Notes

Hungary is a sovereign state in Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered
by Slovakia to the north, Romania to the east, Serbia to the south, Croatia to the southwest, Slovenia to
the west, Austria to the northwest, and Ukraine to the northeast. The country's capital and largest city
is Budapest. Hungary is a member of the European Union, NATO, the OECD, the Visegrád Group, and
the Schengen Area. The official language is Hungarian, which is the most widely spoken non-Indo-
European language in Europe.

Hungary's geography has traditionally been defined by its two main waterways,
the Danube and Tisza rivers. The common tripartite division of the country into three sections—
Dunántúl ("beyond the Danube",Transdanubia), Tiszántúl ("beyond the Tisza"), and Duna-Tisza köze
("between the Danube and Tisza")—is a reflection of this. The Danube flows north-south right through the
center of contemporary Hungary, and the entire country lies within its drainage basin.
Hungary has made many contributions to the fields of folk, popular and classical music. Hungarian folk
music is a prominent part of the national identity and continues to play a major part in Hungarian music.
Hungarian folk music has been significant in former country parts that belong – since the 1920 Treaty of
Trianon – to neighbouring countries such as Romania, Slovakia, southern Poland and especially in
southern Slovakia and the Transylvania: both regions have significant numbers of Hungarians. After the
establishment of a music academy led by Ferenc Erkel and Franz Lisz, Hungary produced an important
number of musicians.

Hungarian cuisine is a prominent feature of the Hungarian culture, just like the art of hospitality.
Traditional dishes such as the world famous Goulash feature prominently. Dishes are often flavoured with
paprika (ground red peppers), a Hungarian innovation. The paprika powder, obtained from a special type
of pepper, is one of the most common spices used in typical Hungarian cuisine. The best quality of
paprika comes from the city of Kalocsa. Thick, heavy Hungarian sour cream is often used to soften the
dishes' flavour. The famous Hungarian hot river fish soup called Fisherman's soup is usually a rich
mixture of several kinds of poached fish.

The finest achievements in their textile arts are the embroideries which vary from region to region. Those
of Kalotaszeg in Transylvania are charming products of Oriental design, sewn chiefly in a single color –
red, blue, or black. Soft in line, the embroideries are applied on altar cloths, pillow cases and sheets.
In Hungary proper, Sárköz in Transdanubia and the Matyóföld in the Great Hungarian Plain produce the
finest embroideries. In the Sárköz region the women's caps show black and white designs as delicate as
lace and give evidence of the people's wonderfully subtle artistic feeling. The embroidery motifs applied to
women's wear have also been transposed to tablecloths and runners suitable for modern use as wall
decorations.