Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said enthusiastically: "Welcome to our 'home'! He proudly declared that the Hungarian people were descendants of the Huns, whose ancestors migrated from the far east and eventually took root in this western land. Still, their roots and hearts remained in the East. Prime Minister Orban also warmly added that they are deeply aware of their blood ties and that the long-standing family ties that bind them to their ancestors.
Previously, Turkey claimed to be descended from the Huns, which made everyone stunned. And now, Hungary also claims to have the blood of the Huns in its veins, and judging by the name, it is indeed a bit like that. Back then, the Huns were in full swing, but they were defeated by the Han Dynasty in one fell swoop and had to migrate westward. They trekked through the vast steppes of Central Asia and Eastern Europe, eventually meeting and living together with the indigenous Europeans. Over the long years, the various ethnic groups merged with each other to form new nations. Among them, the Magyars are the ancestors of present-day Hungary. It is worth mentioning that not only Hungary has Oriental roots, but Finland also has this profound Oriental origin.
Speaking of which, our relatives in Hungary, who are far away in Europe, have been in a bit bleak recently. The country is now only 93,000 square kilometres and has a population of less than 10 million. Although GDP per capita is not outstanding in the EU, they are barely able to squeeze into the ranks of rich countries thanks to contract production and agriculture, coupled with German manufacturing investment and cheap energy from Russia.
However, don't look at Hungary now, there has been a glorious time in history. As early as the 11th century, they established their own feudal kingdom, when Hungary had a land area of 325,000 square kilometers and a very strong army. He was not afraid to fight with the Ottoman Turks, and he also gained the reputation of "Aegis of Christ". Come to think of it, Hungary was really majestic!
During the vicissitudes of the 15th and 16th centuries, the Kingdom of Hungary was in full swing, and it was like a brave fighter who stubbornly withstood the storms of the Ottoman Empire. But let's not forget that the Holy Roman Empire behind it is also a sleeping lion that could wake up at any moment. In particular, Hungary and the Habsburgs were so close to each other, and there were not many beams on both sides. Interestingly, the two royal families also got married, who would have thought that this would lay the foundation for the subsequent "combination".
Speaking of turning points, we have to mention the Battle of Mohachi in 1526. In this tough battle, the Hungarian king "Lajos II" confronted the Ottoman army, but unfortunately he was defeated and lost his life. This battle also meant the end of Hungarian military hegemony. Because Rajos II had no children, and with his departure, the Kingdom of Hungary essentially existed in name only. The remaining forces had to retreat to present-day Slovakia, and finally had to bow to Rajos II's brother-in-law, Emperor Ferdinand I of Habsburg. This brother-in-law is not only the emperor of the Habsburgs, he is also the boss of the Holy Roman Empire. Therefore, since then, Hungary has become part of the Holy Roman Empire, and the experience of Prussia is quite similar.
Although they were given only a small piece of territory on the frontier, the Habsburgs bravely took on the task of resisting the expansion of the Ottoman Empire. After 160 years of bloody fighting, they finally recovered the ancient capital of Hungary "Buda", which is now the prosperous Budapest. Interestingly, during this period, the Mongol cavalry also took the opportunity to conduct a "sweep". Eventually, in the memorable year of 1686, the Habsburgs succeeded in bringing the old capital of Buda back into their pockets.
Over the next thirteen years, the Hungarian people resisted valiantly and finally succeeded in expelling the Ottoman army from the area west of the Carpathians, thus achieving the complete liberation of Hungary. However, the end of this struggle did not mean that Hungary was completely free, as the Habsburgs took over the rule, although they allowed Hungary to remain autonomous. Throughout the 18th century, Hungary was a Habsburg fiefdom, providing strong support for its struggle for hegemony in Europe.
In 1804, Napoleon single-handedly ended the history of the Holy Roman Empire. In this great change in history, the Habsburgs lost the throne of the HRE Emperor, but they did not sink there, but quickly transformed and established the Austrian Empire. Hungary occupied more than half of the territory of the new empire and remained autonomous. Austria's emperors skillfully ruled the land indirectly through the Hungarian nobility, a delicate balance that was maintained until 1848.
That year, however, the revolutionary wave in Europe was raging, and Hungary was also deeply affected. The commoners, who had already opened their minds, were no longer willing to accept the rule of the aristocracy, and this delicate balance was finally broken. Unfortunately, despite the hard work of the Hungarian people, the iron hooves of the Austrian army ruthlessly extinguished the revolution. After the defeat of the revolution, Hungary was divided into several provinces and placed directly under Austrian rule, and even the last autonomy was denied.
It was not until the turmoil of the 19th century that Bismarck, the chancellor of Prussia, launched three dynastic wars to unify Germany with a thunderous force. In the second fierce battle of 1866, the Austrian Empire suffered a heavy blow, and the Habsburgs were forced to withdraw from the German hegemony stage. Previously, their hegemony in Italy also collapsed in an instant like a sandcastle, and the family fell into an unprecedented crisis.
At this moment, the Hungarians smelled an opportunity, and they took the opportunity to rise up. In 1867, the overwhelmed Habsburgs had to restore Hungary's autonomy in exchange for Hungarian loyalty. Thus, a new Austro-Hungarian dualist empire was born in the torrent of history!
At this moment, Hungary has regained its strength and radiated new vitality. Although the king still came from the Habsburgs, the country already had its own independent system of government, constitution and parliament. It controls more than half of the empire's territory and is aligned with it only in terms of military, currency, and foreign policy. It is even more worth mentioning that the Hungarians even have their own nationality, which is undoubtedly a clear sign of the revival of the country.
However, the good times are always short-lived. Under the traction of Austria-Hungary, Hungary was unfortunately drawn into the vortex of World War I, and finally tasted the bitter fruit of defeat. To make matters worse, in 1919, Hungary made a brief attempt to establish Soviet power, a move that immediately provoked strong resentment from the Entente. Thus, in the subsequent Treaty of Trianon, Hungary was punished extremely severely, losing 50% of its population and up to 72% of its land. This great change in history has undoubtedly dealt a heavy blow to this newly revived country.
This result filled the hearts of the Hungarian people with unwillingness, but in the face of reality, they could only accept it helplessly. However, this deep flame of revenge, like that of Germany at the time, prompted them to once again stand on the same side as Germany. In the European theater of World War II, the Hungarian army became an indispensable ally of the German army, fighting side by side and participating in the invasion of the Soviet Union. In that terrible war, 350,000 Hungarian soldiers were killed and more than 500,000 were taken prisoner, while the population of Hungary at that time was just over 7 million.
The defeat in World War II completely shattered Hungary's dreams of expansion, and its territorial scope returned to square one overnight. Despite the heavy losses suffered by the Soviet troops in the Battle of Budapest in 1944, the USSR did not severely punish Hungary for this. On the contrary, they redefined Hungary largely in accordance with the framework of the Treaty of Trianon, a border that remains in place to this day.
After the smoke of World War II and the frost of the Cold War, Hungary, an Eastern European country, struggled to survive in the shadow of the Soviet Union. But the resilient Hungarian people did not give in, they gritted their teeth and survived 46 years of suffering. Finally, with the drastic changes in Eastern Europe and the collapse of the Soviet Union, Hungary ushered in an era in which it was in charge of its own destiny! In 2004, Hungary entered the door of the European Union, and it has been exactly 20 years since then.
The 20th anniversary, which is supposed to be a day to be celebrated, has been slow to do so, perhaps because of his criticism of the EU 20 years ago. However, the Hungarian media have pointed out that joining the EU has brought many benefits to Hungary. Economic support, ease of travel, freedom of work and free movement of capital are tangible benefits that the EU has given Hungary. The abolition of tariffs has made shopping easier and more affordable, and Hungarian exports have increased significantly. The Schengen Agreement guarantees freedom of travel within the EU. It is no exaggeration to say that without joining the EU, Hungary's GDP would have fallen by 20%.
Over the past 20 years, Hungary has received more than 83 billion euros from the EU's pocket, which is four times its contribution to the EU. Is it worth it? From an economic point of view, it's definitely a good deal.
But then again, the EU's "generosity" towards Hungary seems to have come to an end. In this post-industrial era, the EU as a whole has begun to be left behind by other major economies. The automobile and energy industries that were once glorious are now no longer glorious. In addition, Hungary is close to Russia, which makes the EU very unhappy, and always finds fault with Hungary to wear small shoes. As a result, Hungary has not yet used the euro.
Now, Hungary may need more investment from the East. Speaking of which, we finally have a chance to pull this distant relative along. BYD, CATL these big names have already taken action, maybe, we are the only ones who can really help Hungary!
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