Cultural Info: Hungary

Did You Know...

In Budapest there is the second oldest metro line in the world (second only to London's Tube), and it is the oldest one in mainland Europe.

A legend of Budapest says that if you touch the pen of a statue inside the park near Heroes Square, you will become a great writer. The statue of the legend looks quite like a grim reaper.

Since 1905, Hungarians have won 13 Nobel Prizes, as of 2016. The areas of studies are Physics, Medicine, Chemistry, Economics, and Literature.

The spice Paprika, rich in vitamin C, is made out of grounding the paprika dried pepper, which only grows in Hungary. Hungarians have been using this spice since the 16th century to preserve food. It takes 3 lbs of dried peppers to make 1 lb of ground paprika.

Hungarian emigres Adolf Zukor, who was the founder of Paramount Pictures, which produced the first Hollywood film The Prisoner of Zenda (1921); Vilmos (William) Fox, who founded Fox Studios; and Mano Kaminer (also known as Michael Curtiz), who directed the film Casablanca (1942).

Author Bram Stoker, creator of Dracula, based his character on the 15th century figure Vlad the Impaler, who lived in the region called Wallachia, which belonged to Hungary at the time. Also, it was an Hungarian actor, Bela Lugosi, who made the character of Dracula famous.

Hear From A Student

After reading all of these facts, you still have questions and want to hear from a former study abroad student what they experienced in Hungary? Check out this page with students reviews!



Page last modified January 24, 2020