The story of Hungary 3

The story of Hungary 3

CHAPTER I.

 

THE COUNTRY AND THE PEOPLE OF HUNGARY.

 

 

ALEXANDER PETÖFI, the great Hungarian poet, in one of his beautiful

poems, sings thus of his native land:

 

“If the earth be God’s crown

Our country is its fairest jewel.”

 

And truly were we able to ascend the airy heights and obtain a

bird’s-eye view of Hungary, we would fain admit that it is one of the

fairest and most blessed spots on the face of the earth.

 

In the Northwest of Hungary, on the banks of the Danube, begins the

mountainous region known under the name of the Carpathian range, which

for beauty is not surpassed by the Alps, and in extent fairly rivals

them. This mountain range, encircling like a gigantic evergreen wreath

one half of the country, extends all along its northern boundary and,

after enclosing the eastern portion of it, stretches westward to where

it is intersected by the waters of the Danube, not terminating there,

however, but branching off into the countries lying along the lower

course of that river.

 

The whole range of the Carpathians is characterized throughout its

immensely long course by considerable breadth, forming at some

places quite a hilly country and high plateaus, as, for instance, in

Transylvania which, although properly belonging to Hungary, formerly

enjoyed a sort of independence under its own name. This territory is

covered almost entirely by the Carpathians, but, of course, designated

here by different names.

 

We shall proceed now in due order.

 

In the Northwest, there where the Danube enters Hungarian territory

near Dévény, the mountain chain begins, under the name of the

Northwestern Carpathians; these, describing the shape of a half moon,

extend from Presburg (Pozsony) to the Hernád-Tarcza valley. Formerly

three groups only were mentioned in connection with this section:

namely, the Tátra, Fátra, and Mátra, a representation of which, as

well as of the four rivers, the Danube, Theiss, Drave, and Save, is

embodied in the arms of the country, whence Hungary is designated as

“the country of the three mountains and four rivers.” The Northwestern

Carpathians are, however, a gigantic mountain mass of immense bulk,

subdivided into several distinct ranges. Of these one, the Northwestern

border mountain-range, starting near the Danube in Presburg County and

extending in the shape of a wide arch in a northeastern direction as

far as the sources of the Árva river, divides Hungary from Moravia,

Silesia, and Galicia. This ridge is constantly rising, and reaches

the highest elevation at its northern edge. Another range is the

Little Kreván, which begins in Árva County, and extends through the

flatlands between the Vág and Nyitra rivers. East of this are the Gömör

mountain-range, famous for its stalactitic caves, including Aggtelek;

the Mátra range, extending from Miskolcz to Vácz; and the loftiest

of all, the High Tátra, whose highest peaks are those of Jégvölgy,

Gerlachfalva, and Lomnicz, rising to an altitude of between 8,000 and

9,000 feet. The mountains belonging to this group are snow-covered,

and what renders them peculiarly interesting are the so-called

_tengerszemek_ (eyes of the sea), limpid lakes of unfathomable depth,

which, according to popular belief, are connected with the sea, and

about which a good many old-time legendary tales are current amongst

the people. These lakes are met with at the height of 1,900 metres

above the level of the sea.

 

[Illustration: DANUBE FROM THE RUINS OF VISEGRÁD.]

 

That range of mountains which extends eastwards from the Hernád-Tarcza

valley to the southeastern angle of Mármaros County is called the

Northeastern Carpathians. It includes the Wooded Carpathians and the

Eperjes-Tokay range, in the southern part of which, the Hegyalja, the

king of the wines, the famous Tokay wine, is produced.

 

[Illustration: ICE-GROTTO OF DEMÉNYFALVA.]

 

The southeastern chain of the Carpathians divides where Mármaros

County, Transylvania, and Bukovina converge into an angle, forming

several main lines which enclose the territory of Transylvania in an

almost quadrangular shape and give it the character of a high plateau.

The name of this group is the Southeastern Carpathians. Parts of it

are the Transylvanian northern and eastern border ranges; the Hargita

range, with the remarkable Mount Büdös, containing several caves from

which issue strong gases, and the beautiful lake of St. Anna at a

height of 950 metres; the southern border range, the largest and most

massive portion of the Carpathian mountains; the mountain group of

the Banate and the mineral mountain range of the Banate, the latter

owing its name to the gold, silver, and other ores as well as the coal

abounding in it. This group projects as far as the basin of the Danube

and forms there the passes known as the Iron Gate, which greatly impede

navigation. To the Transylvanian Hungarian range, extending north from

the Maros river, belong the mineral mountains of Transylvania, rich in

gold and other ore, and the mountain called Királyhágó, which marks the

frontier between Hungary and the independent Transylvania of old.

 

Thirty-eight passes lead from this mountain-system of gigantic

dimensions, partly into the countries adjacent to Hungary, partly

into the regions divided by them. Of these the most important are:

the Jablunka pass, communicating with Silesia and the valley of the

Vistula; the Vereczke pass between Munkács and Stry, supposed to be the

pass through which the Hungarians entered their present country; the

Radna pass, leading into Bukovina; the Ojtóz pass, communicating with

Moldavia; the Tömös pass, leading to Bucharest; and the Red Tower pass,

leading into Little Wallachia.

 

Besides the Carpathian mountains Hungary also contains a less

considerable portion of the Alps, belonging to the so-called Noric

Alps. They lie in trans-Danubian Hungary, the Pannonia of old. They

embrace the Austro-Styrian border-range, between the valleys of the

Danube and Drave; the Vértes-Bakony ranges, of which the Bakony forest

forms a part; and the group of the Buda mountains, producing the

celebrated wines of that name.

 

Croatia and Slavonia, which are parts of the Hungarian realm, are also

traversed by mountains belonging to the Alpine system.

 

We perceive from the preceding account that a large portion of the

country is mountainous, but over a third part of it is level land,

and so fertile that it may compare to the prairies in North America.

The great Hungarian plain, the so-called Alföld (Lowland), boasts of

the best soil for the production of wheat, and, stretching down from

the offshoots of the Central Carpathians to the frontiers of Servia

contains upward of 35,000 square miles.

 

[Illustration: BORDERS OF THE DANUBE.]

 

The extent of the water system of a country and its distribution is

always of the first importance. In this respect, too, Hungary has been

blessed by nature. Of the sea she has but little; a small portion only

of the Adriatic washes her shores, the so-called Hungarian Sea-Coast,

where Fiume, the only important Hungarian seaport city, is situated.

The country possesses also some interesting lakes; one, Lake Balaton,

forty-seven miles long and nine miles wide, has the characteristics

of the sea to such an extent that it is called the Hungarian Sea. In

this extensive water is to be found the savory _fogas_ fish, and on its

shores is situated Balaton-Füred, one of the favorite watering-places

of Hungary, and near this place is the famous echo of Tihany. Another

large lake is the Fertö (Neu-Siedler), eighteen miles long and about

five miles wide, which became perfectly dry in 1863, so that even

houses were built on its bed, but the waters have returned to it within

the last few years. Several smaller lakes, besides the two mentioned,

are scattered throughout the country.

 

With rivers the country is abundantly supplied. Its mightiest stream is

the Danube, after the Volga, the largest river in Europe. The whole of

Hungary belongs to its basin. Its length in Hungary is 600 miles, and

it leaves the country at Orsova, after having formed several islands in

its course. The largest among these is the Great Csalló region, which

contains two towns and over a hundred villages; and the most beautiful

of them is Margit (Margaret) Island, near Buda-Pesth—quite a miniature

paradise, frequented by a great many strangers, who come here to get

the benefit of its excellent baths. Of the numerous affluents of the

Danube the Theiss is the most important; it has its sources in the

country and empties into the Danube on Hungarian soil, near Titel. It

is navigable for steamships. The Save and Drave are after the Theiss

the largest tributaries of the Danube. All these rivers send their

waters, through the medium of the Danube, into the Black Sea.

 

Thus harmoniously is the soil of Hungary varied by mountains, valleys,

plains, and high plateaus, and gratefully watered by rivers and lakes;

and if we but add that the country lies between the forty-fourth and

fiftieth degrees of northern latitude, that is, in the most favorable

part of the temperate zone, we may readily infer the superiority of

the climatic conditions prevailing there. There is, of course, great

variety of climate. The winter is raw and cold in the Carpathian

regions; spring sets in later, winter comes earlier, and the cold

sometimes reaches -22° F. In the hilly and level country the climate

is much more genial, the summers hotter, and storms of more frequent

occurrence. Wheat, grapes, and maize do not ripen in the regions

of the higher Carpathians, whilst the Alföld produces the best and

finest wheat, and even rice. The air is most genial on the shores of

the Adriatic, and here are grown the fruits of Southern Europe. The

climate, as a general thing, is dry, especially in the Alföld, where

trees are rare.

 

Such is the topography and climate of the country which, lying in the

central portion of Middle Europe, stretches between Moravia, Silesia,

Galicia, Bukovina, Roumania, Servia, Bosnia, the Adriatic Sea, Istria,

Carinthia, Styria, and Austria. It covers an area of 125,000 square

miles, and has a population of nearly sixteen millions.

 

Politically the country is divided into three parts, namely: Hungary

proper (including the formerly detached Transylvania), the city and

territory of Fiume, and Croatia and Slavonia. Dalmatia, too, ought

to belong under the old laws to the country, but, for a long time

already, it has owned the supremacy of Austria.

 

[Illustration: BUDA-PESTH.]

 

Buda-Pesth is the capital of the entire kingdom. Situated on both