Hungary History

History
If your ancestor is said to be from Hungary it likely refers to the old historic kingdom of Hungary. Since 1918 the territory of Hungary has been distributed between modern Hungary and the new nations that surround it.

The Hungarian Kingdom was established in the year 1000. Most of Hungary fell under Turkish occupation in 1526. The remaining areas, along the western and northern edges became the domain of the Habsburg dynasty of Austria. At the end of the 1600s the Habsburgs drove the Turks out of Hungary.

Protestantism had won wide acceptance in Hungary in the 1400s and 1500s; Calvinism prevailed among the Magyars while the Germans and some Slovaks became Lutherans. The Habsburgs were devout Catholics. Although much of the population was reconverted to Catholicism, the Emperor eventually had to reaffirm Hungary's religious and political freedoms in 1645. Four religions were given legal recognition in Hungary: Catholic, Lutheran, Calvinist Reformed, and Unitarian.

In 1848 Hungary unsuccessfully rebelled against Austrian rule. Then, in 1866, Hungarian nationalism was recognized by the creation of the dual Austro Hungarian monarchy.

Following the First World War in 1918, the area of the Hungarian kingdom was reduced to one third of its pre-war size; Hungarian territory was given over to Romania, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and Austria with minor border adjustments with Italy and Poland. At the end of Second World War, in 1945, part of Czechoslovakia's portion was ceded to the Soviet Union republic of Ukraine. Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia broke into smaller republics in 1990-1992, 1993, and 2003, further fragmenting the former Hungarian territories.

Timeline
1521 - The early appearance of Protestantism 1699 - The Ottomans ceded nearly all of Ottoman Hungary and the new territories were united with the territory of Kingdom of Hungary 1848 – 1849 One of the many European Revolutions of 1848 and closely linked to other revolutions in the Habsburg areas. The revolution in the Kingdom of Hungary grew into a war for independence from the Austrian Empire, ruled by the Habsburg dynasty 1867 - The dual Monarchy of Austria–Hungary was formed 1873 - The old capital Buda and Óbuda were officially united with Pest creating the new metropolis of Budapest 1914 - Austria–Hungary drafted 9 million soldiers in World War I and over 4 million from the Kingdom of Hungary on the side of Germany, Bulgaria and Turkey 1919 - Communists ousted the government and proclaimed the Hungarian Soviet Republic 1920 - Hungary lost 71% of its territory and 66% of its antebellum population 1939 - Hungary regained further territory from Czechoslovakia through force. Hungary formally joined the Axis Powers on 20 November 1940, and in 1941, participated in the invasion of Yugoslavia, gaining some of its former territories in the south 1944 - German troops occupied Hungary 1945 - Following the defeat of Nazi Germany, Hungary became a satellite state of the Soviet Union 1948 - 1956 Approximately 350,000 officials and intellectuals were imprisoned or executed during this time 1956 - 150,000 troops and 2,500 tanks entered the country from the Soviet Union and nearly 20,000 Hungarians were killed resisting the intervention, while an additional 21,600 were imprisoned afterwards for political reasons. Some 13,000 were interned and 230 brought to trial and executed. nearly a quarter of a million people fled the country by the time the revolution was suppressed

Links

 * National and Historical Symbols of Hungary
 * Importance of Catholic Church records in Hungarian genealogy