Why Hungarians don’t clink glasses of beer

The most mysterious custom in Hungary, for foreigners and Hungarians alike, is that they never clink glasses full of beer. The most known explanation seems to be that the Austrians celebrated their victory over Hungary in 1849 with a few mugs of beer. This celebration marked the beginning of a long regime of terror and the vengeance against the rebel Hungarians. Still, many Hungarians clink glasses of beer today, as they claim that the protest was meant for 150 years, which has already passed since 1849.

However, none of these ideas are valid, according to 24.hu. Let’s research where this whole habit comes from.

We have no information on how the Austrian army celebrated their victory. There are no credible sources from that time, right after the executions in Arad. We only have a — quite idealistic — painting with the image of celebration, in which the triumphant Austrian officers are depicted with glasses of champagne.

It wasn’t a custom among Austrians to clink glasses — they usually hit the glass to the table.

Though the crushing of the Hungarian revolt provided reason to celebrate, most of the Austrian officers were shocked by the hangings that came after the victory. They knew many of the hanged generals as they fought together in the army of the Monarchy before. Most of the Austrian officers thought that though the martyrs of Arad fought on the wrong side, they did what honor and duty demanded. It was also inappropriate to execute people who surrendered.

So the events in Arad were not celebrated by the Imperial soldiers. Then what is the reason behind the prohibition of clinking glasses of beer? As history expert Róbert Hermann suggests, the habit originates from the depression and helplessness felt by Hungarians.

The most recent studies show that this little rebellion started at the revelation of Heinrich Henzti’s statue in Buda in 1853.

He was the Imperial commander of the fortress of Buda, which was emptied before the Austrian army conquered it in 1849.