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6 interesting facts about Hungary that you might not know
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Given that Hungary has an adventurous and long history, you can always stumble upon interesting pieces from the past that you might not have heard about.
Bien has collected some fun facts about one of the most famous Hungarian paintings, a castle, Hungaroring and even the Hungarian Royal Crown.
The Arrival of the Hungarians
The Arrival of the Hungarians is a cyclorama painted by Árpád Feszty depicting the Hungarian Conquest of the Carpathian Basin. The painting is astonishingly detailed despite its size. Initially, Feszty wished to paint the Great Flood, but his wife, Róza Jókai, a fellow painter, tried to talk him out of this project, mostly as producing such a large artwork is costly.
The cyclorama is 15 metres in height and 120 metres in length – you can find it at the Ópusztaszer National Heritage Park.
source: WikiCommons
However, Róza’s father, Mór Jókai, eventually convinced the painter to depict the arrival of the Hungarians in the Carpathian Basin. During the production, the most famous violin artist of the time, Pista Dankó, made sure the painters would not get tired of the monotonous work.
The largest castle
The largest castle in Hungary is located in Gödöllő, but this is not the only reason why this piece of architecture is famous: the Hungarians’ favourite queen, Sissi lived here in the 18th century.
Sissi chose to retreat here during the summers from the strict protocol of the courts of Vienna. She loved spending her time at Gödöllő, as she could do whatever she found joy in here: she was allowed to read, ride, have guests and write poetry anytime she liked.
The castle was designed by Antal Grassalkovich and had 136 rooms at its prime. There was also a chapel, a bath, a theatre hall, a riding hall and a marble barn, a French-style garden and a safari park.
