Kingdom of Hungary

Kingdom of Hungary Full name Magyar Királyság
1000—1918 1919—1946
Flag Coat of arms
Territory of Kingdom of Hungary by the end of the 15th century
Capital	Budapest; Pozsony; Buda; Székesfehérvár; Debrecen; Esztergom
Common languages	Hungarian, Latin, German
Religion	Roman Catholic, later Calvinism, Lutheranism and others
Government	Monarchy
Monarch
• 1000-1038	Stephen I of Hungary
• 1920-1944	Regent Miklós Horthy
History
• Coronation of Stephen I of Hungary	1000
• Ottoman occupation of Buda	1541
• Revolution of 1848	1848
• 1867 Compromise	1867
• Treaty of Trianon	1920
• People's Republic of Hungary	1946
Area
1918	325.411 km2 (125.642 sq mi)
Population
• 1711	3,000,000
• 1790	8,000,000
• 1910	18,264,533
• 1940	14,679,573
Currency	Florentinus (1325), Thaler Austrian Florin (1754-1867), Forint (1867–1892), Korona (1892–1918), Korona (1919–1926), Pengő (1927–1946), Adópengő (1946)
ISO 3166 code	HU
Population source: about religion

The Kingdom of Hungary (short form: Hungary), emerged in 1000, when the Principality of Hungary, founded in 896, was recognized as a Kingdom. The form of government was changed from monarchy to Republic briefly in 1918 and again in 1946, ending the Kingdom and creating the Republic of Hungary. During most of its history, it was a considerable state in Central Europe, including, besides Hungary proper and Transylvania, Croatia-Slavonia and a territory known as the Military Frontier.

Names

Gesta Hungarorum

In the late Middle Ages, the Latin terms "Natio Hungarica" and "Hungarus" referred to all of the population, as loyalty and patriotism towards the crown existed among all inhabitants, regardless of ethnic origins. However, according to István Werbőczy's Tripartitum, the "Natio Hungarica" referred only to the privileged noblemen (regardless of ethnicity), as subjects of the Holy Crown of Hungary

The Latin Regnum Hungariae/Vngarie (Regnum meaning kingdom); Regnum Marianum (Kingdom of St. Mary); or simply Hungaria was the form used in official documents from the beginning of the kingdom to the 1840s.

The German name (Königreich Ungarn) was used from 1849 to the 1860s, and the Hungarian name (Magyar Királyság) was used in the 1840s, and again from the 1860s to 1918. The names in other languages of the kingdom were: Polish: Królestwo Węgier, Romanian: Regatul Ungariei, Croatian: Kraljevina Ugarska, Slovene: Kraljevina Ogrska, Czech: Uherské království, Slovak: Uhorské kráľovstvo, Italian (for the city of Fiume), Regno d'Ungheria.

In Austria-Hungary (1867-1918), the unofficial name Transleithania was sometimes used to denote the regions covered by the Kingdom of Hungary. Officially, the term Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen was included for the Hungarian part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, although this term was also in use prior to that time.

Hungary in 1190, during Béla III's rule. (orange)

History

Main article: History of Hungary

Early history

Main article: Pannonian basin before the Hungarians

The treasure of Nagyszentmiklós illustrating the Álmos legend from the Hungarian mythology: Emese's dream of the Turul bird

From 9 BC to the end of the 4th century, Pannonia was part of the Roman Empire on a part of later Hungary's area. In the final stages of the expansion of the Roman empire, the Carpathian Basin fell for a while into the sphere of the Mediterranean, Greco-Roman civilization - town centers, paved roads, and written sources were all part of the advances which the Migration of Peoples ended.

Among the first to arrive were the Huns, who built up a powerful empire under Attila the Hun. Attila was regarded as an ancestral ruler of the Hungarians, however, this claim is rejected today by the most scholars. After Hunnish rule faded away, the Germanic Ostrogoths and then the Lombards came to Pannonia, and the Gepids had a presence in the eastern part of the Carpathian Basin for about 100 years. In the 560s the Avars founded the Avar Khaganate, a state which maintained supremacy in the region for more than two centuries and had the military power to launch attacks against all its neighbours. The Avar Khaganate was weakened by constant wars and outside pressure and finally the Avars' 250 year rule ended when the Khaganate was conquered by the Franks under Charlemagne in the West and the Bulgarians under Krum in the East. Neither of these two nor others were able to create a lasting state in the region until the freshly unified Hungarians led by Árpád settled in the Carpathian Basin starting in 895. The force led by Árpád is estimated at about 400,000 people, consisting of seven Hungarian tribes, one Kabar tribe, and other smaller tribes.

The Kingdom of Hungary consisted of present-day Hungary, Transylvania (in present-day Romania), Slovakia, Carpatho Ruthenia (in present-day Ukraine), Vojvodina (in present-day Serbia), Burgenland (in present-day Austria), Slavonia, Croatia, Dalmatia (in present day Croatia), and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders.

Despite the interruption caused by the Mongol invasion of 1241, Transylvania evolved during the following centuries into a distinctive autonomous unit within the Hungarian kingdom, with its special voivode (or governor), its united, although heterogeneous, leadership (descended from Szekler, Saxon, and Magyar colonists), and its own constitution until 1526 when it effectively became independent(see Eastern Hungarian Kingdom).

The provinces of Croatia and Slavonia, and after 1868 the autonomous province of Croatia-Slavonia had autonomy within the Kingdom of Hungary from 1091-1918.

The Holy Crown of Hungary along with other Regalia

King Stephen I of Hungary

The Árpád dynasty

Main article: Árpád dynasty

The first kings of the Kingdom were from the Árpád dynasty, and the first Christian King was Stephen I of Hungary who was canonized as a Catholic saint. He fought against Koppány and in 998, with Bavarian help, defeated him near Veszprém.

The Roman Catholic Church received powerful support from Stephen I, who with Christian Hungarians and German knights wanted a Christian kingdom established in Central Europe. It was he who created the Hungarian heavy cavalry as an example for Western European powers.

After his death, a period of revolts and conflict for supremacy ensued between the royalty and the nobles. In 1051 armies of the Holy Roman Empire tried to conquer Hungary, but they were defeated at Vértes mountain. However, they were beaten more times; the second greatest battle was at the town now called Bratislava, in 1052. Before 1052 Peter Orseolo, a supporter of the Holy Roman Empire, was overthrown by king Samuel Aba of Hungary.

The second greatest Hungarian king, also from the Árpád dynasty, was Ladislaus I of Hungary, who stabilized and strengthened the kingdom. He was also canonized as a saint. Under his rule Hungarians successfully fought against the Cumans and conquered Croatia in 1091. After Ladislaus, the next famous king of the Árpád dynasty was Coloman of Hungary, who conquered Dalmatia. In 1222 Andrew II of Hungary issued the Golden bull which laid down the principles of law.

Mongol invasion

Main article: Mongol invasion of Europe

Battle on the Marchfeld

In 1241, Hungary was invaded by the Mongols and while the first minor battles ended in Hungarian victories, the Mongols finally destroyed the Hungarian army at the Battle of Mohi.

The Mongols attacked Hungary with three armies, one of them through Poland in order to withhold possible Polish auxiliaries, and defeated the army of Duke Henry II the Pious of Silesia at the Legnica. A southern army attacked Transylvania defeating the voivod and crushing the Transylvanian Hungarian army. The main army led by Batu Khan and Subutai attacked Hungary through the fortified Verecke Pass and annihilated the army led by the count Palatine on March 12, 1241..

Despite the appearance of the Mongol invasion having been a surprise attack, the Hungarians had known, from various sources, that the Mongols were coming. Notable heralds of the oncoming invasion include the Friar Julian group, which warned the king about impending invasion it had established contact with Magna Hungaria and saw the aftermath of the destruction of both the Magna Hungaria and Volga Bulgaria earlier in the 13th century.

In 1242, after the end of the Mongol invasion, numerous fortresses to defend against future invasion were erected by Béla IV of Hungary. In gratitude, the Hungarians acclaimed him as the "Second Founder of the Homeland", and the Hungarian Kingdom again became a considerable force in Europe. In 1260 Béla IV lost the War of Babenberg Succession, his army was defeated at Battle of Kressenbrunn by the united Czech troops, however after in 1278, Ladislaus IV of Hungary and Austrian troops fully destroyed the Czech army at Battle on the Marchfeld.

In 1301, with the death of Andrew III of Hungary, the Árpád dynasty died out. The dynasty was replaced by the Angevins, followed by the Jagiellonians, and then by several non-dynastic rulers, notably Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor and Matthias Corvinus.

The first Angevin king was Charles I of Hungary, who implemented considerable economic reforms, and defeated the remaining opposition to royal rule by the nobility, led by Máté Csák. Louis I the Great succeeded him. Louis I met with success on the battlefield when he defended the Hungarian Kingdom from new attacks by lesser Mongol forces in the latter half of the 14th century.

File:Europe 1490.jpg

Hungary in 1490

The Hunyadi family

Main articles: Hunyadi, John Hunyadi, and Matthias Corvinus of Hungary

Western conquests of Matthias Corvinus of Hungary

The Hungarian kingdom's golden age was during the reign of Matthias Corvinus, the son of John Hunyadi. His nickname was "Matthias the Just". He further improved the Hungarian economy and practised astute diplomacy in place of military action whenever possible. Matthias did undertake campaigning when necessary. In 1485, aiming to limit the influence and meddling of the Holy Roman Empire in Hungary's affairs, he occupied Vienna for 5 years. After his death, Vladislaus II of Hungary of the Jagiellonians was placed on the Hungarian throne.

Battle of Breadfield

Matthias Corvinus

Buda during Matthias Corvinus

At the time of the initial Ottoman encroachment, the Hungarians successfully resisted conquest. John Hunyadi was leader of the Long Campaign in which the Hungarians tried to expel the Turks from the Balkans; early on it was successful, but finally they had to withdraw. In 1456 John Hunyadi, the father of Matthias Corvinus, delivered a crushing defeat on the Ottomans at the Siege of Belgrade. The Noon bell commemorates the fallen Christian warriors. In the 15th century, the Black Army of Hungary was a formidable modern mercenary army, with the hussars the most skilled troops of the Hungarian cavalry. In 1479, under the leadership of Pál Kinizsi, the Hungarian army destroyed the Ottoman and Wallachian troops at the Battle of Breadfield. The Army of Hungary destroyed its enemies almost every time when Matthias was the king.

In 1526, at the Battle of Mohács, the forces of the Ottoman Empire annihilated the Hungarian army, and in trying to escape Louis II of Hungary drowned in the Csele Creek. The leader of the Hungarian army, Pál Tomori, also died in the battle.

Ottoman occupation

See also: Ottoman-Hungarian Wars, Ottoman Hungary, Royal Hungary, and Transylvania

Due to Ottoman pressure, central authority collapsed and a struggle for power broke out. The majority of Hungary's ruling elite elected János Szapolyai (10 November 1526). A small minority of aristocrats sided with Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, who was Archduke of Austria, and was related to Louis by marriage. Due to previous agreements that the Habsburgs would take the Hungarian throne if Louis died without heirs, Ferdinand was elected king by a rump diet in December 1526.

On 29 February 1528, King John I of Hungary received the support of the Ottoman Sultan. A three-sided conflict ensued as Ferdinand moved to assert his rule over as much of the Hungarian kingdom as he could. By 1529 the kingdom had been split into two parts: Habsburg Hungary and the "eastern-Kingdom of Hungary". At this time there were no Ottomans on Hungarian territories, except Srem's important castles. In 1532, Nikola Jurišić defended Kőszeg and stopped a powerful Ottoman army. By 1541, the fall of Buda marked a further division of Hungary into three areas. Even with a decisive 1552 victory over the Ottomans at the Siege of Eger, which raised the hopes of the Hungarians, the country remained divided until the end of the 17th century. The heroes' memory continues to live in a famous poem written by Sebestyén Tinódi Lantos, Summáját írom Eger várának ("I am writing the history of Eger's castle").

Although the borders shifted frequently during this period, the three parts can be identified, more or less, as follows:

• Royal Hungary, which consisted of northern and western territories where Ferdinand I was recognized as king of Hungary. This part is viewed as defining the continuity of the Kingdom of Hungary. The territory along with Ottoman Hungary suffered greatly from the nearly constant wars taking place.

Map of the counties in the Kingdom of Hungary around 1880

Battle of Buda (1686). Hungarians and the Holy League (1684) capturing back Buda.

• Ottoman Hungary The Great Alföld (i.e. most of present-day Hungary, including south-eastern Transdanubia and the Banat), partly without north-eastern present-day Hungary.

• Principality of Transylvania under the Szapolyai. Note that this territory, often under Ottoman influence, was different from Transylvania proper and included various other territories sometimes referred to as Partium.

In the following centuries there were numerous attempts to push back the Ottoman forces, such as the Long War or Thirteen Years' War (July 29, 1593 - 1604/November 11, 1606) led by a coalition of Christian forces. In 1644 the Winter Campaign by Miklós Zrínyi burnt the crucial Suleiman Bridge of Osijek in eastern Slavonia, interrupting a Turkish supply line in Hungary. At the Battle of Saint Gotthard (1664), Austrians and Hungarians defeated the Turkish army.

After the Ottoman invasion of Austria failed in 1683, the Habsburgs went on the offensive against the Turks. By the end of the 17th century, they managed to conquer the remainder of the historical Kingdom of Hungary and the principality of Transylvania. For a while in 1686, the capital Buda was again free, with European help.

After the departure of the Ottomans, the Habsburgs dominated the Hungarian Kingdom. The Hungarians' renewed desire for freedom led to Rákóczi's War for Independence. The most important reasons of the war were the new and higher taxes and a renewed Protestant movement. Rákóczi was a Hungarian nobleman, son of the legendary heroine Ilona Zrínyi, who was a Ruler of Transylvania and spent a part of his youth in Austrian captivity. The Kurucs were troops of Rákóczi. Initially, the Kuruc army attained several important victories due to their superior light cavalry. Their weapons were mostly pistols, light sabre and fokos. At the Battle of Saint Gotthard (1705), János Bottyán decisively defeated the Austrian army. The famous Hungarian colonel Ádám Balogh nearly captured Joseph I, the King of Hungary and Emperor of Austria.

In 1708, the Habsburgs finally defeated the main Hungarian army at Battle of Trencsén, and this diminished the further effectiveness of the Kuruc army. While the Hungarians were exhausted by the fights, the Austrians defeated the French army in the War of the Spanish Succession. They could send more troops to Hungary against the rebels. Transylvania became part of Hungary again starting at the end of the 17th century, and was led by governors.

History between 1711 and 1920

Main article: History of Hungary 1700–1919

Further information: Hungarian Revolution of 1848, Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, Austria-Hungary, Hungary in World War I, and Treaty of Trianon

Local proportion of Hungarians in Hungary (1890)

Ethnographic map of Hungary whitout Croatia (1910). The population of areas under 20 persons/km² is represented in the nearest area above that level, and the area is left blank.

The next ruler of Hungary was the Austrian Emperor Charles VI. From this time on, the designation Royal Hungary was abandoned, and the area was once again referred to as the Kingdom of Hungary. Throughout the 18th century, the Kingdom of Hungary had its own Diet (parliament) and constitution, but the members of the Governor's Council (Helytartótanács, the office of the palatine) were appointed by the Habsburg monarch, and the superior economic institution, the Hungarian Chamber, was directly subordinated to the Court Chamber in Vienna. The Hungarian Language reform started under reign of Joseph II. The reform age of Hungary was started by István Széchenyi a Hungarian noble, who built one of the greatest bridges of Hungary, the Széchenyi Chain Bridge.

The official language remained Latin until 1844. Then, between 1844 and 1849, and from 1867, Hungarian became the official language.

The European revolutions of 1848 swept Hungary as well. The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 sought to redress the long suppressed desire for political change, namely independence. The Hungarian National Guard was created by young Hungarian patriots in 1848. In literature, this was best expressed by the greatest poet of the Revolution, Sándor Petőfi. One of the most famous battles was in 1848 September 29, at the Battle of Pákozd. When Serbs attacked the Hungarians in the south in 1848, a great general called Ernő Kiss stopped a three Serbian regiments with only 72 hussar.

As war broke out with Austria, Hungarian military successes, which included the brilliant campaigns of the great Hungarian general, Artúr Görgey, forced the Austrians on the defensive. Fearing defeat, the Austrians pleaded for Russian help, which, combined with Austrian forces, quelled the revolution. The desired political changes of 1848 were again suppressed until Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867.

The Treaty of Trianon: Hungary lost 72% of its territory, and lost its sea ports in Croatial. 3,425,000 ethnic Hungarians found themselves separated from their motherland. Hungary lost 8 of its 10 biggest cities.

Following the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, the Habsburg Empire became the "dual monarchy" of Austria-Hungary.

The Austro-Hungarian economy changed dramatically during the existence of the Dual Monarchy. Technological change accelerated industrialization and urbanization. The capitalist way of production spread throughout the Empire during its fifty-year existence and obsolete medieval institutions continued to disappear. By the early 20th century, most of the Empire began to experience rapid economic growth. The GNP per capita grew roughly 1.45% per year from 1870 to 1913. That level of growth compared very favorably to that of other European nations such as Britain (1.00%), France (1.06%), and Germany (1.51%).

The Kingdom of Hungary (into which Transylvania was fully incorporated, while Croatia-Slavonia maintained a distinct identity and a certain internal autonomy within the Kingdom of Hungary), was granted equal status with the rest of the Habsburg monarchy. Each of the two states comprising Austria-Hungary exercised considerable independence, with certain institutions, notably the reigning house, defence, foreign affairs, and finances for common expenditures, remaining under joint management. This arrangement lasted until 1918, when the Central Powers went down in defeat in World War I.

The new borders set in 1920 by the Treaty of Trianon ceded 72% of the historically Hungarian territory of the Kingdom of Hungary to the neighbouring states. The beneficiaries were Romania, the newly formed states of Czechoslovakia, and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. This left more than 3.5 million ethnic Hungarians outside the new borders, contrary to the terms laid out by US President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points, which were intended to honour the ethnic makeup of the territories.

The interwar period

Main articles: Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946), Hungarian Soviet Republic, Hungarian Democratic Republic, Hungary between the two world wars, and Hungarian interwar economy

Miklós Horthy was regent of Hungary.

After the pullout of occupation forces of Romania in 1920 the country went into civil conflict, with Hungarian anti-communists and monarchists purging the nation of communists, leftists and others by whom they felt threatened. Later in 1920, a coalition of right-wing political forces united, and reinstated Hungary's status as a constitutional monarchy. Selection of the new King was delayed due to civil infighting, and a regent was appointed to represent the monarchy. Former Austro-Hungarian navy admiral Miklós Horthy became that regent. New international borders separated Hungary's industrial base from its sources of raw materials and its former markets for agricultural and industrial products. Hungary lost 84% of its timber resources, 43% of its arable land, and 83% of its iron ore. Furthermore, post-Trianon Hungary possessed 90% of the engineering and printing industry of the Kingdom, while only 11% of timber and 16% iron was retained. In addition, 61% of arable land, 74% of public road, 65% of canals, 62% of railroads, 64% of hard surface roads, 83% of pig iron output, 55% of industrial plants, 100% of gold, silver, copper, mercury and salt mines, and 67% of credit and banking institutions of the prewar Kingdom of Hungary lay within the territory of Hungary's neighbors.

Because most of the country's pre-war industry was concentrated near Budapest, Hungary retained about 51% of its industrial population, 56% of its industry. Horthy appointed Count Pál Teleki as Prime Minister in July 1920. His government issued a numerus clausus law, limiting admission of "political insecure elements" (these were often Jews) to universities and, in order to quiet rural discontent, took initial steps towards fulfilling a promise of major land reform by dividing about 3,850 km² from the largest estates into smallholdings. Teleki's government resigned, however, after Charles IV unsuccessfully attempted to retake Hungary's throne in March 1921. King Charles's return produced split parties between conservatives who favored a Habsburg restoration and nationalist right-wing radicals who supported election of a Hungarian king. Count István Bethlen, a non-affiliated right-wing member of the parliament, took advantage of this rift forming a new Party of Unity under his leadership. Horthy then appointed Bethlen prime minister. Charles IV died soon after he failed a second time to reclaim the throne in October 1921. (For more detail on Charles's attempts to retake the throne, see Charles IV of Hungary's conflict with Miklós Horthy.) As prime minister, Bethlen dominated Hungarian politics between 1921 and 1931. He fashioned a political machine by amending the electoral law, providing jobs in the expanding bureaucracy to his supporters, and manipulating elections in rural areas. Bethlen restored order to the country by giving the radical counterrevolutionaries payoffs and government jobs in exchange for ceasing their campaign of terror against Jews and leftists. In 1921, he made a deal with the Social Democrats and trade unions (called Bethlen-Peyer Pact), agreeing, among other things, to legalize their activities and free political prisoners in return for their pledge to refrain from spreading anti-Hungarian propaganda, calling political strikes, and organizing the peasantry. Bethlen brought Hungary into the League of Nations in 1922 and out of international isolation by signing a treaty of friendship with Italy in 1927. The revision of the Treaty of Trianon rose to the top of Hungary's political agenda and the strategy employed by Bethlen consisted by strengthening the economy and building relations with stronger nations. Revision of the treaty had such a broad backing in Hungary that Bethlen used it, at least in part, to deflect criticism of his economic, social, and political policies.

The Great Depression induced a drop in the standard of living and the political mood of the country shifted further toward the right. In 1932 Horthy appointed a new prime-minister, Gyula Gömbös, who changed the course of Hungarian policy towards closer cooperation with Germany.

István Bethlen, the Prime Minister of Hungary

Gömbös signed a trade agreement with Germany that drew Hungary's economy out of depression but made Hungary dependent on the German economy for both raw materials and markets. On 2 November 1938, the First Vienna Award transferred parts of Southern Slovakia and Carpathian Ruthenia to Hungary, an area amounting to 11,927 km² and a population of 869,299 (86.5% of which were Hungarians according to the 1941 census). Between 5 November and 10 November, Hungarian armed forces peacefully occupied the newly transferred territories. Hitler later promised to transfer all of Slovakia to Hungary in exchange for a military alliance, but his offer was rejected. Instead, Horthy chose to pursue a territorial revision to be decided along ethnic lines. In March 1939, the Czecho-Slovak Republic was dissolved, Germany invaded it, and the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was established. On 14 March, Slovakia declared itself to be an independent state. On 15 March, Carpatho-Ukraine declared itself to be an independent state. Hungary rejected the independence of Carpatho-Ukraine and, between 14 March and 18 March, Hungarian armed forces occupied the rest of Carpathian Ruthenia and ousted the government of Avgustyn Voloshyn. By contrast, Hungary recognized the nazi puppet state of Slovakia led by the Clerical Fascist Jozef Tiso. In September 1940, with troops massing on both sides of the Hungarian-Romanian border, war was averted by the Second Vienna Award. This award transferred the northern half of Transylvania to Hungary, with a total area of 43,492 km² and a total population of 2,578,100 with a 53.5% Hungarian majority according to the 1941 census. By dividing Transylvania between Romania and Hungary, Hitler was able to ease tensions in Hungary. In October 1940, the Germans initiated a reciprocity policy between Romania and Hungary which was continued until the end of World War II. The region of Sub-Carpathia was given special autonomous status with the intention that (eventually) it would be self governed by the Ruthenian minority.

During World War II 1941-1945

Main articles: Hungary during World War II and Vienna Awards

After being granted part of southern Czechoslovakia and Subcarpathia by the Germans and Italians in the First Vienna Treaty of 1938, and then northern Transylvania in the Second Vienna Treaty of 1940, Hungary participated in their first military maneuvers on the side of the Axis powers in 1941. Thus, Hungarian army was part of the invasion of Yugoslavia, gaining some more territory and joining the Axis powers in the process). On June 22, 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa. Hungary joined the German effort and declared war on the Soviet Union on June 26, and entered World War II on the side of the Axis. In late 1941, the Hungarian troops on the Eastern Front experienced success at the Battle of Uman. By 1943, after the Hungarian Second Army suffered extremely heavy losses at the river Don, the Hungarian government sought to negotiate a surrender with the Allies. On March 19, 1944, as a result of this duplicity, German troops occupied Hungary in what was known as Operation Margarethe. By then it was clear that Hungarian politics would be suppressed according to Hitler's intention to hold the country in the war on the side of the Nazi Third Reich because of its strategic location. On October 15, 1944, Horthy made a token effort to disengage Hungary from the war. The Germans launched Operation Panzerfaust and Horthy's regime was replaced by a fascist puppet government under the pro-German Arrow Cross leader Ferenc Szálasi, thus effectively ending the possibility for independent actions in the war. However, the form of Government was only changed to a republic two years later.

Transitioning into a republic

Following its occupation of Hungary in 1944, the Soviet Union imposed harsh conditions allowing it to seize important material assets and control internal affairs. After the Red Army set up police organs to persecute class enemies, the Soviets assumed that the impoverished Hungarian populace would support the communists in the coming elections. The communists fared poorly, receiving only 17% of the vote, resulting in a coalition government under Prime Minister Zoltán Tildy. Soviet intervention, however, resulted in a government that disregarded Tildy, placed communists in important ministries, and imposed restrictive and repressive measures, including banning the victorious Independent Smallholders, Agrarian Workers and Civic Party. In 1945, Soviet Marshal Kliment Voroshilov forced the freely elected Hungarian government to yield the Interior Ministry to a nominee of the Hungarian Communist Party. Communist Interior Minister László Rajk established the ÁVH secret police, which suppressed political opposition through intimidation, false accusations, imprisonment and torture. In 1946 the form of government was changed to a republic. Soon after the monarchy was finally abolished, the Soviet Union pressed Hungarian leader Mátyás Rákosi to take a "line of more pronounced class struggle." What emerged was a communist state lasting until October 1989 when the Communists agreed to give up their monopoly on power, paving the way for free elections in March 1990. In today's free republic, the Kingdom is regarded as one long stage in the development of the state. This sense of continuity is reflected in the republic's national symbols such as the Holy Crown of Hungary and the Coat of arms of Hungary, which are the same as when the form of government was still a monarchy. Several holidays, the official language Hungarian, and the capital city Budapest are also shared by the country as they were when the form of government was still a monarchy, and the short form of the country's name in Hungarian (Magyarország) is the same as when the form of government was still a monarchy. The millennium of Hungarian statehood was commemorated in 2000 and codified by the Millennium Act of 2000.

Coat of arms

The following are a few examples of the Coat of Arms, used over the centuries:

	The most ancient element of the coat of arms is the double cross. For a long time, it was thought to be the symbol of the apostolic Kingdom of Hungary. The most accepted theory is that it derives from Byzantine influence, as the cross appeared around 1190 during the reign of King Béla III, who was raised in the Byzantine court.
	The red and white stripes were the symbol of the Árpáds, and they were first used in the coat of arms in 1202 on a seal of King Imre. This seal did not include the double cross, only the stripes, and there were nine lions on the red stripes.
	The coat of arms with the stripes on the left and the cross on the hills on the right appeared during the reign of Lajos I of Hungary (1342-1382). The crown above the coat of arms appeared during the reign of Ulászló I of Hungary (1440-1444). At first it was only a non-specific diadem but on the 1464 seal of Matthias Corvinus it resembled the Holy Crown of Hungary more.
	During the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, following the dethroning of the Habsburg dynasty on 14 April 1849, the Holy Crown was removed from the coat of arms. The remaining small coat of arms is usually referred to as the "Kossuth Coat of Arms" (Hungarian: Kossuth-címer) after Lajos Kossuth, Regent-President of Hungary.
	The coat of Arms of the today's Republic of Hungary, adopted in 1990 even though a Republic, the coat features the Holy Crown of Hungary, a key symbol of Hungary. The current coat of arms of Hungary was adopted on July 3, 1990, after the end of the Communist regime. The arms have been used before, both with and without the Holy Crown of Hungary, sometimes as part of a larger, more complex coat of arms, and many of its elements date back to the Middle Ages.

Kingdom of Hungary
Official Name
en: Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen hu: A magyar Szent Korona országai de: Die Länder der heiligen ungarischen Stephanskrone

See also

• List of Hungarian rulers
• Nobility in the Kingdom of Hungary
• Administrative divisions of the Kingdom of Hungary
• Demographics of the Kingdom of Hungary
• Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary)
• History of Hungary
• Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg); Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia;
• Transylvania
• Vojvodina
• Transcarpathia
• Prekmurje
• History of Croatia;

Further reading

• Frucht, Richard. Encyclopedia of Eastern Europe: From the Congress of Vienna to the Fall of Communism (2000) online edition
• Hoensch, Jörg K., and Kim Traynor. A History of Modern Hungary, 1867-1994 (1996) online edition
• Hanak, Peter et al. A History of Hungary (1994)
• Kontler, Laszlo. A History of Hungary (2006) excerpt and text search
• Molnár, Miklós, and Anna Magyar. A Concise History of Hungary (2001) excerpt and text search
• Palffy, Geza. The Kingdom of Hungary and the Habsburg Monarchy in the Sixteenth Century (East European Monographs, distributed by Columbia University Press, 2010) 406 pages; Covers the period after the battle of Mohacs in 1526 when the Kingdom of Hungary was partitioned in three, with one segment going to the Habsburgs.

External links

• Hungary in the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
• Atlas and gazetteer of the Kingdom of Hungary in 1914