind the hydrogen bomb.
Currency
The official currency is the Hungarian Forint, identified by the ISO code HUF. When it was introduced in 1946 to replace the Pengő, it was part of a stabilization effort to stop the worst case of hyperinflation ever recorded in history.
Flag symbolism
The flag of Hungary features three equal horizontal bands of red, white, and green, a design that dates back to the 1848 revolution against the Habsburgs. The red stripe represents strength and the blood spilled by patriots who fought for the nation's independence. White symbolizes faithfulness and purity, while green stands for hope and the fertile pastures of the land.
Emblem history
The Hungarian coat of arms features a shield divided into two parts, with the left side consisting of four silver and four red horizontal stripes representing the four main rivers of the nation. The right side features a silver patriarchal cross standing on a golden crown, which is placed atop three green hills representing the Tatra, Matra, and Fatra mountains. Crowning the entire shield is the Holy Crown of Saint Stephen, a symbol of sovereign statehood that includes a distinctively bent cross resulting from a 17th-century accident.