Everyone thinks of Hungary as the land of the Huns, and they did come to this region of Europe in about the 5th century a.d. There is much to be told about that time in Hungary's history, but we are going to confine ourselves to the birth of the modern nation of Hungary which began with the reign of Saint Stephen.

Who was Szt. István, Hungary's first Christian king? Click here to read a brief biography of Magyarország's founding king.

Hungary has been a country for a thousand years, growing to its biggest size and influence in the late part of the Middle Ages, and beginning its decline from the early 1500s. In more recent times, previous to the First World War, it was part of Austria-Hungary, losing its monarchy in 1918. After the end of WW1, the Hungarian region of Transylvania was lost to Romania, and other parts lost to other neighboring countries with the Treaty of Trianon, effectively halving its size. It's easy to understand why the Hungarian people both in Hungary and the ethnic Hungarians in neighboring countries still grieve over this loss even to this day.
 

Post 1946 Hungary ended up with a communist government and by 1949 all opposition parties were eliminated. In 1955 Hungary became a member of the UN and on Oct. 23, 1956 widespread anticommunist demonstrations began demanding the reinstatement of Premier Imre Nagy and demanded the withdrawal of Soviet troops, although they (Soviets) intervened when clashes broke out between the demonstrators and the Hungarian militia. On Oct. 25, 1956 Nagy became Prime Minister, declaring Hungary a multiparty democracy and the country's neutrality. The revolution ended on Nov. 2, 1956 when the Soviet Army launched a massive offensive resulting in the deaths of 25,000 people in Budapest while another 200,000 fled the country. (Oct. 25 is now celebrated as a National Holiday) On June 16, 1958 Nagy was executed for treason under the newly installed Soviet puppet government.
 

Hungary remained part of the Soviet Union until that began to break up, and in 1988-1989 there were pro-democracy demonstrations which led to the legalization of political parties. In May 1989 border guards began removing the barbed wire barrier along the Austrian border. In early Oct. 1989 Imre Pozsgay secured the governing party's reconstitution effectively turning its back on communism. In March and April 1990 free multiparty elections were held and Prime Minister József Antall formed a new government. In Aug. 1990 the National Assembly elected Árpád Göncz who was once imprisoned as a political prisoner as the country's President. In July 1991 the Soviet forces commander left Hungary officially ending their 47 year old military presence in the country. Since 1991, Hungary has changed its elected governments a number of times while searching for a new political identity and on May 2004 entered the European Union.

If you'd like to view a list of important dates in Hungarian history there is one at this site:

  http://www.fsz.bme.hu/hungary/history.html