7 surprising things you did not know about Hungary

Hungary is famous for lots of things one would never imagine. Inventors, food, internationally well-known people, wine, you name it. Here, we have gathered seven things you probably did not know about our country.

1. Women’s chess

Judit Polgár. Source: wikipedia.org

That is right, we are the best when it comes to women’s chess. In 1991, at the age of 15, Judit Polgár won a record-breaking Grandmaster title in the history of chess. She is known as the best female chess player of all time and the only woman who broke the 2,700 Live-Point Supermaster barrier. She scored her highest 2735 points in July 2005.

2. Hollywood

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Hollywood would not be Hollywood without the contribution of Hungarians, as magyarorszagom.hu puts it. Paramount Pictures founder Adolf Zukor, Vilmos Fried – better known as William Fox – and Casablanca director Michael Curtiz (formerly known as Kaminer Manó) all have Hungarian ancestry.

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3. The number 96

wikipedia.org

With the coronation of Ruler (Prince) Árpád, he became the first Hungarian king, thus marking the foundation of the Hungarian state in 896. The construction of our first underground railway began in 1896. It is a legal requirement that buildings in Budapest should not be higher than 96 metres. On top of that, the Hungarian national anthem can be recited in exactly 96 seconds, if we keep to the right tempo.

4. Wine

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The world’s first officially registered wine region is the Tokaj Wine Region in Hungary, where wine has been produced since the 5th century. Since 1737, it has been the world’s first closed wine region and was inscribed on UNESCO World Heritage List in 2002.

5. Harry Houdini

A ticket to a Houdini show. Source: pixabay.com

The world-famous Harry Houdini who is known as a master escapologist for getting out of any set of handcuffs and escaping a Chinese water cell, was born Erich Weisz in Budapest in 1874.

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6. Nobel Prize

Source: Wikimedia Commons / Adam Baker

As we can read in szeretlekmagyarorszag.hu’s article, to date, 13 Hungarians have been awarded the Nobel Prize. In terms of the number of Nobel Prize winners per capita, Hungary is ahead of such countries as Spain, Canada and Australia. Moreover, we are represented in all categories except peace.

7. Kocs – Kocsi – Coach

wikipedia.org

The word kocsi (meaning car) comes from the name of a Hungarian village called Kocs, which then became the English word “coach” through the French word “coche”. Horse-drawn carriages were first manufactured here in the 16th century and then spread across the continent.

Source: SzeretlekMagyarország, Magyarországom.hu, Wikipedia.org