Riding five horses on the Hortobágy.
There are a few misconceptions about Hungary that I would like to correct.
First and foremost the Austro -Hungarian Empire was a myth. It was the Austrian Empire, ruled by the Habsburgs for their own benefit. Hungary was never a partner in it, just a subject of it. Austria outlawed the use of our own language, and blew up the castles that had survived the Turkish wars and occupation. Hungarians fought to regain their independence from Austria through their entire occupation. They still hold many Hungarian treasures that they took, and have never returned them. Many are on display in their museums.
The word Hun was used in a derogatory way during both world wars. It was also used to refer to the Germans, who are not and never have been even remotely related to Hungarians. A Hun is a follower of Attilla, a brilliant and much feared leader in his time. He was no crueler or more savage than the men of his time. He was more successful, and thus feared, but he was not Germanic. He and his followers were early occupants of the Carpathian basin, or what became Hungary . He was followed by Árpád who settled the area and established the kingdom of Hungary.
The Habsburgs, during their rule, presented their version of our history to the world, which has been mostly believed. The truth is we do not know where we came from, current archeological digs have raised the possibility that we were always there.
The fact is we do not look Asiatic. Our language is unique, it is not related to or based on any European language, or Asian, it stands entirely alone, though it does use the same alphabet as most western Europeans. In the Hungarian alphabet the vowels are listed with all the various accents that change the way they sound, also there are various consonant combinations, such as the zs in my name, that produce a certain sound. Once these variations and accents are learned, the language is completely phonetic, what you see is what you say. The stress is on the first syllable. Hungarian is a rich and colorful language, it lends itself to poetry and word play, double meaning and alluring description.
In some of the other blogs I have written about history and location, as well as national characteristics, so I will not repeat them here. I will only reiterate that we live on the crossroads, a very beautiful, fertile and desirable crossroads. Life there is difficult, and as our own power eroded in its constant defense we have become pawns of the more powerful nations. Last of those were Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union as well as the Allies in both world wars. The road back to independence, strength and self respect is a long hard road. I can only hope that since the last thousand years have not wiped us off the face of Europe, we will survive and overcome this too.
ÉLJEN A HAZA ! ÉLJEN MAGYARORSZÁG!
LONG LIVE HUNGARY!
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